Christian Brothers Academy (New Jersey)

Awards, recognition, and rankings

During the 1983-84 academic year, Christian Brothers Academy was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive. Christian Brothers Academy graduates attend a range of well-respected colleges and universities. Recent members of the senior class have reported acceptances to Duke University, University of Chicago, Georgetown University, and all the schools of the Ivy League.

History

Christian Brothers Academy was founded in 1958, when a group of devoted laymen, including Doctor George A. Sheehan, realized the need for another Catholic high school in Monmouth County. With the approval of the bishop, they initiated a drive to raise funds for the purchase of a piece of property. The Brothers of the Christian Schools, under the leadership of their provincial, Brother Anthony John Halpin, agreed to staff the school and finance its construction.

The former Whitney Greentree Stables, a 157-acre (0.64 km²) farm, was purchased and one building was converted into what is now Henderson Hall. With six Brothers and 150 students, the school was opened in September, 1959; two years later the new school building was finished and ready for occupancy.

CBA Presidents

1) Brother Andrew O'Gara (1991-2008)

2) Brother Frank Byrne, FSC '75 (2009–present)

CBA Principals

1) Brother Bernard McKenna, FSC (1959–1965)

2) Brother Stephen McCabe, FSC (1965–1972)

3) Brother Peter Mannion, FSC (1972–1979)

4) Brother Andrew O'Gara, FSC (1979–1991), left the office of principal to become CBA's first president.

5) Brother Ralph Montedoro, FSC (1991–2005), previously Assoc. Principal & currently the Vice President of CBA.

6) Brother Stephen Olert, FSC (2005–2008)

7) Brother James Butler, FSC (2008–2012)

8) Mr. Peter Santanello (2012–2015), previously Associate Principal & first layman to assume the office of principal.

9) Mr. R. Ross Fales (2015–present), previously Associate Principal.

Over the years, the school has undergone many additions and renovations, including the building of the Henderson Theater, three science labs, two large gyms, and extra classrooms. The school's Christian emphasis is noted by a sign in the lobby which reads: "Jesus is the reason for this school, the unseen but ever present teacher in its classes, the model of the faculty and the inspiration of its students." Before school begins and at the start of every class, prayers are offered in the Lasallian manner, beginning "Let us remember we are in the Holy Presence of God" and ending with the invocations, "St. John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us." "Live Jesus in our Hearts. Forever!"

Academics

Advanced Placement courses offered include AP Art History, AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP European History, AP French Language, AP Human Geography, AP Latin: Vergil, AP Physics B, AP Physics C, AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language, AP Statistics, AP United States History, and AP World History.

In addition to the 21 AP course offered at Christian Brothers Academy, the institution offers nearly 90 other courses that spread throughout the disciplines.

In order to receive a diploma, a student must successfully complete four years of each of the following: English, Health, and Theology. He must also complete three years of the following courses: History, Foreign Languages, Mathematics, Science, and Physical Education. Furthermore, students are required to complete two years of Computer Science.

Students who excel in CBA and who meet particular standards of academics, service, leadership, and character may apply for entry to the National Honor Society.

Extracurricular activities

Some activities at CBA include:

The CBA chess team won the shore title in 2003, 2006 and again in 2007. In 2007, the team won the New Jersey State Championship as it also did in 1980 and 1985. The team also placed 14th in 2007 at the U1500 at the National High School Chess Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.

The school offers the Lasallian Youth program, a way for students to perform service to surrounding areas within the context of the spirituality of the school's patron, St. La Salle.

Athletics

The Christian Brothers Academy Colts compete in the Shore Conference, an athletic conference made up of private and public high schools centered at the Northern and Central Jersey Shore. All schools in this conference are located within Monmouth County and Ocean County, operating under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).

