Mount St. Mary Academy athletes sign letters of intent

KENMORE — Mount St. Mary Academy student-athletes Claire Ginnane and Kayla Hall signed their letters of intent to play their respective sports at the collegiate level in a ceremony at Mount St. Mary Academy on April 1. Family, friends, teammates and coaches were in attendance as both Thunder athletes committed to their next adventure.

Claire Ginnane will become a member of the Oswego Lacrosse team, after spending the past four years playing multiple sports for the Thunder.

“Claire is widely known around Mount as a leader. She has shown an ability to organize and galvanize her peers into action towards a purpose they can all agree upon,” said Katherine Spillman, principal at Mount St. Mary. “We have seen this leadership through her participation on the cross country, basketball, bowling and lacrosse team here at MSM.”

Ginnane achieved high marks in the classroom and on the field. She was named a WNY Scholar athlete, JV lacrosse MVP, JV basketball captain, and made the New York team for Women’s Lacrosse National Tournament in 2021. Ginnane has added to the legacy of the storied history of lacrosse at the Mount. 

Serving others is also in Ginnane’s nature. She was pivotal in organizing a virtual 5k that raised over $1,000 towards youth sports for the Boys & Girls Club of Buffalo.

Jenna Stranges will become a member of the soccer team at John Carroll University. Stranges is a multi-talented athlete at the Mount. She competed for the soccer, tennis and bowling teams. Soccer is her main sport for the Thunder, and she has helped to lead the program to new heights.

This past fall, Stranges was a co-captain on the varsity soccer team who were Girls Division B Monsignor Martin High School Athletic Association regular season champions, and playoff co-champions. Stranges was also named second team All-Catholic.

“Jenna along with her teammates and coaches have helped bring the Thunder back to championship form in the sport of soccer,” said Principal Spillman. “They have set the standard that will be followed long after she has moved on to John Carrol.”

Kayla Hall will become a member of the Track and Field Team at Grand Valley State University. Since 2011, the Lakers of Grand Valley have won five NCAA Division II National Championships in indoor and outdoor track and field, making them one of the top track and field programs in the country.

“You might never know that Kayla is one of the most decorated runners to grace the halls of Mount St. Mary, because she is humble, kind hearted, and caring,” said Principal Spillman. “Then a switch is immediately flipped when she places herself in a set of starting blocks. Kayla is a fierce competitor, and Grand Valley State must have thought so too.”

Hall’s athletic accomplishments include Second Team All Catholic finishes in Cross Country in 2020 and 2021 and she was named the MVP of the team in those same years.

Hall owns many of the Thunder’s school records in track and field including the 300-meter dash, 4×200-meter relay and the 400-meter dash, an event in which she also owns the Monsignor Martin League Record. She was the fastest runner in the 300-meter dash this past indoor track season in all of Section 6, and finished second at the indoor CHSAA championship and sixth overall at the New York State Championship meet in the event.

Hall also had a third-place finish at indoor CHSAA Championships 55-meter dash and Top 10 finishes in the 55-meter, 600-meter and long jump events in section 6.

During Outdoor Track, Hall was named All-Catholic in the 400-meter dash in 2019 and 2021, and was also All-Catholic in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprinting events in 2021. She placed seventh in the 400-meter dash at CHSAA Championship meet in 2019 and was named MVP for our outdoor track team in 2020 and 2021.

“Kayla is a member of the St. Luke’s Mission of Mercy, and I think we can all agree that she has made them, and all of us here at Mount St. Mary Academy, incredibly proud,” continued Principal Spillman.