By Katie Vasquez
In the halls of St John’s Prep, Julian Cruhigger stands out, mostly because he’s always willing to help others and be supportive.
“I’m a very outgoing person, so, like, I could talk to anyone,” Cruhigger said. “I’m a social butterfly, as my parents say.”
He brings that same energy to the field as a varsity baseball player.
The outfielder was selected as one of the two seniors representing the Queens school as part of the Captains’ Club.
“It was an honor to be chosen for that by my school,” Cruhigger said.
The program, which is sponsored by the Diocese of Brooklyn Catholic High School Principal’s Association, started this year to remind athletes of Catholic values, sportsmanship, and leadership.
“We felt that,” Maria Johnson, the Principal at St John’s Prep, said. “Just bringing them together, understanding community, understanding that. “Prayer plays a big role. Understanding that winning was not the priority, but being a team on and off.”
Julian believes bringing prayer back to the sport has been beneficial.
“I always go to God,” Cruhigger said. “So just relying on him and bringing him back into the sports was very key just for us as a team in general.“
His teammates say he was the perfect pick for the school.
“He’s a great leader,“ said Aaron Gilden, a teammate. “I’ve he’s always one of those guys where if he comes off the bench in baseball, he’ll deliver. He’ll always be social with someone.
“We always play baseball with our whole lives with each other, and he’s just a good, funny kid, very smart, intelligent on the field,“ said Evan Montayas, another teammate. “He’s a good leader, vocal, very good teammate. Need him, need him on the team.”
Even though he will graduate this year, he is happy that he was able to serve a higher purpose in his final year.
“I know for me at least, if I had a teammate that cared and just lifted me up all the time, that’s the person I want to be.“
Members of the club also meet once a month on Zoom to discuss how to be better leaders.
Next year, the Catholic High School Athletic Association plans to use a video service to instruct coaches on the values that must be implemented within the teams to improve players’ faith.