News

The Archmere Cheerleading team brought the Auks spirit as featured volunteers to the 22nd annual American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Sunday, October 27, 2024, held at Bellevue State Park. Our cheerleaders warmed up the crowd in line dances and activities leading up to the Survivor's Celebration, during which they supported the event speakers, who themselves are survivors of breast cancer.

For the first time in ten years (2014), the boys varsity cross country captured the DSAC team title! The varsity girls finished in second place while the JV squads also finished second. In addition, the teams from the DSAC came together to help raise money and awareness for Colon Cancer in memory of Archmere teacher Mike Johnson through a bake sale and 50/50 raffle. Thank you to all those that donated and participated!

On Friday, October 18th, the cross country team traveled down to Fenton, DE for the Joe O’Neill Invitational at Killens Pond. The JV Girls placed 3rd, while the Varsity Girls placed 5th. The JV Boys-A finished 5th, while both the JV Boys-B and Varsity Boys finished 8th.

The Archmere football team won against Mount Pleasant last Thursday with 28 points and they decided to stick to that point total again for Saturday's Homecoming game. The Auks defeated the Tower Hill Hillers 28-13 as the school celebrated Homecoming.

Senior Jace Walker was selected from a national pool of student candidates in National Art Honor Societies across the United States to serve on the first ever National Art Honor Society (NAHS) Student Council. In her role, Jace will participate advise the National Art Education (NAEA) leadership on strategies to enhance NAHS programming. Jace was chosen based on her embodiment of the three tenets of NAHS: Character, Service, and Scholarship in the visual arts, and for her demonstrated leadership as President of Archmere Academy’s National Art Honor Society chapter.

On Saturday, October 5, the Archmere football secured a 20-14 win over the Delaware Military Academy at home on Coaches' Field. Jack Bradley '25 rushed for 107 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries as the Auks, ranked second statewide in Class 2A, outlasted the sixth-ranked Seahawks. The score was tied 7-7 at the break, but the Auks were the better team in the second half.

This weekend, Angela Zhang '26 and Ethan Flores '26 had the incredible honor of attending the 2024 Business Professionals of America (BPA) Student Leadership Summit in Washington D.C. Alongside BPA leaders from across the nation, they engaged in impactful workshops and advocacy efforts.

The Archmere cross country team was on the road this weekend, competing at the Carlisle Invitational. The varsity girls took home second place in the Champions race, while the varsity boys finished fourth. In addition, there were seven new personal best times.

Archmere junior Daniel Qi has been named the first "Delaware Student of the Week" by an online poll. Similar to the long-running "athlete-of-the-week" feature that honors athletic achievement alongside reader voting, Delaware Online/The News Journal is honoring a "Delaware Student of the Week" across high schools. The award highlights academic work, extracurricular activities, volunteerism, and perseverance -important qualities that make up the lives of young scholars.

The New Balance Whippets Invitational was held at Downingtown West High School on September 21st. Cross country runners from 41 different schools spanning NJ, MD, PA and the state of DE competed in the one day event. The Archmere team boasted strong performances on Saturday, with the JV girls finishing the highest of the day at 3rd place, while the varsity girls placed 4th against some of the top teams in Pennsylvania. Both the varsity boys and the JV boys finished in 5th place.

With 1:58 left on the clock, junior Ryan Hagenberg scored on a 1-yard run to give Archmere a 27-21 win at Saint Mark’s in one of the top games in Delaware high school football this month. In front of a packed and spirited crowd, Archmere and St. Mark's battled back and forth all night, once again following a long standing tradition of thrilling, down to the wire, fourth quarter games.

Rebranded as the Art & Design Department in 2022 to better represent the vast array of career-oriented and design-based electives offered, students in Archmere's program regularly have the opportunity to apply their creative problem solving to design real world solutions for products and manufactured objects.

On Saturday, September 7 the Archmere football team opened their season with a win on the road. The Auks took on Saint Elizabeth's at Abessinio Stadium, defeating them 39-21. Quarterback John Orsini '26 tells the News Journal of the team this year, "It's great to know you have 8, 9, 10 guys that can do it out there. And we have quite a few more we can rely on, on the sidelines." John completed passes to seven receivers as five different Auks reached the Abessinio Stadium end zone.

