National Signing Day 2022

Four Aquinas Seniors Sign National Letters of Intent

Four of Aquinas Institute’s most gifted senior athletes signed national letters of intent to play collegiate sports at a ceremony held on Wednesday, February 2, 2022. The student-athletes included Mackenna Brown, Elena DelCorvo, Jahlil Johnson, and Angelo Palumbo.

This fall, Mackenna Brown will head to Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania to study criminal justice and sociology, and play Division II women’s lacrosse.

Mackenna began playing lacrosse in the third grade and has continued to excel in the sport ever since. She has been a member of Aquinas’ varsity girls lacrosse team since her freshman year and was named captain of the team her junior year. Mackenna’s accolades include All-Greater Rochester Girls Lacrosse Honorable Mention, and Section V All-Independent League Team and Section V All-Tournament Team honors. She played on the Western New York team in the New York State Regional Championships and earned the Dedication Award. Outside of Aquinas, Mackenna has also played lacrosse for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Mackenna shined on the soccer field as well, playing four years on Aquinas’ varsity girls soccer team and three years on the Rochester Lancers travel team.

As a well-rounded student-athlete, Mackenna has always taken the opportunity to get involved at Aquinas. She is an active member of the Women's Leadership Program, Executive Council, the Student Ambassador Program, is the cheer team manager, and an intern in the Advancement Office. In addition, Mackenna is also completing an internship with the Rochester Police Department.

Elena DelCorvo has committed to Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania to play Division II Women’s Lacrosse under Head Coach Sam Struss.

Elena has played four years on Aquinas’ varsity lacrosse team and has received awards including Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year multiple times. In the off-season, Elena has been a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes team for six years and was named to the New York State Western Regional Team in 2021.

In addition to her athletic scholarship, Elena also received a Hermann Academic Scholarship from Mercyhurst. During her time at Aquinas, Elena has received the St. Joseph the Worker Award for Community Service each year, has been part of the Women’s Leadership Program, serves as President of DECA, is a Student Government Officer, a member of the Yearbook Club, and has been on the St. Thomas Aquinas Club.

In addition to lacrosse, Elena has participated in varsity soccer, boxing, and varsity cheerleading while a student at Aquinas. In her free time, Elena is employed at Wegmans Food Markets and Ridgemont Country Club.

She plans to major in Sports Medicine at Mercyhurst, with a focus on pre-Physician Assistant studies.

Jahlil Johnson will continue his education and football career at The University at Albany, where he will study Computer Engineering.

Jahlil relocated to Rochester from Manassas, VA the summer before his freshman year. He started his high school career at Rochester Early College and after his 10th grade year, he joined the Aquinas Family.

As a student-athlete, Jahlil received numerous recognitions. He is an honor roll student, maintaining at least a 3.0 GPA and an Early Recognition Urban League Black Scholar based on his dedication in the classroom. For his hard-work and dedication on the football field he was awarded:

5x Defensive Player of the week
The Joseph Award - Defensive MVP (AQ vs. MQ GAME)
Class AA Sectional Championship - Most Outstanding Defensive Player
Section V - Class AA Defensive Player of the Year
1st team All Greater Rochester
2nd Team All NY State

He recorded the following stats for his senior season:

113 total tackles
86 solo tackles
16 TFL
7.5 sacks
1 interception
1 INT for a 75 yd TD
3 caused fumbles
18 QB Hurries
1 fumble recovery
2 blocked punts
6 Passes Defended
5 offensive touchdowns

Jahlil looks forward to continuing to grow and develop as a student-athlete at the next level at the University at Albany.

Angelo Palumbo will continue his lacrosse career as a member of Le Moyne College’s men’s lacrosse team this fall. His commitment comes at an exciting time as the team won the Division II Men’s NCAA Lacrosse Championship this past season.

As Angelo prepares to join the top DII team in the nation, he will bring with him the experience he has gained as a four-year varsity player at Aquinas. His talent as a midfielder was instrumental to the success of the Li’l Irish’s boys lacrosse program. Angelo earned New York State Regional Western All-Star Team honors and played four years of lacrosse for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Throughout his time at Aquinas, Angelo, an honor roll student, has participated in football and boxing. He has volunteered at the Aquinas youth football camps as a coach’s assistant, volunteered at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality, and also helped out at Pine Brook Elementary School in Greece. Angelo works at Wegmans Food Markets and Ridgemont Country Club.

While at Le Moyne, Angelo plans to earn his degree in management and leadership with a minor in business administration. Angelo says that like Aquinas, he looks forward to being part of a family and growing as a student-athlete.

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