Seven St. Mary’s High School seniors sign letters of intent to play Division I sports

Seven student at St. Mary High School in Lancaster signed to play Division 1 sports. Among the star scholar/athletes are (front, from left) Charlie Pawli, Shae O’Rourke and Lily Lauck; (back, from left) Shay Ciezki, Bella Farina, Gabby Gambino and Jordan Hummel. (Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s High School)

LANCASTER – St. Mary’s High School is home to roughly 110 seniors in the Class of 2022, and seven of those students signed letters of intent to play Division I sports at some of the best universities in the country. It is impressive for a school to have one Division I athlete, but seven? In a school of 430 students? In a school with 110 seniors? And all of them have GPAs in the top 10 percent of their class and are National Honor Society students? That’s unheard of.

You won’t find any more impressive of a group:

Shay Ciezki signed to play basketball at Penn State University. The West Seneca native carries a 98.53 grade point average. She has been named an All-Western New York and All-Catholic athlete three times each. She has also been ranked number 55 in ESPN’s Class of 2022.

Bella Farina will play softball for the University of Houston. From Orchard Park, Farina holds a 99.60 GPA, has been ranked 32nd player in the Class of 2022 and 15th ranked CF in Class of 2022. She has also been a Msgr. Martin High School Athletic Association Champion twice.

Lewiston Native Gabby Gambino signed to Clemson University where she will bring her MMHSAA League MVP skills to the soccer field. Gambino has been a team captain for St. Mary’s and is a WNY Flash Academy Member. She has a 98.62 GPA.

Jordan Hummel of North Tonawanda will play volleyball for Davidson College in North Carolina. Even with a near perfect GPA of 99.75, Hummel was able to be a four-time MMHSAA Champion and two-time MMHSAA League MVP.

Lily Lauck signed to play softball for SUNY University at Buffalo. The Lake View native with a 99.41 GPA has been named All-Catholic and has twice been a MMHSAA Champion.

Shae O’Rourke will play soccer at the University of South Carolina. The Wheatfield native holds a 96.96 GPA and has been named All-WNY three times and All-Catholic four times. O’Rourke is the leading scorer in St. Mary’s history being a member of the 300 Point Club. She has been named All-American, Gatorade Player of the Year and USA Today Player of the Year.

Lake View native Charlie Pawli signed to play soccer at the University of Albany. This three-time All-Catholic and two-time MMHSAA Champion hold a GPA of 95.89.

 “It’s a really special day for us,” St. Mary’s Head of School Kevin Kelleher said. “These girls are the whole package – fantastic in the community, in the classroom, obviously on their preferred athletic fields. They’re just amazing with the youth and everything we do at St. Mary’s High School. We’ve been blessed to have them for four years.”

Founded in 1904, St. Mary’s High School has been preparing its students to achieve success for 117 years. St. Mary’s High School is the leading Catholic, co-ed college preparatory school in Western New York – a beacon of faith, excellence, achievement, and inspiration.