Senior Athletes Recognized

Senior athletes were in the spotlight May 29, when Holy Angels named Kate Qureshi the winner of the Academy’s prestigious Angel Award. Samantha Serrano’s basketball jersey was retired, Olivia Papp received the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Scholar Athlete Award, and Grace Cuttita and Caitlin Deiser earned Parents’ Athletic Association Scholarships.

“Many of our athletes achieved impressive milestones in their respective sports this year,” AHA Athletic Director Jessica Hogan observed. “I’m really proud of the hard work and commitment to excellence that I witness both on and off the field/court. Being an Angel athlete is truly something special. I wish our seniors all the best life has to offer as they enter this next season of their lives.”

Qureshi received the Angel Award for her outstanding contributions to the AHA Varsity Softball Team, which played in the state tournament this spring. This Englewood Cliffs resident is an esteemed scholar-athlete. Her scholarship, leadership, character, and service earned her membership in the National Honor Society, Latin Honor Society, and Rho Kappa (social studies honor society). Qureshi’s involvement at AHA also includes work with the award-winning theater program. During the pandemic, she voiced a role in an AHA radio drama.

Serrano is a combination guard who made her mark on the varsity basketball program. This season, she made the record books this season when she scored her 1,000^th career point. She has also earned First Team All-County honors and Bergen/Passaic County All-Star status. Serrano, who has also distinguished herself as an Angel softball player, recently signed her letter of intent to play basketball for Florida Southwestern. This honoree is a resident of Nanuet, New York.

Three of this year’s outstanding athletes are also Eucharistic Ministers who were commissioned at AHA’s October 2 Feast Day Mass. Those athletes include Grace Cuttita of Glen Rock, Caitlin Deiser of New Milford, and Olivia Papp of Hawthorne.

Papp, a varsity volleyball player, received the NJSIAA Scholar Athlete Award for the combination of her athletic achievements and for posting the highest grade point average of a senior athlete. Papp has also been named AHA’s commencement speaker, the highest honor the Academy can confer upon a graduating senior. This Angel finished her senior year as president of the National Honor Society and the Tri-M (music) Honor Society. She is also a member of the honor societies for students who excel in math, French, art, and science. During her upper school years, she served as an Angel Ambassador and sang for the Academy Chorus and the select a cappella ensemble. In addition to playing volleyball at AHA, Papp is a national team libero with the Sideout Sports Volleyball Club.

Cuttita is a member of the Academy’s softball team. She recently received the Lorna Ciccarelli and David Cahn Leadership Scholarship for modeling leadership at Holy Angels and within the greater community. In addition to serving as a member of the NHS Executive Council, she has examined immigration issues on AHA Mission Awareness Program trips to Arizona and Texas. Moved by the great needs she witnessed in Texas, Cuttita and her peers organized a successful school-wide footwear collection for the Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen.

Deiser was a member of the Academy’s most successful soccer squad in the school’s history. Her team made the 2023 state quarterfinals achieved finalist status in the Bergen County Invitational Tournament. In addition to posting a final record of 10-7-1, AHA Varsity Soccer earned the Team Sportsmanship Award from the Bergen County Soccer Officials Association. Deiser was active with AHA’s DECA organization for business-minded and entrepreneurial teens. She is a member of the Business National Honor Society, the Science National Honor Society, and Rho Kappa.