Saint Ignatius High School honored the jersey #34 in memory of beloved Theology teacher Jim Skerl '74, who died after a battle with cancer on October 23, 2014.
Jim was an excellent student-athlete, but #34 is honored because Jim was the kind of Catholic man all Ignatians should seek to emulate.
As a student and teacher, from 1978 until 2014, Jim was the face of Christ to his classmates, students, and colleagues as he showed us how to see Christ in others by rooting our lives in the Eucharist and prayer.
Jim co-founded the Christian Action Team in 2003 and founded the St. Joseph of Arimathea Pallbearers Ministry in 2002, the Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Ministry to the Homeless in 2003 and Friends with L'Arche in 2007.
The #34 has been retired from all freshman and junior varsity teams. Each year a coach in every varsity sport awards #34 to a player who most emulates the character of Jim Skerl, who played, worked, taught and served for the Greater Glory of God.
A recipient of #34 in 2016, Mark Bobinski '18 points to the sky after scoring a touchdown.
Jim Skerl '74 in The Ignatian, the school yearbook
Recipients of the #34 jersey pose with their awards in Winter 2019.
The recipients of the award for the 2019 fall season (Jack Welcsh not pictured)
Sport | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baseball | Joseph Evans | Evan Steigerwald | J.J Conway | Flynn Lenahan | Nick Fletcher | Owen Gerba | Jimmy Gould | Jake Fix | |
Basketball | Matt Davet | Matt Davet | Kevin Davet | Wilson Young | Shondo Green Jr. | Will Yontek | Shondo Green Jr. | Braydn Szczepaniak | Sam Springer |
Bowling | Not Awarded | Nick Frank | Anthony Doran | Alex Gehrlein | Noah Virant | Dylan Huss | Sean Ward | Connor Kissling | Hayden Voth |
Crew | Not Awarded | Mitchell Ramba | Joseph Vedda | Not Awarded | Patrick Sullivan | Levente Karetka/Caleb Hils | Matthew Sullivan | Owen Anderson | |
Cross Country | Patrick McGuire | Andrew Szendrey | Liam McGuire | Dillon Bangasser | Andrew Eicher | Blake Kneisly | Matt Kelly | Caleb DelaCruz | Fitzwilliam Lokiec |
Football | Kaden Russell | Mark Bobinski | Mark Bobinski | Aidan Wells | Jack Welcsh | John Foliano | Christopher Aerni | Will Robinson | Patrick Cooney |
Golf | Andrew Zawie | Angelo Corna | Michael McCaffrey | Jake Moraca | Ross Williamson | Andrew Martin | Connor Keefe | Michael O'Leary | Ben Emerson |
Hockey | Individual Game | Individual Game | Individual Game | Individual Game | Individual Game | Individual Game | Kevin Mays | John Utrup | Tristan Rutledge |
Lacrosse | Not Awarded | Jeffrey Outcalt | Jeffrey Outcalt | Ryan Grace | Greg Langermeier | Kyle Geary | Connor Grace | John Leszcz | |
Rugby | Not Awarded | Matt Lipaj | Andrew Boldy | Carl Felder | Brian Strauss | Danny LaGuardia | Bobby Voth | Aidan Miczak | |
Soccer | Hunter Gordon | Patrick Strauss | Individual Game | Matthew McLaughlin | Matthew McLaughlin | Isaac Brej | Will Armsworthy | Ernie Vargo | James Bauman |
Swimming | Not Awarded | Marcus Hong | Alex Claus | Stephen Buckles | Cormac Nolan | Joseph Richmond | Tommy McIntyre | Isaac Chernisky | Isaac Chernisky |
Tennis | Not Awarded | Kevin Callanan | Jack Showman | Jack McNally | Thomas Deucher | Nate Day | Michael Nock | Blake Henry | |
Track & Field | Tom Sullivan | CJ Ambrosio | Phil Zuccaro | Nathan Soria | Steve Zucca | Eric Shyne | Damon Frabotta | Ryan Kennedy | |
Volleyball | Not Awarded | John Moynihan | Phil Catanzaro | Matthew Rogers | Andrew Boeckman | Andrew Boeckman | Liam Walsh | Sean Bingle | |
Wrestling | Not Awarded | Kaden Russell | Aidan Gill | Patrick McGraw | Johnny Novak | Anthony Santagata | Tim Putka | Jarell Young | Landen Knight |
Welsh Academy | Owen Mlynek | Nate Konchan |
Jim Skerl '74 poses in Sullivan Gym with Dan Malone '00.
Matt Wiegandt '17 was the recipient of the hockey team's #34 warmup jersey for the State Semifinal in 2017.