Christ School

Two great representatives of Christ School paying it forward to the next generation.

Jo Ahart ’25 and Keion Conley ’27 are working as counselors at this week’s Boone Basketball Camp in Black Mountain, N.C.

Greenies: Stay in touch with us this summer by sending your news and photos in a DM or e-mail to [email protected].

ATLANTA - While his classmates heard music wafting through St. Joseph’s Chapel, Joe Massey ’65 heard a calling.

For all that he has done for Christ School and the Music Program in the ensuing years, a concert for Joe by the Atlanta Master Chorale was especially deserved.

The concert was part of the 60th annual Association of Anglican Musicians Conference held June 7-11 in Atlanta.

St. Joseph’s organ is the envy of everyone who hears or plays it. Joe’s kind patronage made a complete reconstruction of the organ and new sound system possible for the chapel in 2019. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award two years later at Alumni Weekend.

Joe graduated from Georgia Tech in 1968, the same year he went to work for Emory University, also in Atlanta. He currently has the most tenure of any Emory employee (58 years) and his career as a telecommunications engineer has resulted in the design of large and complex phone systems used by the White House, NBC Studios, the New York Daily News, and more. Joe holds the patent for the Do Not Disturb feature on iPhones.

Joe joined the AAM in 2003 and Christ School’s Director of Music, Professor Jim Cassarino, is a member as well. Christ School was one of the sponsors of the Atlanta Master Chorale concert, which took place on the evening of June 9 inside Atlanta’s Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church and was attended by Joe, Senior Major Gifts Officer Dan Stevenson ’72 and his wife, Jill.

Safe to say it’s officially official when Touchdown Jesus and his outstretched arms are in the background of a photo.

Sean Kraft ’26 committed to play college football for Notre Dame almost one year ago, and the rising senior from Swannanoa, N.C., just took his official recruiting visit to South Bend, Indiana.

Sean is a 5 star-rated long snapper and has been selected to be a Proctor in South Carolina House for this upcoming year.

PHOTO CREDITS: NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS

Greenies: Stay in touch with us this summer by sending your news and photos in a DM or e-mail to [email protected].

Follow the bouncing ball, it leads to the only summer camp in North Carolina led by a Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) Scholastic program.

Greenie basketball camp runs through Thursday before the gym is turned over later this month to the fourth annual Mason Plumlee Basketball Camp, which is June 23-25.

www.christschool.org/gallery/summer-camps

EUGENE, Ore. – Much like Christ School, there will be two versions of the record book at Wake Forest University – before and after Rocky Hansen ’23.

While much of the country was engrossed in Friday night’s United States-Paraguay World Cup match, Rocky came within a second of winning a national championship at the NCAA Championship Track Meet.

He was the runner-up in his specialty race – the 5,000-meter run (13:39.91) – to New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel (13:38.93), the same runner who surged past Rocky late in last fall’s NCAA Cross Country Championship. Afterwards in interviews, Rocky called Friday his best race in three years of NCAA competition and praised Samuel for his world-class endurance and race tactics.

Two national runner-up finishes in one calendar year by a distance athlete is a first for Wake Forest, and Rocky becomes only the second Demon Deacon to earn All-American track recognition three times. Rocky holds Wake Forest records for the 1,500 meters (3:35.75) and 5,000 (13:07.77).

Rocky is a junior from Hendersonville, N.C. He has been one of Christ School’s most successful alumni in the early stages of the NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) era through partnerships with the Garmin sports watch brand and On running company.

His parents, Molly and Jacob, were trackside in Eugene to watch Friday’s race.

“Just another day at the beach,” redefined.

Owen Johnson ’28 emerged from the ocean off Kiawah Island, S.C., on the morning of June 6, totally fulfilled by swimming 1.5 miles for a worthy cause.

The rising junior from Mount Pleasant, S.C., was the top junior fundraiser in a Charleston-area Swim Across America charity event, which brought in nearly $90,000 for cancer research, clinical trials, and patient support.

Swim Across America is a national organization with the slogan, “making waves to fight cancer,” and this was its 10th annual swim in Charleston with participants given the option of a half-mile swim, the 1.5-mile swim, or an independent pool workout.

Owen was named Christ School’s team MVP this past season – an award announced during the final week of the school year – and made the Winter Sports All-Academic Team.

Greenies: Stay in touch with us this summer by sending your news and photos in a DM or e-mail to [email protected].

A few weeks without smiling boys on campus were a few too many.

Camp season has begun this week, and the expressions on the faces suggest Christ School lacrosse's coaches are having just as much fun as their campers.

Still on the horizon are basketball (June 15-18), baseball (June 29-July 1), and soccer (June 29-July 2), as well as the return of the fourth annual Mason Plumlee Basketball Camp (June 22-25).

www.christschool.org/athletics/summer-camps

SOUTHERN PINES – Calmness under pressure with a proper sense of urgency. Consistent ball-striking and putting interspersed with the right amount of luck.

It takes a unique temperament to qualify for the U.S. Amateur golf tournament.

Jamal Hutchison ’23 had it all working for him Wednesday at the Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club. His round of 5-under 67 – one stroke off the lead – allowed the Christ School alumnus to tie for fourth place out of 66 players.

Thirteen individuals and two alternates from each local qualifier advance to the national round. U.S. Amateur qualifying at the local level (throughout the month of June) and then nationally (July 13-22) is only 18 holes each, which means that every wayward shot is costly.

Jamal birdied six holes (No. 1, No. 3, No. 5, No. 10, No. 15, and No. 18) at Mid Pines on a day when he needed every red score.

Jamal is a rising senior at N.C. Central University and was voted the team’s MVP by the coaching staff last season after averaging a score of 74.2 for 18 holes. He is from Fletcher, North Carolina.

Summertime means rest, relaxation, and professional development opportunities for the faculty and staff.

Charlottesville (Va.) native Mr. Hartwig did not need much convincing to lead a session at the city’s Faith and Leadership Forum. Not only was he born there, Christ School’s Chaplain was an Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia, receiving his B.A. in Religious Studies & Classics there in 2016.

The audience for Mr. Hartwig’s session included Bill Henderson ’69, who established his first accounting practice in 1985 and was regarded as one of Charlottesville’s top CPAs and consultants for decades.

Greenies: Stay in touch with us this summer by sending your news and photos in a DM or e-mail to [email protected].