Hopatcong's Van Beke Earns Huge Honor

Stephanie Van Beke was a child when she was in a car accident that left her father in a coma for weeks. She hopes someday to be like the people who aided her dad when he needed it most.

"I saw how much they were helping him and I said, 'This is it, I want to do something like this,'" Van Beke said.

Van Beke was named 's 2011-2012 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The strong character Van Beke has displayed on the field and in the classroom will help her reach her goal of becoming a physical therapist, Chiefs head girls soccer coach Hilary Gorzelnik said.

"She's just an all-around great kid," Gorzelnik said.

Hopatcong girls track head coach Peter Oesen agreed.

"She works hard," he said. "She's just a good, all-around hard-working student-athlete. She's a nice girl and she works hard.

"Her strength is that she's a very conscientious student. It's clear that she wants to do well."

Van Beke said she was surprised when Hopatcong High School Athletic Director Tom Vara told her she won the award.

"I felt very honored," she said.

Van Beke's accomplishments read like a grocery list of impressive feats. The National Honors Society member is ranked within the top 8 percent of her senior class. An impressive track athlete and cheerleader, Van Beke has also volunteered more than 100 hours to community service and is part of Hopatcong's prom and yearbook committees and is a student council treasurer.

"She always studies first," Gorzelnik said. "Education is first and foremost before athletics."

But Gorzelnik said the soccer field has provided several defining moments for Van Beke, 18.

Van Beke volunteered to become the Chiefs goaltender when nobody stepped up for the job, Gorzelnik said. And not only did she learn the position, Van Beke became one of Sussex County's top netminders during her senior year, the soccer coach said.

And then there was the game against Morristown Beard last fall. Van Beke suffered a bloody nose when an opposing player fired a shot within 5 yards of the goal. But Van Beke, energized by her team's performance, refused to leave the game.

"I had never seen my team play as hard as they did," she said. "Even though I was injured I was not getting off that field."

But despite her soccer prowess, cheerleading is Van Beke's first love.

"I've done it since I was in kindergarten," said Van Beke, who also competes in the javelin, discus, shot put and triple jump in track. "I love tumbling because it's exhilarating and I love the nervousness before the competition. It's a 'I hope we win' nervousness. And the crowds are so much bigger than the other sports I play in. I like showing people how individualized [the Hopatcong Wildcats] are as a cheerleading team."

With the honor, Van Beke, will compete against other Sussex County student-athlete nominees for a United Way scholarship.