One hundred fifty seven senior student athletes were honored for their contributions to Vineland High School athletics at the 28th annual VHS All Sports Booster Club banquet held Monday at Merighis Savoy Inn. The dinner and recognition ceremony is sponsored annually by the club, an all-volunteer group of local residents. Many club members are parents of athletes who graduated years ago but still give freely of their time and energy in support of VHS team sports. The event attracted a crowd of about 350 parents, family members and Vineland Public Schools staff and administration. Master of ceremonies was Don Robbins, Supervisor of Athletics at VHS. Guest speakers included Dr. Mary Gruccio, Superintendent; Eugene Medio, Board of Education President; and Dr. Thomas McCann, Vineland High South Principal. One of the highlights of the program was the presentation of the first Lifetime Achievement Award, suggested by Robbins. The recipient was Ernie Marcacci, one of the founding members of City of Vineland Mini Wrestling Program. Marcacci was also a member of the City of Vineland Recreation Commission for 38 years, and chairman for the past 25 years. He has also sponsored a Pigtail League softball team in the city for 35 years. I always believed in physical fitness, said Marcacci. I believe that by keeping your body healthy, in shape, eating the proper food and being a member of a team here in school, you as athletes have learned the basic fundamentals of life once you get out in the public. Because right now, your rewards are a trophy or some kind of recognition of your excellence. But when you get out into the real world, your excellence will be rewarded in your livelihood. And your livelihood depends on teamwork. I don’t care what you do to make a living, you will be involved in a team effort. Marcacci credited his wife Ruthann for support and encouragement that contributed to his success. Without her, I would have been nothing, he said. It was a special night for Marcacci because two great grandsons --- Josh Marcacci and Steve McKeon -- were among the senior athletes Assisting with the presentation of the award were Dr. McCann and Ruben Bermudez, City of Vineland Mayor. Robbins said the presentation of a Lifetime Achievement award will not necessarily become an annual tradition. We are always looking for people to model good behavior (for student athletes), said Robbins, Ernie is a person who I’ve known throughout the years that always models appropriate behavior in all that he does. This award presents an opportunity to honor someone who has done good things for the kids and the City of Vineland. Also honored was Harry Silverstein, retiring after a tennis coaching career that has spanned three decades. Teams coached by Silverstein amassed 628 career victories --465 by girls teams from 1984 to 2014 and 172 by boys teams from 2002 to the present. Silversteins girls teams were Division Champions seven times, Conference Champions four times and South Jersey sectional Champs in 2005. Boys teams were Division and Conference Champions twice. The club usually announces its Hall of Fame inductees at the June banquet. To keep the events focus on student athletes, the club held a second banquet in November to honor its new Hall of Fame selections. That group included Adina DeHainaut (swimming and softball), Erik Reissek (winter track, spring track and soccer), Rick Baruffi (baseball, golf, basketball), Dennis Sturdivant (spring track and winter track), David Rosen (posthumously- football), and the 1964 State Champion Cross Country team. The members of the Cross Country Team were James Marketto, Leon Nocito, Lee Mallory, Don Sember, Bernie Chabel, Ray DAngelo and Larry Campbell. Another highlight of the program was the presentation of the Coaches Award Winners. These are not the most valuable player awards, said Robbins. In some sports it might be the athlete that never excelled but was a team leader, at practice every day and personified what that coach wanted his team members to strive for. In other sports this recipient might be the best athlete in his or her sport, and in many cases the athlete chosen by the coach was one of a number of choices the coach had but selected this individual to represent all of the athletes from the team. The coaches were very clear in their desire to have me strongly enunciate that the following recipients are accepting these awards on behalf of and in representation of their team. The group included: John Malatesta, baseball; Eddie Thomas, boys basketball; Tanasia Russell, girls basketball; Victoria Gonzalez, fall cheerleading; Byrianna Griffin, winter