Kera Pezzuti Named Scholar Athlete of The Year

Kera Pezzuti works hard. And on Sunday, May 15, she was honored by the NJSIAA for her hard work: She was given an award for being Montville Township High School's scholar/athlete of the year. Only one student per school per year is selected.

"I'm a very competitive person in all of my endeavors," Pezzuti said. "I always want to succeed…in academics and athletics I try to be the best."

Her softball coach agrees.

"Kera has been a player on my varsity team the past three seasons," wrote Montville Township High School softball coach John Immediato in an email to Patch. "Over the past three seasons, she was been one of the top players both offensively and defensively."

Pezzuti, a catcher, has only improved as her softball career has progressed. Immediato described her as "a dominant force at the plate."

"She is the hitter that opponents fear due to the ability to change the outcome of the game with one swing," wrote Immediato.

But the coach praised Pezzuti for more than just her athletics.

"She works extremely hard in the classroom. She is highly motivated and strives to be the best on and off the field," said Immediato. "I am so excited that she won this award."

Pezzuti likes to study history and science, but psychology is her favorite subject. She will be attending Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA, next school year, but she is not yet sure what she will study, as her interests are varied.

Pezzuti was selected after all of the coaches at the high school selected one athlete. From those selections, each student was assessed based on test scores and what types of classes they take.

"At first I was a little confused," said Pezzuti. "As I finally grasped the enormity of the award it felt really good. It was nice to know that all the hard work that I put in over the years started paying off."