s the thermometer crept up to 88°,
14 Xaverian students tied their
blue and gold “XB” ties and donned
their navy blue sport coats, preparing
to take the field at Fenway Park. This
was Sunday, May 22, and the X-Men,
Xaverian’s a capella group, had the
once-in-a-lifetime honor of singing the
National Anthem at the afternoon Red
Sox game. It was the final performance
of the year for the ensemble, who served
pivotal roles at a variety of Xaverian
events, from the fashion show in the fall
to the gala in the spring. As a hush fell
over the crowd at their introduction,
the X-Men’s voices swelled out over the
ballpark. With a round of applause and
the rallying cry of “Play Ball!”, the game
began. What followed was a dramatic
Red Sox vs. Seattle battle that went into
the 10th inning, when the Sox finally
clinched the win, 8-4.
Congratulations to the X-Men and
Mr. Murray Kidd, Xaverian’s Choral
Director, for an exceptional year of
performances!
Pictured here (l to r) are: Back row: Joe Cucinotta ’22, Benjamin Chan ’22, Tyler Stearns ’22, Tomas
Melly ’24, Tomas Hogan ’22, Francisco Viana ’22, Nick Garland ’23, Nicolas Gill ’22, Bren Cueco ’23
Middle row: Owen Kidd ’22, Tarun Kancharla ’25, Matthew Bobola ’23, “Wally the Green Monster,”
Michael Tekaekara ’24. Front Row: Nicholas Napoli ’25
n May 20, Xaverian enjoyed
three truly special guests! Our
own Matt Hasselbeck ’93
came back to campus with his friend,
the one and only GARTH BROOKS, to
speak to our rising juniors. The talk was
put on by Garth’s “Stay in the Game”
program. It’s part of his Teammates
for Kids Foundation, through which
Garth partners with local pro athletes to
speak to students (usually at the college
level) about the importance of certain
values such as character, respect,
and discipline. Later that afternoon,
Maurice “Mo” Hurst ’13 (of the San
Francisco 49ers) Zoomed in to continue
the conversation on the importance of
hard work and finishing the year strong.
His presentation was open to all grades
and was sponsored by Xaverian’s Office
of Community, Culture, and Equity.
Thank you so much to Mo, Matt, and
Garth for inspiring our young men to
put in the hard work and be the best
teammate possible, whether on the
field, on the stage, in the classroom, or
in life.
Words of Encouragement
The X-Men Make Their Major League Debut
Garth Brooks addresses the Class of
2023
Garth Brooks and Matt Hasselbeck ’93 connect on
stage at Xaverian
Maurice “Mo” Hurst ’13 joined students in grades 7-12 via Zoom
6 www.xbhs.com