Greeley Senior Athletes Honored with Awards at Year-End Dinner

Senior athletes in each one of Horace Greeley High School's teams were honored earlier this week at the Greeley Sports Boosters' annual Senior Awards Dinner.

The dinner, held at the Marriott in Tarrytown, included words from coaches, a video montage featuring highlights from the past year, and awards for seniors who got Most Valuable Player (MVP) status, as well as special recognition.

The dinner was also a tribute to Frank and Beth Francese, the outgoing president and treasurer of the Boosters. The couple received the first-ever Greeley Spirit Award, which will be known in the future as the Francese Spirit Award.

The parents of three (including senior, Katelyn, who won two honors at the dinner), the two have been involved in various groups locally, including programs at Greeley and at the New Castle town recreation level.

Jim Nottingham, who will succeed Frank Francese, praised the couple as "the driving force" keeping the boosters going.

Other notable honorees included senior basketball star - and this year's valedictorian - Matt Townsend, who won both MVP for his team, and the Torrey D. Dodson Award for senior scholar athletes, and Yanna Jackson and Rosemary Li who not only both won MVP for girls basketball and girls tennis (respectively), but won the Elizabeth Todd Eldon Award, for female senior-athlete, and the Jeanne B. Irwin Award for female scholar athlete.

Also, Jessica Kreisler won two MVP awards (for girls soccer and girls lacrosse), as well as being co-recipient of the Elizabeth Todd Eldon Award, along with Jackson. Taegan Clarke won MVP for boys swimming and diving, and the Nicholas J. Perrelle Award, for male senior athlete. Emma Pile won MVP for both girls cross country and girls track and field.

Below is a full list of the winners, provided by Greeley Athletic Director Stephen Young:

Girls’ Swimming and Diving:

MVP – Anna Augustinos

Girls’ Tennis:

MVP –  Rosemary Li

Special Recognition – Carly Brooks, Kristin Chu

Volleyball:

MVP – Sarah Strickberger

Special Recognition – Jessica Tessler

Boys’ Soccer:

MVP – Nicholas Giannasca

Girls’ Soccer:

MVP – Jessica Kreisler

Special Recognition – Corinne Bortniker

Field Hockey:

MVP – Katelyn Francese

Girls’ Cross Country:

MVP – Emma Pile

Boys’ Cross Country:

MVP – James Cranston

Boys’ Basketball:

MVP – Matt Townsend

Girls’ Basketball:

MVP – Yanna Jackson

Indoor Track:

MVP – Jon Abrams

Boys’ Bowling:

MVP – Bobby Macente

Special Recognition – Jonathan Schwartz

Girls’ Bowling:

MVP – Maria Vlock

Special Recognition – Molly Pickel

Boys’ Swimming and Diving:

MVP – Taegan Clarke

Special Recognition – Jake Rosenbloom

Girls’ Skiing:

MVP – Samara Shutkind

Boys’ Skiing:

MVP – Daniel Oliver

Special Recognition – Aaron Warner, Andrew Park

Wrestling:

MVP – Brace Porter

Special Recognition – David Olonoff

Girls’ Track and Field:

MVP – Emma Pile

Boys’ Track and Field:

MVP – David Sheinfeld

Boys’ Lacrosse:

Special Recognition – Joe Hinderstein, Gabe Weissman, Brian Dubs

Girls’ Lacrosse:

MVP – Jessica Kreisler

Special Recognition – Courtney Hill

Baseball:

MVP – Michael Guillaro

Special Recognition – Steven Haynes

Softball:

MVP – Hannah Marks

Special Recognition – Katelyn Francese

Boys’ Tennis:

MVP – Ben Gilman

Jeanne B. Irwin Award (female scholar-athlete) – Rosemary Li

Torrey D. Dodson Award (male scholar-athlete) – Matt Townsend

Nicholas J. Perrelle Award (male senior-athlete) – Taegan Clarke

Elizabeth Todd Eldon Award (female senior-athlete) – Jessica Kreisler, Yanna Jackson