cheerleading; Justin Whitaker, boys crew; Anna Ternova, girls crew; Francois Chambers, boys cross country; Jackie Askins, girls cross country; Alana Lugo, field hockey; Jamil Demby, football; Nick Calabrese, golf; Alex Ocasio, boys lacrosse; Austin Jennings, boys soccer; Stephanie Alvarez, girls soccer; Gabby Wharton, softball; Johnny Malatesta, boys swimming; Rachel Smith, girls swimming; Andrew Massaro, boys tennis; Amanda Goff, girls tennis; Xavier Malloy, boys track; D’Andra Pleasant, girls track; Ian Parr, boys winter track; Jackie Askins, girls winter track; and Nick Traverso, wrestling. Askins selection by three coaches was the first in recent memory, according to Robbins. Receiving the traditional varsity jackets were members of the State Champion 200- and 400-yard boys swimming relay team of Dominick Merighi, Eddie Parks, Mark Novatorskiy and John Malatesta. The Booster Club also awarded six $500 scholarships to deserving senior athletes. The criteria for the scholarship is to be a varsity letter winner in at least one sport, have a high academic average, and submit an essay explaining why they are deserving of the scholarship. The group included: Sarah Bennett, John Malatesta, Joshua Marcacci, Rachel Mongelluzzo, Oleksandra Ostapenko, and Amanda Smaniotto. Senior athletes were honored for their participation as follows: Triple letter winners: Jacqueline Askins, Girls Cross Country, Winter Track, Girls Spring Track; Christopher Atoki, Football, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track; Christina Baez, Girls Cross Country, Winter Track, Girls Spring Track, Athletic Academic Tutor; Tiffany Brown, Fall Cheerleading, Winter Cheerleading, Girls Spring Track; Francois Chambers, Boys Cross Country, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track; Taylor Green, Girls Cross Country, Winter Track, Girls Spring Track; Amanda Grissman, Girls Cross Country, Winter Track,Girls Spring Track; Michael Hanna, Boys Soccer, Boys Swimming, Boys Crew; TaShay Henderson, Girls Cross Country; Winter Track, Girls Spring Track; Brandon Herrera-Reyna, Boys Soccer, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track; Marlon Herrera-Reyna, Boys Cross Country, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track; Aubrie Lincks, Girls Cross Country, Girls Swimming Manager, Girls Crew; Alana Lugo, Field Hockey, Girls Basketball, Boys Lacrosse; Xavier Malloy, Boys Cross Country, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track; Ian Parr, Boys Cross Country, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track; Ankit Sharma, Boys Cross Country, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track; Otis White, Football, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track. Double letter winners: Dawn Adams, Bowling, Track and Field; Brandon Alvarez, Boys Soccer, Winter Track; Benjamin Anderson, Football, Boys Spring Track; Aria Asselta, Girls Swimming, Girls Crew Courtny Bindewald, Girls Tennis, Girls Basketball; Nick Calabrese, Boys Soccer, Golf; Steven DeJesus, Wrestling, Boys Spring Track; Devin DeLeon, Winter Track, Boys Lacrosse; Danny Diaz, Bowling, Track and Field; Corinthian Dockery, Winter Track, Boys Spring Track; Dani Fanfarillo, Girls Cross Country, Wrestling Manager; Mollie Fisher, Field Hockey, Girls Crew; Javier Gomez, Bowling, Track and Field; Aley Guzman, Girls Cross Country, Girls Spring Track; James Hague, Boys Soccer, Baseball; Ellen Harrold, Girls Basketball, Girls Crew; Jenny Henderson, Bowling, Track and Field; Audrey Henderson, Bowling, Track and Field, Kaleyia Jackson, Fall Cheerleading, Winter Cheerleading; Angel Johnson, Bowling, Track and Field; Brandon Jones, Boys Soccer, Boys Lacrosse; Nigel Lunsford, Boys Basketball, Boys Lacrosse; Johnny Malatesta, Boys Swimming, Baseball; Jose Mateo, Football, Wrestling; Delshia Matthews, Winter Track, Girls Spring Track; Dylan Mazzola, Boys Cross Country, Boys Swimming; AnaKaren Mejia, Girls Cross Country, Girls Crew; Tristin Nester, Boys Soccer, Boys Crew; Cassandra Pagan, Girls Basketball, Softball; Briana Peters, Girls Soccer, Girls Spring Track; Dandra Pleasant, Girls Cross Country, Winter Track; Jazmin Pritchett, Winter Cheerleading, Girls Spring Track; Alexandria Reyes, Girls Soccer, Girls Spring Track; Taras Romanchuk, Boys Swimming, Boys Crew; Olivia Romano, Girls Soccer, Boys Lacrosse Manager; Amanda Smaniotto, Girls Soccer, Girls Crew; Vianka Toro, Girls Cross Country, Girls Spring Track; Gabrielle Wharton, Boys Swimming Manager, Softball. Single letter winners: Brandon Abreu, Boys Lacrosse; Tyler Adams, Boys Tennis; Felix Afanador, Diving; Jounis Alomar, Football; Hugo Alvarado, Boys