2010 Senior Awards Dinner Honors Athletes

The best of Harrison's varsity athletes wore dresses or shirts and ties to Monday night's dinner, a sharp contrast to the Harrison uniforms each of them have worn for the last time.

The evening wasn't about competition, instead it was meant to honor student athletes that have dedicated their time to bettering high school athletics here in Harrison.

But there was one similarity to the athletic competitions we have come so accustomed to seeing these young men and women taking part in. The night started out with Kelly Curtis singing the national anthem to a capacity crowd.

After the anthem, Athletic Director Patricia Seligman welcomed the coaches, family members and student athletes to the dinner. After a few quick remarks about Harrison's proud athletic tradition Seligman turned the microphone over to Harrison Superintendent Lou Wool.

Wool took the stage and took the opportunity to point out the High School's brand new McGillicuddy Stadium. He reminisced about the ground-breaking ceremony for the new stadium and how he watched John McGillicuddy stand shoulder-to-shoulder next to several high school students. Wool said that what the students should take from McGillicuddy's standpoint that no matter how big or famous the students become, they should remember their roots and pledge to give back.

Next up on the podium was Harrison High School Principle Dr. James Ruck. Ruck told the students that change, such as graduation, is a good thing.

Two of Harrison's scholar athletes made speeches about their experiences as varsity team members. Duke-bound Brady Klein and future North Carolina Tar Heel Melissa Shulman each spoke about the privilege it was to get to wear the maroon and white during their varsity career.

Both Klein and Shulman spoke about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Each speaker discussed the importance of their family members, teammates and, most importantly, coaches.

The ceremony paused briefly for a chicken dinner and then Seligman pointed out the Scholar Athletic Teams, which consisted of all teams with a combined minimum 90 percent grade point average. Of the 25 varsity sports programs offered at Harrison High School Seligman was proud to announce that 20 of the teams were honored for their scholastic achievements.

Seligman then honored the ten athletes who played three varsity sports in their senior season. The ten athletes honored were: Breanne Arlotta, Jordan Brandes, Paul Buonocore, Robbie Carducci, Kathryn Hoffberg, Brady Klein, Ashley Marino, Nicole Nannariello, Emily Singer and Johnna Valentzas.

Seligman introduced all of the Varsity coaches and then turned the microphone over to the High School's assistant principal Larry Mastrota to introduce every individual senior student athlete. The athletes each received a plaque commemorating their services to the athletic program along with a pin to commemorate each season and a maroon and white "H".

Seligman gave the "Athletic Director's Award" to six deserving students. The award went to individuals who distinguished themselves as members of the Harrison High School athletic family. The recipients were: Robbie Carducci, Zach Guarnero, Bryan Merlos, Nicole Nannariello, Matt Pipitone and Alex White.

The "Spirit Award" was given to six athletes who showed an enthusiasm about sports and an ability to lift their teammates in any situation. The six spirit award winners were: Leonny Abreu, Gina Antonucci, Breanne Arlotta, Kelly Curtis, Margaret Manning and R.J. Suhre.

The "Wind Beneath my Wings Award" was given two individuals who overcame hardship to become great athletes. GiGi LoDolce was given the award because she has gone through a plethora of knee injuries and has still managed to catch every softball game during her career. Carmen Linero was given the honor because she was hit by a car on a college visit. Even though she was severally injured and suffered a multitude of broken bones, she never gave up on swimming.

Seligman gave out the "Heart and Soul Award" to seven student athletes. The award went to individuals who led by example and willed their teams to victory. The award went to: Alexandria Citarella, Marissa DeCarlo, Goh Ogura, Kathryn Hoffberg, Charles Lichtenauer, Daniel Lichtenauer and Samantha Stump.

The Sean Sheehan Scholarship went to Harrison's Mike DeLacy. DeLacy led the baseball team all the way to the section championship game. He was the team's captain and played a great defensive third base while hitting above .500 for the season.

The Dean Marantis Scholarship was awarded to Andrew Planamento, one of the captains on the wrestling team. As captain Planamneto was the best his team had to offer both on the mat and in the classroom.

Seth Morris stood in front of the room of people including his mother Helaine and awarded the Abbot W. Morris Scholarship to Paul Buonocore. The award was given to Buonocore because he showed a will to win with class and integrity. Buonocore was also respected by the community, his coaches and his teammates. Besides athletics, the senior was also a key member of the Italian Club and the math team. In the fall he will be attending the University of Virginia.

Seligman pointed out four special seniors and named them scholar athletes of the year. Emily Singer, Melissa Shulman, Brady Klein and Jarred Hodes received the award for their accomplishments both on the field and in the classroom.

The final award of the evening was for the male and female athletes of the year.

The female athlete of the year was three sport athlete Ashley Marino. Marino was a scholar athlete for both the volleyball and bowling teams and as a pitcher on the softball team she rewrote the Harrison High School record books.

The Male athlete of the year was Dennis Rinaldi, Rinaldi was the captain of both the basketball and football teams. He has been on both teams since his sophomore year. Ironically enough both Marino and Rinaldi will both be attending college in Springfield Massachusetts next year.

After the awards the students turned and watched a highlight video that showed the best in the year of Harrison sports.

Kelly Curtis book-ended the evening by singing "America the Beautiful."

Several of the athletes clearly didn't want the night to end as they stood around for nearly an hour after the final pictures had been taken, reminiscing about all of their high school careers.

Best of luck in all your future endeavors athletically or otherwise to the athletes of the Harrison High School class of 2010.

Click here for a full list of Monday night's award winners.