On Thursday, May 16, Central Catholic High School held the Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2024. The commencement address was given by Mary Ann Morrison, Jim Sicker, and John Weeks, three retiring Central Catholic teachers, who collectively served the Crusaders for more than 100 years.

Wednesday, May 17, the class celebrated their Baccalaureate Mass at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church with multiple priests from the Diocese of Youngstown.

Bennett Balko
Brennan Betz
Julia Biedenbach*+
Xavier Biedenbach*
Daniel Boron
Emma Bourquin
Lalah Brandon
Ella Bullock*+
Brigid Burke*+~
Sarah Buwala
Caroline Crane*
Makaylah Davis
Dominic DePasquale*+
Giovanni Di Sabato
Hannah Dolan*
Louis Eaglowski IV
Ella Eberhardt*
Violet Ellerbrock*
Emery Evans
Elise Faltay
Jenifeer Flores
Emma Fox*+~
Ella Frabotta
Layla Fritz
Zachary Gall-Montgomery~
Lily Goehring*+
Gabriel Grisez
Nicholas Hallaman+
Elizabeth Heck
Madison Heiser*+~
Maxwell Held*+~
Rylan Hellyer
Jack Hopkins*+
Christian Icaza
Chace Johnson
James Kane
Morgan Knight
Camille Layman*+
Gavin Layman
Nicholas Luchitz+~
Joshua Maio
Analisa Manson*+
Luke Marsh
Zoey Marsh*
Laureli McMahon+~
Sophia Montgomery
Andrew Neal+~
Lauren Neisel*+
Tanner Perkins
Luke Pieper
Jordan Puperi
Fernando Reyes
Lexie Rich
Allison Ries
John Shew+~
Timothy Short, Jr.*+~
Timothy Sieber*+~
Chloe Slease
Josaphyna Stevens*+~
Sydney Turner*+~
Alicia Varacky*+~
Paige Watters*+~
Annalise Winkhart*~
Philip Yingling*+

*Twenty-six students earned an Academic Honors Diploma. To receive this distinction, students must take courses exceeding the state graduation requirement. Students must take 4 math credits, 4 science credits including 2 advanced science courses, 4 social studies credits, 3 credits of a language, 1 credit of fine arts, a 3.5 or higher GPA (one a 4.0 scale), and an ACT score of 27 or higher. Those students are noted with an asterisk.

+Twenty-four students were presented with gold honor cords acknowledging their academic excellence. These students maintained a 4.0 or above grade point average throughout their four years at Central Catholic. Those students are noted with a cross symbol.

~ Sixteen graduates qualified for the President's Education Award for Educational Excellence. This distinction is given to seniors who have maintained a 3.5 or better grade point average for 7 semesters and have received a score placing them at or above the 85th percentile on a nationally recognized standardized college admissions exam. Those students are noted with a tilde.

Each year the outstanding athlete(s) from the graduating class receives the John McVay Award, the 2024 recipients were Daniel Boron and Sydney Turner.

Sydney Turner is the daughter of Suzanne & Jeffrey Turner. She attended St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Elementary School. Sydney and her family are members of St. Michael Parish. Daniel is the son of Christine & Donald Boron. He attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic Elementary School. Daniel and his family attend St. Mary Catholic Church.

The Tower of Light Award is given to the graduating student who best exemplifies the qualities of leadership, Christian witness, involvement, dedication to Central Catholic, and service to others. The Class of 2024 Tower of Light winner is Lauren Neisel.

Lauren is the daughter of Bridgette & Steven Neisel. She attended St. Paul Catholic Elementary School. Lauren and her family are members of St. Paul Parish.

Class Salutatorian notes the student in the graduating class who has the second highest grade point average. This year, Timothy Short, is the Class of 2024 Salutatorian.

Timothy is the son of Jennifer & Timothy Short. He attended St. Paul Catholic Elementary School. Timothy and his family are members of St. Paul Parish.

Class Valedictorian is the honor reserved for the student with the highest grade point average. The 2024 Valedictorian is Paige Watters.

Paige is the daughter of Shawn & Matthew Watters. She attended St. Paul Catholic Elementary Catholic School. Paige and her family are members of St. Paul Parish.

The Crusaders are pleased to announce that, as of commencement, the Class of 2024 has received nearly $7 million in scholarship offers to colleges and universities nationwide.