On September 5, the Archmere volleyball team traveled to Smyrna High School to take on the Eagles at home. All three teams: the freshman, JV and Varsity, recorded wins on the road. Varsity was led by Ava Beach '25, who recorded 10 kills, 5 digs, and 10 aces in the 3-0 win over defending champion Smyrna. Grace Mahoney '27 was right behind her with 9 kills, and Bridget Malloy '26 with 5. Maddie Frampton '27 lead the team with 12 digs.

Meredith Finger '26 claimed the 41st Junior Girls’ title of the Delaware Junior Championships by two shots after a final round of 73 at the St. Anne’s Golf Links in Middletown, DE on July 24. Meredith last won that title in 2022 at the Chesapeake Bay Golf Club.

The cultural and language exchange trip to Taiwan was an incredible journey of exploration and connection. Seven students from Archmere embarked on a transformative experience, immersing themselves in the rich tapestry of Taiwanese culture and Mandarin Chinese language from June 4th to June 18th. Collaborating closely with Yanping High School in Taipei and various local communities, our students engaged in activities aimed at deepening their understanding of Taiwanese culture and establishing meaningful connections with their Taiwanese peers. From the hustle and bustle of urban Taipei to the tranquil landscapes of the island's western regions, they embraced the diverse linguistic and cultural landscapes of Taiwan. The students were supervised by Mandarin Chinese language teacher, Ms. Yachi Yu.

Press Release from the Distinguished Young Women’s organization:

On Saturday, June 29, Alicia Chu was named the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2024 and presented with a cash scholarship of $40,000 at the conclusion of the 67th Distinguished Young Women National Finals. Alicia earned preliminary awards in the Scholastics, Self Expression, Interview and Talent categories, totaling $44,000 in cash scholarships across the three-night program.

Max Kelleher '24 and Connor Victoria '24 were co-winners of the Rugby Delaware scholarship this year. Rugby Delaware awards annual scholarships to graduating high school seniors who will be joining the rugby program at their college or university of choice. Each student was awarded $3,000.

McKayla Hwang '27 won second place at the American Viola Society Festival 2024 junior solo competition.  The American Viola Society is one of the largest viola societies in the world and runs the prestigious Primrose International Viola Competition. The competition took place at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, California.

The spring, members of Archmere's Aevidum Mental Health Club had the opportunity to contribute to the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of Healing Magazine, the flagship publication of the KidsPeace organization with over 50,000 subscribers. The issue of KidsPeace’s Healing Magazine focuses on giving a platform to views on the mental health of America’s youth from a group sometimes ignored in the discussion: young people themselves. The Aevidum Club is supervised by Archmere School Counselor and Director of Wellness, Ms. Francesca Pileggi '06.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit organization that presents the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, has recognized four Archmere Academy students with National Medals, the top honor in the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7-12: Sabrina Saggese '24 won a Silver Medal for Art in the Painting category for "Hot Seat", Brianna Yang ’25 won a Gold Medal for her piece "The Veteran" in the Flash Fiction category, Jace Walker ‘25 won a Silver Medal for Art for her piece "FaceTime", and Katelyn Pei ’27 won a Silver Medal for her writing piece "A Shanghai Ballad".

The Marinelli Athletic Award is named in honor of Pat Marinelli, an Archmere student who tragically passed away in a car accident on June 3, 1988 while attending the Academy. This recognition is awarded to a 9th grade male and female athlete who best exemplify what it means to be an Archmere student-athlete.

The Stamps Scholars Program, with its partner schools, seeks students who demonstrate academic merit, strong leadership potential, and exceptional character. This scholarship is awarded to exceptional and academically accomplished high school seniors. Stamps Scholars receive a merit award equivalent to the full cost of attendance for four years of undergraduate study. Michelle Zhang '24 was recently named a Stamps Scholar recipient, and recognized at Archmere's end of year awards assembly on May 17th.

