High school seniors who have distinguished themselves in the classroom and the athletic arena were honored on Thursday, June 1, at the annual Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Scholar Athlete Awards Breakfast held at the Country Club at Otterkill in Campbell Hall. About 275 people, including honorees, their families, school district personnel, members of the OCIAA Executive Committee and sponsors attended the event.
The keynote speaker for the morning was Luke Fedlam, a partner at the law firm of Porter Wright in Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Fedlam leads the Sports Law practice for the firm and regularly advises professional athletes and sports-related businesses.
Fedlam was a standout distance runner on the Jeff-Youngsville High School cross country and track and field teams. He finished second in the 800-meter run at the 1997 state meet.
Fedlam spoke about how what he learned as a high school athlete helped him navigate his career and life. He explained how the skills of CRAFT (creativity, resilience, autonomy, flexibility and teamwork) that athletes develop can be used throughout their lives.
Robert Zayas, Executive Director of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) also spoke at the breakfast, along with Orange-Ulster BOCES Chief Operating Officer Deborah McBride Heppes and OCIAA Interscholastic Athletic Coordinator Christopher P. Mayo.
The master of ceremonies was Warwick Valley Athletic Director Greg Sirico. Jeffrey Morgan (Eldred HS) was the recipient of the Tyler Muise Award. Middletown was the OCIAA Community Service Challenge Award winner. Valley Central scholar athlete Alix O’Connor sang the National Anthem.
The OCIAA Scholar Athlete Awards Breakfast is coordinated by the Orange-Ulster BOCES Athletic Coordinator’s Office, which is part of a BOCES cooperative service offered to school districts. The office serves the needs of the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA), the Mid-Hudson Athletic League (MHAL) and Section IX Athletic Council. In addition to coordinating the breakfast, some of the office’s many functions include scheduling interscholastic athletics, scheduling and paying officials, providing in-service courses for coaches, conducting championship contests, maintaining a website for athletic scheduling, and mentoring athletic directors.
Local Honorees:
Bryce Hollo (Chapel Field)
Valedictorian Bryce Hollo has a 98.6 average and was a member of the varsity soccer, basketball and baseball teams. Academic Honors/Extracurricular Activities: National Honor Society; Student Government; Mixed Ensemble; 124th Regiment Reenactor. Athletic Honors: Team Captain and Varsity letter for Soccer, Basketball, and Baseball; State finalist in Baseball and Basketball Community Service: School event volunteer; church maintenance. Future Plans: Liberty University to major in Biomedical Sciences.
Ashlyn Storch (Chapel Field)
Salutatorian Ashlyn Storch has a 95 average and was a member of the varsity soccer, basketball and softball teams. Academic Honors/Extracurricular Activities: National Honor Society; Class Vice President; High School President; Mixed Ensemble. Athletic Honors: Team Captain for Soccer, Basketball, and Softball; Varsity Letters. Community Service: School event volunteer; church volunteer; CCD assistant teacher; Samaritan’s Purse ministry; visit the homebound and shop for the elderly. Future Plans: Walter State, major undecided.
Colby Zupetz (Pine Bush)
Salutatorian Colby Zupetz is the Team Captain for Varsity Cross Country. Other athletic honors include Varsity Indoor Track & Field (2021 & 2022), and Varsity Outdoor Track & Field (2021 & 2022); 12 Varsity Letters; All-County Cross Country (2021). Athletic honors include National Honor Society (2021); Scholar Athlete (2018-2023); High Honor Roll (2019-2023); Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine MedAchieve Program (2021-2022); AP Scholar Award (2022); Pine Bush High School Medical Academy (2022). Colby was an altar server at Our Lady of the Assumption Church and volunteered at the annual Summerfest Celebration (2019-2022) and Garnet Health Medical Center (2021-2022). He plans to attend Penn State University to major in Forensic Science.
Samantha McKee (Pine Bush)
Samantha McKee ranks 18th in her class with a 98.7 average and is captain of the varsity swim team. Academic Honors/Extracurricular Activities: National Honor Society; High Honor Roll; 4 AP Classes: AP European History, AP US History, AP English 11, AP Literature; 5 College Classes: College Algebra, College Trigonometry, College Criminal Justice, College Business Math, and College Microeconomics; Advanced Regents Diploma, All-Honors Athletic Honors: Varsity Captain; Varsity Letters; 5-time OCCIA Team Champion; 5-time Section IX Team Champion; State Champion; School Record Breaker; OCIAA Record Breaker; Section IX Record Breaker; Division 1 Scholarship Community Service: Pine Bush Aquatic Club Volunteer Coach; Volunteer Lifeguard; Pine Bush Aquatic Club Volunteer Media Coordinator; Volunteer Swim Timer and Meet Volunteer. Future Plans: Queens University of Charlotte to major in Business and Entrepreneurship and Swimming at a Division 1 Level. She plans to start a woman-owned business.
Jude Remenar (Valley Central)
Jude Remenar rated 4th in his class with 101.4 grade point average and was a member of the varsity soccer and indoor and outdoor track and field teams. Academic Honors/Extracurricular Activities: National Merit Recognition Award; National Honor Society; English Honor Society; Math Honor Society; Rho Kappa Honor Society; Spanish Honor Society; Science Honor Society; Science Research Treasurer; Pianist; Med-Achieve Student. Athletic Honors: Captain; school record-breaker. Community Service: Student Representative for VCHS Teacher/Employee Interview Committee; Math Tutoring; Volunteer Club; Boy Scout – Assistant Senior Patrol Leader. Future Plans: Skidmore College to major in Neuroscience and follow the pre-med track to become a Neurosurgeon.
Alix O’Connor (Valley Central)
Alix O’Connor ranked 8th in her class with a 100.42 GPA. She was a member of the varsity soccer and golf teams. Academic Honors/Extracurricular Activities: Gradus Honoris National Honor Society; Tri-M Music Honor Society; Math Honor Society (Alpha Pi); National English Honor Society; Choir; VCHS Musical Production; A Cappella - Valley Central Voxtones; Future Teacher’s Club; Drama/Acting. Athletic Honors: 5 Varsity Letters (2 soccer, 3 golf); Co-Captain of 2020-21 JV Soccer Team; Member of Section IX Championship Team (Valley Central Girl’s Soccer in 2020-21 season). Community Service: Corinne Feller Memorial Basketball Tournament volunteer; Turn the Towns Teal volunteer in Montgomery and Maybrook, NY; Montgomery Food Pantry. Future Plans: Binghamton ton University to major in Musical Theatre and hope to continue Soccer on the Intramural level or Golf at the Club level.