156) September 1, 1993: Mrs. Maureen Clark, the Prep ' s“ strict but fair” assistant librarian, passes away after a brief illness right before the start of the 1993-1994 School Year. She had served in the Prep Library since 1979, where she was respected and loved by all.
1990s
154) February 14, 1991: St. Valentine’ s Day: At the Mother-Son Valentine ' s Dance( aka, the Mom Prom), Ricardo Maldonado, Class of 1991, and his mom, Cecilia, perform the best Vanilla Ice routine of the evening.
157) October 5, 1993: Fordham Prep officially dedicates the newly-constructed Leonard Theatre in honor of Fr. John“ Jack” Leonard, SJ. At the time of the dedication, Fr. Leonard was only 44 years into his incredible 60-year tenure at the Prep as a member of the English Department and moderator of dramatics. 159) April 1995: French exchange students Sebastian Loriette and Olivier Kontomichos take part in Emmaus 83, accompanying their American host, Daniel Kiely, Class of 1995, who had been scheduled to serve as a senior leader long before the exchange. Fr. Charles Sullivan, SJ, director of Emmaus 83, often refers to Sebastian and Olivier during his reconciliation talk retreats he leads, including Emmaus 275 which returned on April 27, 2017, Fr. Sullivan has been a part of 92 Emmaus retreats.
155) September 24, 1992: During the construction of Maloney Hall— containing the Leonard Theatre and the Hall of Honor— sparks from a welding torch start a fire on the roof at approximately 10:57 in the morning. Students, faculty and staff are evacuated to Edwards Parade for about an hour as the NYFD brings the situation under control. No structural damaged is caused. As expected, Prep boys find it difficult to refrain from the chant:“ The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire!”
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158) 1994-1995 School Year: Mr. Robert Gomprecht, Class of 1965, succeeds Dr. Cornelius“ Neil” McCarthy, Class of 1953, as Headmaster. He would remain in the position until 2015 as the longest serving headmaster / principal in school history.
160) May 3, 1995: The Fordham Prep Volleyball Team completes its first season. Mr. Anthony Day serves as the squad ' s founding coach, and seniors Alton Moore and Mark Zezza are the team ' s first co-captains.
161) May 14, 1995: Ending a 17-year drought, the Fordham Prep Track Team takes the trophy at the 50th Annual Outdoor Jesuit Championships. Todd Young and Richard Hinman, Class of 1997, take first and second in the two-mile run. Anthony Batista ties for first with a 4:48-minute mile. In the half-mile, Hinman takes first and Rob Weitzman, Class of 1996, comes in 1.1 seconds behind him. Weitzman also takes first in the 400-meter dash; Eric Sands, Class of 1996, in the 200-meter dash; and Jason Macias, Class of 1996, in the 100-meter dash. Biju Mathaikutty takes first in the 55-meter high hurdles, and Batista and Biju also take first and second in the high