Irving-Marshall Week is Here

It’s Irving-Marshall Week, and the campus is splashed with blue and gold and red and white.  Banners hang from buildings and trees, lunch is a chaotic 30-minute scramble interrupted by loud cheers, and the excitement is tangible —sound familiar?  Though it probably dates me to write this, I must say that compared to how I remember it, the spirit seems a little lackluster this year. Allow me to share a brief story to explain.

Some of you no doubt recall that the dining hall is divided during Irving-Marshall Week. I normally sit with Rev. Paul Galey, but he’s on the Irving side of the room—so I had to move, of course. At lunch one day, I asked each member of my Marshall table what he/she planned to do for Marshall, and there was only one—ONE—student who said he was going to play volleyball. Everyone else said they planned to cheer. While cheering is certainly an essential part of the week, I was stunned by the lack of enthusiasm and immediately asked why they couldn’t play and cheer? My rant of “Well, when I was a student here, I played volleyball, shot skeet, played badminton, and swam…” was met with blank stares and a “Ms. Flanagan, can I get up to get a salad?” (Side note—it was decided to forgo the badminton competition this year to add a bowling challenge that doesn’t even count for points! What’s up with that?)

At the risk of being labeled one of those old people who can’t get over their glory days, I felt a personal responsibility to share with today’s students what Irving-Marshall Week is all about—dressing up with your friends, competing in a sport you’d never play otherwise, cheering until you’re hoarse, and VICTORY.  Do you remember when?    

Jenn Flanagan ’99

P.S. Go Marshall!

P.P.S. View our Irving-Marshall flash!



March Madness Approaches for Mercersburg Alum


Alex Tyler '06, a starting forward for Cornell, helped lead the Big Red men's basketball team to its first Ivy League championship in 20 years. Nearly 100,000 results appear when Googling "Alex Tyler Cornell." USA Today, the New York Times, and ESPN have chronicled his prowess on the court.

Cornell is undefeated in the Ivy League this season and 20-5 overall. The March 1 victory over Harvard gave Cornell an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins March 20 and 21. For more on Tyler's team, visit Cornell's site, where you can also view Tyler's bio.

Tyler, of Clear Spring, Maryland, is the youngest of seven children—and he may not be the only Mercersburg graduate participating in March Madness this season; Romone Penny '03 is a guard at  American, the Patriot League's regular-season champion. The Patriot League awards an NCAA Tournament bid to the winner of its postseason tournament (the championship is March 14 on ESPN2).

A Challenge: Going Green


This winter, Mercersburg is one of more than 30 independent schools participating in the Green Cup Challenge. In the competition, the school is monitoring its campus electricity usage on a weekly basis, with two goals: to decrease energy used by at least 10 percent over similar historical periods, and to beat the other 30 schools in the challenge (including MAPL rivals The Lawrenceville School and The Hill School).

In the past, Mercersburg has held on-campus Green Team electricity challenges pitting dorms against one another for prizes, but this challenge is much larger. Begun at Phillips Exeter Academy, the Green Cup Challenge expanded to other schools in 2006. Mercersburg is proud to throw its eco-hat in the ring this year. In doing so, the challenge becomes not just a student effort, but a full community effort—so the impact and potential for education are that much greater.

The Green Cup Challenge launched Friday, January 25, with a video created by Green Team members. Visit the Green Cup Challenge website to see it, as well as videos from other competing schools.

Track and Squash Highlight the Winter Sports Season

Winter Track –

At the Pennsylvania State Indoor Track & Field Championships held March 1 at Penn State University, James Finucane ’08 placed 5th in the mile in a time of 4:20.58, earning a State Championships medal.

The time was a lifetime best in the mile for Finucane.  His time is the second fastest ever run by a Mercersburg athlete, indoors or outdoors, in the 100-plus year history of the track & field program.  This was the highest finish in the State Championships for an athlete from the Mercersburg Winter Track & Field team.

James’ sister Lena Finucane ‘09, a first time qualifier for the meet, placed 13th in the mile in a time of 5:22.92

Also qualifying for the meet were Whitney Matthew ’08, in the 200m dash and Asia Walker ’09, in the 60m dash.  Matthew and Walker joined forces with two ninth graders, Deborah Adjibaba ‘11 and Kayleigh Kiser ‘11, to compete in the 4 x 200m relay.  This marks the first time Mercersburg has sent a relay team to the State Championships.


Women’s Squash –

Mercersburg's women's squash team won the 2008 National High School Division V Squash Championships Feb 8–10 in New Haven, Connecticut. It's the first championship for the Blue Storm in the four-year history of the national event.

Mercersburg defeated Bronxville (7–0), Bryn Mawr (4–3), and Episcopal (4–3) to take the title. Rachel Greenberg ’08, Mary Lancaster ’08, and Lucia Rowe ’09 all compiled perfect 3-0 marks during the event. In the final, Greenberg, Lancaster, Rowe, and Emily Carl '08 all posted victories to give the Storm the title.

"All our players played beyond themselves in [the final] match," said Wells Gray, the team's head coach. "This victory is truly deserved."

Student Travels


Costa Rica – For the fourth consecutive year, students will travel to the Cloud Forest School near the rainforests in Monteverde in Costa Rica.  Led by Trini Hoffman, they will experience the rainforest ecology, while engaging in community service projects to help the school.  They will stay with local families,  practicing Spanish with native speakers.

England Arts–Laurie Mufson and Jim Applebaum lead this travel program in which arts students experience art, music, theatre, and dance from the Renaissance to contemporary times in and around London, England.  They will spend 10 days exploring the history of the arts as they developed in England, making cultural connections through and across the arts, literature and history.

France AP Studies–For the second year, the John H. Montgomery Program Award for Senior Field Study in France will send students from the AP French 45 course to France as an extension of their coursework at Mercersburg. Led by Heather Prescott, the travel program is planned to complement the students’ academic research focus areas

South Africa–Led by Jeff Pierce and Denise Dalton, students will encounter peoples, cultures and societies foreign to our own, while enjoying the unique habitat and wildlife of southern Africa.  Students will examine the history of colonialism, imperialism, racism, apartheid, and resistance in the region.  They will explore the cultural legacy of South Africa and Swaziland through dance, song and other art forms, and interact with Xhosa, Zulu and Swazi people through urban and rural community visits.

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Volunteer Managers for Young Alumni

Jenn Flanagan ‘99
assistant director of alumni and parent programs
volunteer manager for classes 1988–2002
717-328-6141  flanaganj@mercersburg.edu

Jessica Glass
assistant director of alumni and parent programs
volunteer manager for classes 2003–2007
717-328-6140  glassj@mercersburg.edu