Congratulations to all of our spring athletes who were named to the Diamond State All-Conference teams and the All-State or All-County teams. Seven out of our ten spring sports teams won their respective Diamond State Athletic Conferences: Golf, Girls Tennis, Boys Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse, Girls Soccer, and Boys and Girls Track and Field are all DSAC Champions. Not to mention, the rugby team once again successfully took on Salesianum at Abessinio Stadium for the Rugby Delaware State Championship Cup, bringing the Mark Dombroski Cup back home to Archmere, three tennis players were named State Champions, and the golf team captured the first State Championship in school history!

On May 28-29, Archmere celebrated the school's first ever Golf State Championship after the team rallied from five strokes down for a one-stroke victory and State Championship title. Held at Maple Dale Country Club in Dover, Archmere held on for the team title during the second day of the tournament, edging Tatnall and Caesar Rodney by one shot. The Auks finished at 539, 35-over par in a format that counts the low four scores in the first round and the low three scores in the second round.

Archmere senior Andy Zhu battled Wilmington Charter's Ryan He, the heat and a heaping of internal pressure to win the boys’ first singles at the DIAA Tennis Championships on May 23rd at St. Andrew's. It was his fourth individual title as he joined one of the rarest clubs in Delaware scholastic sports. The match, though it ended in straight sets, was full of long rallies in much hotter temperatures. Andy is just the second player ever to win four straight boys first singles titles at the DIAA Tennis Tournament.

Delaware Online interviewed several of the players after the game. Subscribers may view the video here.

The Archmere girls tennis team went undefeated in the regular season and had finalists in four of the five events at the DIAA State Tennis Championships, which were held May 23rd at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown. Brianna Yang and Susie Shipley won individual State Championships in second and third singles, respectively, and the team came in second overall.

Drew Duncan scored 45 seconds into the game on Tuesday, May 21, on the way to a 15-2 win over Caravel in the Lacrosse DIAA State Tournament first round. Archmere will travel to play Wilmington Friends on Saturday, May 25 for the Quarterfinal round. The Archmere team has won their last 10 games in a row.

On Friday evening, May 17th, the Archmere Rugby team once again took on Salesianum at Abessinio Stadium for the Rugby Delaware State Championship Cup. The match was named the Mark Dombroski Cup, in honor of Mark Dombroski, a 2017 Archmere graduate and rugby player who lost his life in March 2018 while at a rugby competition with St. Joseph's University in Bermuda.

Last week the DIAA Tennis Committee finalized the seeding and selections for the 2024 Boys and Girls Tennis Championships. There are 5 different draws for girls and 5 draws for boys (1^st Singles, 2^nd, Singles, 3^rd Singles, 1^st Doubles, 2^nd Doubles). Due to inclement weather on Saturday, opening rounds took place on Monday, May 20^th , hosted at seven DIAA Member High Schools (St. Andrews, Middletown, Odessa, Appoquinimink, Caesar Rodney, Dover and Smyrna). Every player on both the Archmere boys and girls team has advanced to the third round, held on Tuesday, May 21.

On Monday, May 20th, the Archmere golf team traveled to Delcastle Country Club to compete in the Diamond State Athletic Conference Championships. Boasting a 14-2 regular season record, the team won the day and earned an automatic bid to the State Tournament, which will take place on May 28 and May 29 at Maple Dale Country Club in Delmar.

Archmere sophomore Meredith Finger loves both golf and softball, so she is finding a way to excel in both sports during the busy spring season at Archmere. An honors student as well, Meredith can carry drives 245 yards and comfortably hit a 7-iron 160 yards on the golf course, and at the same time is willing to fill any gap Archmere may have on the softball diamond.

The Archmere boys lacrosse team defeated Cape Henlopen on Friday, May 10 at Legends Stadium in Lewes, Delaware. The team played Cape in the rain and wind, coming out of the match victorious. This was the first time in eight years the Auks have defeated the Vikings. They led 6-1 after the first quarter and 8-3 at halftime, ending the game with an impressive 11-6 score.

