On Monday, June 2, the Arthur L. Johnson Athletic Department held their 2014 Senior Athletic Awards. The evening, sponsored by the Crusader Athletic Booster Club, was held at the Westwood in Garwood.
All the senior student athletes, their athletic teams, and their seasons were highlighted by their coaches while handing out plaques and awards to the student athletes. More than 100 senior athletes were handed out a “Booster Club Achievement Plaque,” which signifies all of the sports programs that the senior athlete participated in throughout his or her high school career.
The program continued with the acknowledgements of all of the student athletes that will be continuing their academic and athletic careers playing the sports they love in College. The following Arthur L. Johnson High School Seniors will continue athletic careers at the collegiate level: ToniRose Alicea (Moravian College – field hockey); Vincent Banek (Bentley University – football); Mike Boulanger (Arcadia University – baseball); Catie Cailguire (Montclair State University – Field Hockey); Jacob Egner (Union County College – lacrosse); Joe Francisco (Rutgers University – lacrosse); Steven Kotowski (William Patterson University – bowling); Joe Lomeli (NJIT – lacrosse); Joe Massarelli (xxx – baseball); Maura Moran (Hobart-William Smith – field hockey); Steven Paterno (Franklin and Marshal – Wrestling); Giovanni Petracca (Rutgers Newark – soccer); Michele Pozyc (Drew University – field hockey); Charlie Riechers (Raritan Valley – baseball); Bryant Silva (John Jay College of Criminal Justice – soccer); Shannon Sokolow (St. Francis – swimming); Bobby Weisensee (Gettysburg College – track & field)
The evening culminated with the announcement of multiple awards and scholarships.
The first award of the evening was given “For Unselfish Contributions to Johnson Athletics.” It was presented to: Ralph Benardo, Clark Township recreation director.
The next award that was given out was the “Crusader Spirit Award,” which is an award that recognizes a student athlete that demonstrated enthusiasm and inspiration while contributing to Crusader Athletics through various forms of school spirit. It was presented to: Marc Roessle.
The Michael Murray Memorial Scholarship is given in memory of Michael Murray Sr. Murray received his B.A. in physical education from Kean University, where he played baseball for four years and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 1984. Murray also had a distinguished career in the newspaper industry. When his minor league baseball career came to an end, Murray became a sportswriter for the Daily Journal in Elizabeth. He worked his way up to become the newspaper’s sports editor in 1988. He later was promoted to the job of assistant managing editor for the Daily Journal. Murray then moved on to the Star-Ledger in the mid-1990s, where he thrived in his coverage of Union County sports. In addition, he was a renowned Little League Coach in Clark for his sons and was a partner in East Coast Conditioning, for the past three years, and worked to build the baseball academy program, which he dearly loved. In 2007, Michael Murray was inducted into the Union County Baseball Hall of Fame. It was in his honor that we presented the first annual Michael Murray Memorial Scholarship Presentation at the Senior Athletic Awards to Vincent Fischetti.
The Jeffrey Felter Memorial Scholarship Presentation is given to one senior baseball player each year. Its origin began on May 9 of this year as the baseball team, led by Coach Dave Kennedy, honored our 1974 alumni with a 40th Year Anniversary of the 1974 State Sectional Championship Baseball Team. That day was highlighted by the announcement that our alumni would be donating a scholarship in honor of one of their classmates that had passed away. The 1st Jeffrey Felter Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Michael Boulanger.
The U.C.I.A.C. Frank J. Cicarell Memorial Scholarships are given to multiple deserving student athletes. Frank J. Cicarell was most remembered for was his impact on the student athletes, as he was the driving force that made athletics in Union County what they are today. In fact, the Union County Tournaments are still named after him to this day. The recipients were Joe Lomeli, Maura Moran, and Victor Rizzuto.
Booster Club President, Scott Bohm, next presented the ALJ Booster Club Outstanding Athlete Awards and Book Scholarships. The recipients for the Outstanding Athlete Awards were: (female athlete) Gianna Rebosio and (male athlete) Joe Francisco.
The recipients for the Book Scholarship were: (female athlete) Nicole Resetar and (male athlete) Bobby Weisensee.
Finally, former Athletic Director of Arthur L. Johnson High School, Carl Peterson, presented the Thomas Santaguida Sportsmanship Scholarship. The Booster Club recognizes Tom Santaguida for all his efforts and professionalism while serving as the Athletic Director at ALJ for six years. Santaguida was a model of sportsmanship, ethics, and integrity and an example for all of us to follow. In his memory the ALJ Booster Club annually awards scholarships to students who exhibit the qualities that Santaguida was so well known for. The recipients always treated teammates with respect, they won and lost with dignity, they respected the judgment of officials, and accepted seriously the responsibility and privilege of representing Arthur L. Johnson and the communities of Clark and Garwood.
The recipients for the Thomas Santaguida Sportsmanship Scholarship were: (female athlete) Michele Pozyc and (male athlete) Kyle O’Connor.
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