Soccer; Stephanie Alvarez, Girls Soccer; Brooke Ambert, Football Manager; Chris Aponte, Diving; Jolaolu Babalola, Boys Basketball; Zachary Banks, Football; Anthony Battistini, Boys Soccer; Brandon Bell, Football; Sarah Bennett, Girls Swimming; Rebeccalynn Bishop, Diving; Shaheed Black, Boys Basketball; Orion Bloise, Boys Soccer Manager; Eriq Bluitt, Football; Victoria Camp, Fall Cheerleading; Robert Carter, Boys Lacrosse; Tiffany Carter, Winter Track; Dayanna Castro, Winter Cheerleading; Alexia Clark, Girls Cross Country; James Coates, Boys Basketball; Frank Conroy, Boys Tennis; Alyssa Cruz, Girls Basketball Manager; Eric Dargis, Golf; Angelo DeCesero, Golf; Jamil Demby, Football; Jana Denby, Winter Track; Emely Diaz, Girls Cross Country, Athletic Academic Tutor; Shawn Douglas, Boys Basketball; Travis Durham, Boys Lacrosse; Daniel Dusharm, Boys Lacrosse; James Farside, Boys Soccer; Kathryn Faul, Girls Crew, Athletic Academic Tutor; Joseph Galan, Diving; Andrew Gee, Baseball; Dante Geraci, Winter Track; Bailey Giblin, Girls Soccer; Matthew Gladfelter, Boys Soccer; Amanda Goff, Girls Tennis; Victoria Gonzalez, Fall Cheerleading; Byrianna Griffin, Winter Cheerleading; Riley Guinan, Girls Crew; Eddie Gutierrez, Baseball; Lorena Hernandez, Girls Soccer, Athletic Academic Tutor; David Hoadley, Boys Lacrosse; James Isihos, Boys Soccer; Zayn Itayem, Football; Austin Jennings, Boys Soccer; Leonard Le, Boys Crew; Reno Levari, Boys Lacrosse; Nikko Leyva, Boys Lacrosse; Miriah Loatman, Field Hockey; Danielle Lugo, Softball; Rocco Lupi, Baseball; Dean Maffei, Boys Lacrosse; Bethany Malench, Boys and Girls Crew Manager; Joshua Marcacci, Boys Crew; Andrew Massaro, Boys Tennis; Nicholas Mayo, Boys Tennis; Michael McGill, Boys Tennis; Stephen McKeon, Boys Lacrosse; Brenna Mohan, Field Hockey; Rachel Mongelluzzo, Softball; Alexander Ocasio, Boys Lacrosse; Elva Ochoa, Girls Soccer; Raekwon Ortiz, Baseball; Sasha Ostapenko, Field Hockey; Michael Ostrowski, Boys Lacrosse; Austin Padilla, Baseball; Dimitri Paraskevas, Boys Basketball; Navejot Parmar, Boys Soccer; Chiara Ribaldone, Girls Crew; Ivan Rivera, Baseball; Rosalyn Rivera, Field Hockey; Kayla Rodriguez, Softball; Marilyn Rodriguez, Track and field; Angel Rodriguez, Football; Adrian Rodriguez, Football; Jason Rodriguez, Diving; Kevin Romero, Boys Spring Track; Frankie Ruiz, Boys Basketball; Tanasia Russell, Girls Basketball; Josue Santiago, Boys Cross Country Manager; Keith Santini, Boys Soccer; Ernie Scoma, Boys Soccer; Termaine Scott, Football; Layla Shakir, Field Hockey; Willie Sierra, Bowling; Amandeep Singh, Boys Soccer; Greg Slaughter, Football; Rachel Smith, Girls Swimming; Victor Terenik, Football; Anna Ternova, Girls Crew; Eddie Thomas, Boys Basketball; Nicholas Traverso, Wrestling; Jael Vaquero, Girls Cross Country, Athletic Academic Tutor; Tony Vargas, Bowling; Jacob Venditti, Baseball; Justin Whitaker, Boys Crew; Christopher Wolfe, Boys Lacrosse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The event was videotaped by VPS Broadcasting and will air on Comcast Channel 9 and Verizon FIOS Channel 41 on June 4, at 7 p.m. The program will be repeated Wednesday, June 11, also at 7 p.m. Souvenir copies of the program on DVD are available for $10 by calling Gia Messore, Communications Assistant, at (856)794-6700 Ext. 2103. ------------------------ Photos: vpscomm.org/public/06-03-14_vhs_marcacci.jpg Marcacci with Eugene Medio, left, Josh Marcacci, VHS crew team, and Mayor Bermudez. ======================================= vpscomm.org/public/06-03-14_vhs_marcacci2.jpg ====================================== Marcacci with Steve McKeon, VHS lacrosse team. ======================================= Triple Award winners: vpscomm.org/public/06-03-14_vhs_triple_awards.jpg Front row, from left, Xavier Malloy, Christopher Atoki, Marlon Herrera-Reyna, Brandon Herrera-Reyna and Michael Hanna Back row, from left, Ian Parr, Alana Lugo, Christina Baez, Jacqueline Askins, Otis White, TaShay Henderson, Taylor Green, Francois Chambers, Tiffany Brown, Ankit Sharma, Aubrie Lincks, and Amanda Grissman. ============================================= vpscomm.org/public/06-03-14_vhs_askins.jpg Askins with her three Coaches Awards. ============================================= vpscomm.org/public/06-03-14_vhs_swimmers.jpg Showing off their VHS state champion jackets to coach Brian Newton, left, and Dr. McCann, right, are Dominick Merighi, Eddie Parks, Mark Novatorskiy and John Malatesta. =======================================================
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 18:29:38 +0000
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