On May 14th, the girls lacrosse team scored five unanswered goals within the first few minutes and never looked back in a 17-5 win over Smyrna in the first round of DIAA State Tournament. At home on the lower turf, Archmere dominated the draws, defense was resilient, and a barrage of offensive scorers controlled the narrative against the Eagles. Ciara Knapp '26 scored the first goal for Archmere within 41 seconds of the match, setting the stage for a fast paced Archmere offense and a spot in the Quarterfinals.

On Friday, May 3rd Archmere senior softball players Ruby Merenda and Isabelle Ferris were honored at the game against Ursuline Academy. The Auks scored three times in the first inning, and they kept the bats swinging on their way to a 9-3 win at home.

On Thursday, May 2nd, the Track and Field Diamond State Athletic Conference Championships were held at the Robert Gore Stadium at Newark Charter High School. The Archmere girls team won their third consecutive conference title while the boys won the program’s first team title! In addition, our Auks broke several conference records at the meet.

Archmere senior Andy Zhu has a chance to be Delaware's second undefeated, four-time first singles boys tennis champion. Andy would be just the second Delaware boy since the state moved to its tournament format more than 50 years ago to go undefeated throughout his entire high school career. He already has three State Championships under his belt, but of this one says, "If I think too big, too far ahead, I think that can get in my head." Andy will compete to defend his title in the State Tournament on May 18th, with final rounds on May 22nd.

On April 25th the Archmere boys lacrosse team defeated Wilmington Charter 17-3, at home on the lower turf. The victory puts the Auks in control of the Diamond State Athletic Conference. Breandan Marley '24 led all scorers with six goals, Drew Duncan '24 and Aidan Mahoney '25 each scored four goals, while Reece Millison '24 added two. Goalie Zidane Brena '26 finished with five saves.

The Diocese of Wilmington St. Francis de Sales Awards Convocation for Catholic High School Seniors recognizes students for "excellence in faith development, scholarship, service, leadership and citizenship". The Convocation was held on Wednesday evening, April 24, at Holy Angels Church in Newark, Delaware, and was presided by Bishop Koenig. Ten Archmere seniors have been recognized as award winners: Anna Benner, Philip Blessington, Cecilia Connolly, Cole Fenice, Gabriela Fernandez, Matthew Guariano, Grace Koch, Elizabeth Maher, Noah Marino and Matthew Victoria.

Written by Alicia Chu '24

The YMCA Delaware High School Youth in Government (YIG) Conference took place from March 22 to 24, 2024 at Legislative Hall and Kent County Courthouse in Dover, DE. Around 150 students from across the state gathered to participate in mock legislative bill debates and mock appellate court trials over the course of the weekend.

On April 10th on the road against Conrad, the Archmere girls soccer team defeated the Red Wolves 5-0, recording their third win in a row this season. It didn’t take long for the Auks to get on the board, with Marina Mahon '25 scoring two first-half goals, and a goal and two assists by Hannah Stewart '25 to begin the game.

The girls lacrosse team remains undefeated after a victory over Saint Mark's on Tuesday, April 9 at home. The Auks came out early and strong, leading 8-1 by the end of the first quarter on their way to a 17-7 win over the Spartans. Archmere senior Bella Hughes recorded her 100th career goal in the third quarter.

On Wednesday, March 27, two teams of Archmere students competed at the State Math Meet Invitational, held in Dover. In order to qualify for the State Meet, Archmere's Math League teams competed in 4 regular season meets from October to February this year, earning excellent results. The 9th grade team won each meet and placed 1st in the region with 72 points, qualifying them for the state meet. The 10-12th grade team also won each of their 4 meets, and won the region with 107 points. 

Spanish teachers Sandra Vieyra and Janna Scheflen accompanied twenty-eight Archmere students to compete in the DECTFL World Language Showcase at the University of Delaware on Saturday, March 16. The competition is organized by the Delaware Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages to give students an opportunity to use and show off their language skills while experiencing French, Italian and Spanish/Hispanic culture through dance, athletic, music and artistic activities.

