Luke Carden: Drexel University Lacrosse

Malvern Prep Lacrosse has long been a high caliber team with numerous Division 1 lacrosse commits. One of this year’s commits is defenseman Luke Carden who committed to Drexel University this past year. When asked about Luke, Coach John McEvoy said, “The game for him in his head, he plays very under control. Not only is it a fast game physically in the ball movement but it’s a fast game from a decision making standpoint.  Luke seems to be very subtle… in other words, the game is moving slow to him,” “[The Malvern coaches] definitely helped me, they were calling a lot of people… throughout the summer with the Drexel Coaches.”  The lacrosse program wasn’t the only reason Drexel interested Carden. Drexel’s co-op program for business and engineering, two fields he was interested in, allow for an internship and work experience prior to graduation. It seems that whether on the field or in the classroom Luke Carden can succeed and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for him at Drexel University.

Dom Chieffalo: University of Scranton Baseball

“You know he is one of the nicest kids, but when he steps on a baseball field and steps on the mound, he’s a killer.”  That was the description from Coach Fred Hillard about University of Scranton commit Dominic Chieffalo, one of Malvern Baseball’s model players. “That’s a kid who’s gonna walk up to a freshman and make sure you are welcome and get a water ice with you after practice, but he’ll try to beat you during practice.  I think that’s something that we are constantly trying to instill in our players.” Chieffalo’s commitment to Scranton didn’t come as easy as some might think. Suffering from a torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament, a ligament along the inner arm, and with the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in March, Chieffalo missed his Junior season which took a toll on his recruiting chances. “I’ve just been trying to take it in a positive way and just become better from it. I really just made the best out of it and tried to become better at using my time wisely and just becoming a better athlete.”  Working through his Junior year injury Chieffalo was able to improve as a player and commit to Scranton this past year. Chieffalo chose Scranton over other schools mainly because of the academics, great business school, the close-knit community that his family are a part of, and the opportunity to play the sport he loves at a collegiate level.  A model for Malvern Baseball and, as described by Coach Fred Hillard, a guy that everyone wants to be around, Dominic Chieffalo is one to lookout for this year for the Friars. “I would say, just work extremely hard. There’s going to be adversity that comes your way, but it’s really all about how you respond.”

Josh Virango: Davidson College Wrestling 

It is estimated that 2.9% of highschool wrestlers will continue to compete at the NCAA level and only 1% complete Division 1. Malvern wrestling has long produced this small percentage of Division 1 athletes in a great abundance in an almost routine fashion. One of the products of this routine is Josh Virango who committed to Davidson college for wrestling this past year. “I started coming here and wrestling here and just got more serious and just kept doing it.”, and serious he was, with the help of Josh Virango and other notable athletes such as Coltin Deery and Nick Feldman, Malvern Prep wrestling was ranked 6th place nationally by Track Wrestling. Virago spoke of his commitment to Davidson over other schools saying, “Once I went and visited it pretty much eliminated all the other options and everything is so nice and like the southern hospitality, everyone’s so nice down there.” Josh left some parting advice for any other athletes who also seek to play a sport at a high level, “I would say you definitely want to keep doing it if it’s fun like you don’t want to do a sport if you don’t enjoy it because you’re not gonna get any better if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing.”