Coach, Mentor, and Hall-of-Famer Casey Grange '03 Receives Prestigious Service Award

Congratulations to Ms. Casey Grange '03, Assistant Athletic Director for Central Catholic High School, for being selected as a recipient of the 2023 Massachusetts Women in Athletics Distinguished Service Award! 

The MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) Women in Leadership Committee annually recognizes women who have worked with distinction on behalf of the girls’ sports in their communities with the Massachusetts Women in Athletics Distinguished Service Award (MWADSA).

The award celebrates the efforts of those whose contributions have had a lasting and profound effect on female student-athletes. 

Ms. Grange was presented with her award and recognized at the Massachusetts Celebration of Girls and Women in Sport Day on April 28, 2023 at Faneuil Hall in Boston, MA. 

For over 15 years, Ms. Grange has been a coach (basketball and soccer) and role model for countless female student-athletes, guiding them to become the women that they are today. 

"Casey's playing and coaching career are exceptional and unmatched," said Mr. Zach Blaszak, CCHS Director of Athletics and Activities. "She is one of the most successful female coaches (and coaches overall) in Central Catholic history, but it is the impact that she has had on the hundreds of female student-athletes that she directly coached herself and the countless others that she has supported that makes her so deserving of the Distinguished Woman of Service Award."

In addition to her success in soccer and basketball, Casey has become an asset to all sports, teams, programs and coaches at CCHS through her position as Assistant Athletic Director. 

"I’m honored to have received the MIAA Distinguished Women in Athletics Service Award,” said Ms. Grange. "From the time I was a student athlete at Central until now, I’ve been able to learn from the best on not only how to coach, but how to provide an environment where student athletes can be the best versions of themselves. Helping our students develop athletically, but also as teammates and leaders, is what I love most about coaching. Being able to work at Central has been a blessing, because I now get to see so many athletes, not just basketball players, find success on and off the playing surfaces."

A 2003 graduate from CCHS, Casey was a multi-sport student-athlete (soccer, basketball, softball) who was honored with the Mary Kilcoyne Outstanding Female Athlete Award at graduation. She earned a scholarship to Bryant University, where she became the first Bryant women’s soccer player to be named an All-American, and she was named to the All-Northeast 10 First Team as a senior. In 2012, Casey was inducted into Central Catholic’s Athletic Hall of Fame. for her accomplishments as a student-athlete.

 "It is hard to articulate just how much Casey Grange has contributed to our student athletes and our school culture," said Mr. Christopher Sullivan '81, CCHS President. "Thank you, MIAA, for celebrating one of the best!  Congrats Coach!"

"I’m thankful to Zach Blaszak for nominating me and to Sue Downer (former CCHS Basketball Coach, Adrianna Niles '21 (soccer/basketball who played for Ms. Grange) and Katie Kirsch '18 (played basketball for Ms. Grange/Asst. Coach during COVID) who took time to write letters of support, and also to the MIAA who chose me as a recipient," said Ms. Grange.

"I’m extremely grateful to be in the position that I am and for Zach, my fellow coaches, mentors and especially my basketball players who make my job not feel like a job at all. Having Christopher Sullivan '81 (CCHS President), Doreen Keller '71^PMA (CCHS Principal), Zach, Sue, Ernie DiFiore (former CCHS Athletic Dir.), Katelyn Andrade (teacher and coach), CCHS Board Vice Chair Lynn Anne Chase '86^SM as well as my family and friends attend the ceremony meant the world to me."