Last week the Advanced Cancer and Research Analysis (ACRA) class spent the day in hands-on learning situations at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania. Our students sat in on a resident roundtable, experienced rounds and surgery observations with Dr. Storm '86 and Dr. Kundishura, attended a lecture on AI in reading imaging from MRIs and CAT scans, and enjoyed a tour of the biorepository facility.

On Wednesday, March 13th, the Archmere College Counseling Office hosted an informative "Why Engineering" night. Led by Director of College Counseling Mr. Chris Boehm, a panel of representatives from Georgia Tech, Swarthmore, the University of Delaware and the infrastructure consulting company, AECOM, shared their knowledge with current Archmere students and their families. Guests gained a better understanding of a career in numerous engineering fields, learned about the best high school preparation for college engineering programs, and were offered explanations to the differences and similarities between STEM and STEAM.

Archmere junior Brianna Yang has been named the recipient of the USTA Delaware District's 2023 Junior Sportsmanship Award. Brianna was recognized at the Annual Awards Ceremony on February 25th at Wilmington Country Club. This award is given to a high school boy and girl who play in Delaware tennis tournaments and show exemplary sportsmanship on and off the courts. Players are selected by a committee of tennis pros, volunteers and referees.

Delaware Music Educators Association presented the All State Orchestra on March 9 at Milford High School. The concert was directed by James Allen Anderson, director of orchestral activities at the University of Delaware. Two students from the Helena Raskob Arts Institute auditioned and were were accepted into the orchestra. 

The Cappies, "Critics and Awards Program," is a program through which high school theater and journalism students are trained as critics, attend shows at other schools, write reviews, and publish those reviews in local newspapers such as The Washington Post, Cincinnati Enquirer, Dallas Morning News, Kansas City Star, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. The Cappies program brought over 50 students from the Greater Philadelphia area to Archmere this past weekend to review the winter musical production on closing night.

Ten members of Archmere's Auks for Earth Club are scheduled to attend the YES! Delaware Youth Environmental Summit on Thursday, February 29. The Summit will take place at the Clayton Hall Conference Center in Newark DE, with more than 500 Delaware high school students ready to network and share ideas about environmental action projects. Planned topics include electric school buses, food waste, climate change, wildlife and hunting conservation, clean water, plastic pollution, green careers, beekeeping, clean energy, and more.

Junior Jace Walker was selected as a student co-host for a national webinar sponsored by the National Art Education Association on February 22nd. Jace was selected by NAHS Sponsor Stephanie SIlverman '00 to represent Archmere Academy's National Art Honor Society Chapter to lead the conversation for the nationally-aired broadcast, featuring a Q&A with 9B Collective, a Concept Art Design Studio whose client list includes Marvel, HBO, Pixar, Netflix, and Nickelodeon. The webcast was recorded and will be made available to the entire National Art Education Association and NAHS Sponsors at arteducators.org.

The Archmere Swim Team competed in the DIAA Swimming & Diving Championship Finals on Saturday, February 24, 2024. The State Preliminaries were held during the week, with Finals taking place all day Saturday at the University of Delaware. The State Championship Meet is a qualifying meet, and fourteen team members of the Archmere team competed in the Prelims, at which four members of the boys team and five members of the girls team earned a spot in Finals. Elizabeth Maher ’24, Kendall Hanna '25 and Kathryn Pyne ’25 qualified for individual events for the girls, along with Melissa Doig ’25 and Aoife McGurk ’25 who competed in the relays. Logan Bustard ’25 qualified for individual events at Finals, along with Luca Anerino ’26, Declan McGrath '27 and Quinn McCormick ’25 who qualified for the relays.

Valentina Ramos '26, was awarded second prize in the prestigious international harp competition, Concours Francais de la Harpe in Limoges, France. Valentina was one of 131 contestants representing 20 countries. She wowed the judges with her jazz rendition of Lullabye of Birdland.

Congratulations, Valentina!

On Tuesday, February 20, the Archmere boys basketball team took on Concord High School at home in the Moglia Fieldhouse. This was the last regular game of the season, and the Auks took the opportunity to honor their seven seniors with a 52-49 win. The team is led by seniors Miles Kempski, Drew Duncan, Jack Dellose, Matthew Malloy, Gavin Lee, PJ Blessington, and Ryan Campbell.