Christian Brothers Academy has been recognized eight times by the NJSIAA as the Group A Non-Public winner of the annual ShopRite Cup, which is awarded to the best athletics programs in the state (2004, '05, '06, '11, '12, '13, '15, '16). The team won the 2015-16 ShopRite Cup for Group A behind first place finishes in winter track relays, winter track, spring track and field and swimming, second place finishes in soccer, cross country, ice hockey and golf, and third place finishes in wrestling and tennis, plus bonus points for having no disqualifications in the winter and spring seasons.

Fall sports

Christian Brothers Academy offers cross country, soccer, rugby, sailing, and crew as sports in the fall season.

Founded in 2004, the CBA crew team is a dual-season sport. The team won its first New Jersey State Scholastic Rowing Championships in the Novice 4+ event in its inaugural year. In the 2006 season, the team gained national recognition when its newly formed Lightweight 4+ placed 2nd at the Scholastic Rowing Nationals in Saratoga, New York. The Junior 4+ won the New Jersey State Scholastic Championships in 2008. The varsity double took 2nd place at the 2008 Stotesbury Cup, the largest high school regatta in the nation. In 2009, CBA won the senior 1x event at the New Jersey Scholastic Rowing Championships. In the 2011 Spring Season, the Lightweight 4+ placed second at the Stotesbury Cup and placed first in Nationals in Camden, New Jersey.

The Cross Country team holds the national high school record for consecutive dual meet wins, having surpassed the 265 streak accomplished by Blackstone-Millville Regional High School in Massachusetts from 1974 to 1992. The streak dates back to September 19, 1974, with a 15-49 win over Marist High School to start the season, after ending the previous season with a 15-49 loss to Raritan High School. Blackstone-Millville's record of 265 wins was tied on September 28, 2004, with a win against Marlboro High School and the record broken two days later against Middletown High School North. At the end of the 2015 season, the streak had run to 343 consecutive dual meets. The team has been ranked 1st in New Jersey and 1st in the United States on multiple occasions. As of September 2016, the streak is at 345 consecutive wins.

On December 3, 2011, the CBA Colts won the 2011 Nike Cross National (NXN) Championship meet.

Legendary head coach Tom Heath '65, who is responsible for building the cross country team to its current dominant state, retired from coaching at the end of 2015. He won 21 NJSIAA Meet of Champions crowns, 27 NJSIAA state championships and went 42 years without losing a dual-meet.

Rugby formed as a club team in 2011 at CBA, being elevated to varsity status in 2013. The team is coached by Patrick Moroney, the head coach of the Monmouth Rugby Club. In their inaugural varsity spring season, the rugby 15's won the New Jersey High School State Championship, finishing up an undefeated season. In the fall of 2015, the rugby 7's won their first state championship.

Another dual season sport at CBA, the sailing team has existed in some form since 2000. The 2005 team qualified for the Interscholastic Sailing Association's Mallory National Championship for the first time ever. After a year of inactivity, the current iteration of CBA Sailing began in 2007. Since then, the 16-member varsity squad has been an active member of the New Jersey Interscholastic Sailing Association (NJISA), a division of the Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Sailing Association (MASSA). In 2014, the sailing team won their first-ever NJISA League Championship, and in 2015, CBA was crowned New Jersey State Champions for the first time. The Colts made it back-to-back titles, winning the 2016 New Jersey State Championship as well. The team's longtime coach is Jody Lutz, a Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame inductee and multiple-time North American sailing champion.

The soccer team has won five state championships in 1992, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2011. From 1978-2015, they were coached by Dan Keane, who won over 530 games with the Colts and built the program to state dominance. CBA has won nine Shore Conference titles, including during Keane's final season in 2015.

Winter sports

Christian Brothers Academy offers Basketball, Bowling, Fencing, Ice Hockey, Indoor Track, Swimming, and Wrestling as sports in the winter season.

