Hopatcong Runner Chases Down Scholarship

Determination and leadership paid off for Hopatcong resident Brian DuBord.

And recently, those qualities helped him get paid.

DuBord, a Sussex Tech senior, won a New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association scholarship, one of 335 scholar-athletes honored at an annual luncheon.

DuBord was an "excellent leader," cross country head coach Ted Dembowski said.

"I made him captain of the cross country team this year and he goes above and beyond in his fieldm," the coach said. "He's always studying on his own to learn about running and finding better ways to improve."

Dembowski said he coached DuBord, who also competes in track and field, for three years.

"Great kid," Dembowski said. "Well-round, intelligent. Good athlete."

DuBord was accepted into Stevens Institute of Technology, Dembowski said.

“I think this annual awards program is everyone’s favorite event on the NJSIAA calendar,” NJSIAA Executive Director Steve Timko said. “It epitomizes our organization’s core mission, which is to provide education-based interscholastic athletics which support academic achievement, good citizenship and fair and equitable opportunities for students.

“The scholar-athletes we recognize at this luncheon are among the highest-achieving, most athletically-talented high school students in New Jersey,” Timko said. “They are a credit to their schools, their families and their communities, and the NJSIAA is proud to honor them.”

The scholarships, donated by NJSIAA corporate sponsors and other organizations supportive of high school sports in New Jersey, are awarded by random drawings.

All the scholar-athletes’ names were entered in the drawings for all scholarships for which they were eligible. While some scholarships were only available to students attending schools in specific counties or participating in specific sports, most were offered statewide to students in all sports. Athletes could win just one scholarship each.