Archmere senior Lucy Oliver scored her 1,000th basketball point, hitting the milestone in the first half of the game against Wilmington Charter on Thursday evening, February 16, in the Moglia Fieldhouse. Lucy is the fourth player in Archmere history to hit 1,000 points.

Congratulations to the six members of the Helena Raskob Arts Institute String Ensemble, who were awarded Superior Plus, which is the highest grade possible, at the Delaware State Music Teachers Association Ensemble Festival, held last Sunday at the Music School of Delaware. The Ensemble performers for this event were Sophia Chen '24, Michelle Zhang '24, Alex Xu '25, Ryan Dam '26, Daniel Qi '26, and McKayla Hwang '27. This was the first time a string ensemble participated in the Ensemble Festival.

In the last meet of the year, Archmere's 9th grade Math League team placed first in the meet and first in the region overall, scoring an impressive 72 points.

After four Math League meets this year, the Archmere team qualified to participate in the State Invitational, held in in Dover, Delaware. The 10-12th grade Math League team played in 4 rounds of online competition, from November to January, winning every single match and then the region with an impressive 107 points. The next team was 11 points behind.

The 2023-24 Delaware high school indoor track and field season came to a close on Saturday in Landover, Maryland. The 200 meter oval at Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex was the perfect site for the DIAA State Championship meet. After an incredibly successful season, the girls ended the indoor track season with a 6th place finish and the boys ended the season in 8th place, the highest in program history. Senior Jack Maister took 1st overall in the long jump, with a leap of 22-8.5.

On Saturday, January 27th, the Archmere boys basketball team took on Tower Hill on the road at the Carpenter Field House. With just 4:21, Charlie Malloy '25 hit a three-point shot, one of his four of the night, to give the Auks the lead. After an exciting back and forth battle, Archmere claimed the 46-38 win.

Tapestry 2023, the Archmere Academy Student Literary Magazine, has been recognized as a Superior "Distinction" magazine by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. The mission of NCTE’s REALM program is to publicly recognize excellent literary magazines produced by students with the support of their teachers. Published annually, Tapestry is a student run literary and fine arts magazine, supported and advised by Archmere English Teacher Mr. Stephen Klinge.

On January 13th in the Moglia Fieldhouse, the boys basketball team took on Indian River High School, recording their fourth straight win in a row. Senior Miles Kempski had 24 points in the 59-28 win.

Congratulations to Michelle Zhang '24, who earned the second seat for Violin II in the Delaware All-State Orchestra, and Daniel Qi '26, who was awarded the first chair for Violin I, and will therefore serve as Concertmaster for the March 9th performance. This was the first time that Archmere string students were able to audition for All-State Orchestra, as students in the HRAI String Ensemble are now acknowledged as a school ensemble.

Congratulations to Zimo Liu '25, who advanced to the national level of the Music Teachers National Association student competition as winner of the Eastern Division Piano Duet Competition. Zimo and his partner Jessica Li will compete for the national title at the association convention in Atlanta, Georgia this March. Zimo is a student musician in Archmere's Helena Raskob Arts Institute, under the supervision of Mrs. Mary Ellen Schauber.

In the Diamond State Athletic Conference opener for both teams on January 4 at the Moglia Fieldhouse, Archmere controlled the fourth quarter after a back-and-forth third to defeat Newark Charter, 40-29. After a slow start, the Auks went into the half with a 12-10 lead thanks to senior Miles Kempski's shot with 10 seconds left on the clock.

The indoor track and field team traveled to NY again last weekend to compete in the Hispanic Games at the New Balance Track and Field at the Armory. Competing against 14 other combined teams, our Auks recorded several personal bests and one school record.

The 2023-2024 wrestling season kicked off on December 9th with the Milford Invitational. With sixteen students on the roster this year, the Archmere team came out strong in multiple weight classes. Jimmy Buggy '26 made the podium at 138 pounds, placing third. Jason Suydam '26 took fifth at 126 pounds and Seamus Naughter '26 placed fifth at the 144 pound weight class.