The team has reached the Final Four of the Shore Conference Tournament in all but five years since their inclusion, and had not lost a home game to a division opponent in almost ten years until the Colts Neck Cougars ended that streak in December 2006 with a 33-point victory over the Colts. They team earned a national ranking of #11 in USA Today's final 1999−2000 rankings. The team has sent numerous players to Division I programs. Forward Dan Werner won New Jersey Player of the Year on NJ.com for 2006. Coach Ed Wicelinski retired after 27 years and a 625-116 record. Geoff Billet, CBA '95 was named the head basketball coach on August 1, 2007. The team has won the NJSIAA Non-Public, South A state sectional champions in 2005 (with a 49−43 win vs. St. Augustine College Preparatory School), 2006 (with a 51−47 over Monsignor Donovan High School) 2007 (42-37 over Camden Catholic High School), and in 2009 over Holy Spirit High School by a score of 64-36 for the program's 17th sectional title. In 2010 the Colts won their 16th Shore Conference Tournament title with a 60−44 win against Middletown High School South.

Varsity Basketball Championships:

Coached by Patrick Reynolds.

The first year of Varsity Fencing at CBA was the 2012-13 winter season, coached by Mary Mottola. Fencers from CBA have gone on to fence at Brandeis, Stevens, Sacred Heart and University of Pennsylvania.

Coached by Karl Torchia, the track team is known for its dominance in New Jersey. The track program has more titles at the county, state, and national level than any other sports in the school combined.

The Christian Brothers Academy hockey team competes in both the Gordon Conference and the Shore Conference. The Christian Brothers Academy ice hockey team is coached by Ryan Bogan. Christian Brothers Academy's home games are played at the Jersey Shore Arena in Wall, New Jersey. From 1994-1996, the Colts hockey team won both the Gordon Cup and the State Championship in 3 consecutive years, a difficult feat accomplished by only a few teams. On January 31, 2014, the Christian Brothers Academy team took their talents outdoors in a Stadium Series game against Don Bosco Prep at Yankee Stadium. The two teams played to a 1-1 tie. On March 9, 2014, the Colts battled with Morristown-Beard for the Non-Public State Championship. After 60 minutes of play, the game ended in a 4-4 tie and the teams were declared co-champions, as per NJSIAA rules. This is only the second time that two teams have been declared co-champions On March 9, 2015, the Colts battled back from a 3-0 deficit to Delbarton in the State Final to win the game 4-3 in overtime. Dean DiFazio scored the goal in overtime to give CBA their second straight state title.

The CBA hockey program has produced two players, James van Riemsdyk and Trevor van Riemsdyk, to go on to play in the National Hockey League. The school officially retired Trevor's number 6 following his 2015 Stanley Cup victory.

Varsity hockey championships:

The CBA Swim Team has been the Monmouth County and Shore Conference Champions for 22 years in a row coached by Michael Sullivan. Additionally, they also won a state championship in 1998. Notable CBA swimmers are 2000 Summer Olympics bronze medalist Tom Wilkens, and professional baseball player Vito Chiaravalloti, who is varsity swim coach as of October 2008. he 2009−10 swim team went 12−0 and captured their second ever State Championship topping St. Augustine Prep School 86−84. Also the team was the fastest in CBA school history and also the first team to finish top ranked in New Jersey. In 2011 the team took their 21st Shore Conference and Monmouth County Champions victories and also became the first team in CBA history to win back to back State Championships, defeating St. Joseph (Metuchen) 92-78. The 2012 team continued its years of previous dominance by capturing yet another state title.

Varsity swimming championships:

In 2005-06, the team went 17−4 and made it to the division Finals; the Colts finished ranked 15th in New Jersey and had one state placewinner. The Colts had four district champions and advanced eight to the region 6 tournament. David Santamaria (class of 1998) placed 2nd in the New Jersey high school state wrestling tournament three years in a row; Kevin Mount (class of 1999) placed 4th in the New Jersey high school state wrestling tournament his senior year. Coach Michael Baldi recently retired after years of service. Head coach is Michael Tomaino who received his first career victory as the head coach in the opening match of the 2006-07 season. The team ended with a 14-10 record with three 20-match winners and James Beshada set a school record of 41 single season victories.

In the 2007−08 season, the Colt wrestlers finished second in District 22, beating state-ranked Raritan High School, and coming within one place of beating Ocean Township High School for the championship. CBA sent nine wrestlers to the Region tournament, and had 12 of 14 notch wins in districts. They finished their dual meet season with a record of 14−12, and beat traditional rival St. John Vianney High School 35−22 to send them to the Sectional Semi-finals of the Non-Public A South NJSIAA Tournament where they lost to Camden Catholic High School, 35−19. Their season was capped by a 5th in the State finish by Senior Captain Joe Favia. This is the third consecutive season the Colts placed a wrestler in the state tournament.

Spring sports

Christian Brothers Academy offers baseball, crew, golf, lacrosse, outdoor track, rugby, sailing, tennis, and volleyball in the spring.

Under the direction of Head Coach Martin Kenney, the Colts have been a dominant force in New Jersey high school baseball since 1974. In 2007, Coach Kenney earned his 600th career win with a victory over Wall High School and eclipsed 700 wins in his 40th season (2014).

Christian Brothers has won the state championship three times in 1977, 2009 and 2015. They have won the Shore Conference seven times, most recently in 2016. In 2015, CBA secured their greatest season in history, winning all five Championships that the team competed in: "A" North Division, Monmouth County, Shore Conference, NJSIAA Sectional and NJSIAA State. The 2015 Colts finished #1 in the County, Shore, State and Tri-State. They were also ranked in two National H.S. Baseball Polls, #23 in the U.S.A Today poll and #21 in the Max Preps H.S. Baseball poll.

Founded in 2004, the CBA crew team is a dual-season sport. The team won its first New Jersey State Scholastic Rowing Championships in the Novice 4+ event in its inaugural year. In the 2006 season, the team gained national recognition when its newly formed Lightweight 4+ placed 2nd at the Scholastic Rowing Nationals in Saratoga, New York. The Junior 4+ won the New Jersey State Scholastic Championships in 2008. The varsity double took 2nd place at the 2008 Stotesbury Cup, the largest high school regatta in the nation. In 2009, CBA won the senior 1x event at the New Jersey Scholastic Rowing Championships. In the 2011 Spring Season, the Lightweight 4+ placed second at the Stotesbury Cup and placed first in Nationals in Camden, New Jersey.

The CBA golf team won the state championship in 2005 under the direction of head coach Tim Sewing. They began a stretch of Shore Conference dominance in 2011, winning the next five of six conference tournaments including the 2016 title.

The Colts lacrosse team has won the Shore Conference four times ('05, '06,'08,'09). Their longtime head coach is Dave Santos '85.

Rugby formed as a club team in 2011 at CBA, being elevated to varsity status in 2013. The team is coached by Patrick Moroney, the head coach of the Monmouth Rugby Club. In their inaugural varsity spring season, the rugby 15's won the New Jersey High School State Championship, finishing up an undefeated season. In the fall of 2015, the rugby 7's won their first state championship.

Another dual season sport at CBA, the sailing team has existed in some form since 2000. The 2005 team qualified for the Interscholastic Sailing Association's Mallory National Championship for the first time ever. After a year of inactivity, the current iteration of CBA Sailing began in 2007. Since then, the 16-member varsity squad has been an active member of the New Jersey Interscholastic Sailing Association (NJISA), a division of the Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Sailing Association (MASSA). In 2014, the sailing team won their first-ever NJISA League Championship, and in 2015, CBA was crowned New Jersey State Champions for the first time. The Colts made it back-to-back titles, winning the 2016 New Jersey State Championship as well. The team's longtime coach is Jody Lutz, a Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame inductee and multiple-time North American sailing champion.

The tennis team is one of the most accomplished sports at CBA. The Colts have won over 20 state championships, most recently in 2013. The period of success came under the direction of head coach Dan Keane, who retired after the 2016 season after serving as coach since the late 1970s.

Volleyball became a varsity sport at CBA in the 2000s and began seeing success late in the decade behind head coach Monica Slattery. In 2015, Christian Brothers won the Shore Conference Championship for the first time in team history.

Multiple state championships and national titles.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Vito Chivralloti