Local High School Students Honored at Scholar-Athlete Awards Ceremony

Believing that we must recognize and encourage the impressive commitment of our high school students who most excel in and outside the classroom, Congressman Joe Sestak held his fourth-annual Congressional Scholar-Athlete Program Awards Ceremony. The program honors one male and one female senior student from local high schools which 7th District students attend who best exemplify the term “Scholar-Athlete.” In the attached photograph, Joe is pictured with the winners that attended the ceremony this past Sunday, May 23, 2010.

“I believe it is important to recognize the talents and hard work of students who excel equally in academics and sports,” said Congressman Sestak. “As you may know, one of the national security pillars I strongly support is Education. I know that my own experience balancing the demands of schoolwork and athletics helped to make me who I am,” said Joe. “As these students leave high school to start careers, go to college, or join the armed services, they are well prepared to meet the challenges of the real world.”

Seventy-six scholar-athletes and their families, coaches, teachers and friends joined Congressman Sestak at the event filling the auditorium at Delaware County Community Hall with over 200 people.

The local students recognized as Scholar-Athletes are listed below:

SPRING-FORD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Matthew Dwyer of Collegeville
Varsity letter for Swimming; Swimming District Qualifier

Diana Michel of Collegeville
Cross Country and Track and Field; Cross Country All-Team

ACADEMY OF NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR
Ann Kelly of Newtown Square
Field Hockey and Indoor and Outdoor Track; All-State Indoor Track

ACADEMY PARK HIGH SCHOOL
Danté Mitchell of Folcroft
Football and Track and Field; Valedictorian

Erin Gallagher of Collingdale
Field Hockey, Track, and Lacrosse; 1st Team All Delaware Valley in Field Hockey

AGNES IRWIN SCHOOL
Alexis Caris of Aston
Varsity Volleyball and Softball; National Merit Finalist

ARCHBISHOP JOHN CARROLL HIGH SCHOOL
Emmett Filippelli of Devon
Varsity Soccer and Lacrosse; 1st Team All-Catholic

Aimee Gennaro of Havertown
Varsity Soccer and Lacrosse; 2nd Academic Honors

BISHOP SHANAHAN HIGH SCHOOL
Christopher Cusick of West Chester
Football and Track and Field; Captain Football

Mary Worrell of West Chester
Basketball; National Honor Society

CARDINAL O’HARA HIGH SCHOOL
Sean Rafferty of Broomall
Soccer and Tennis; Varsity Letters in Soccer and Tennis

Madeline Hotz of Media
Softball, Cross Country, and Track; Varsity Letters in Softball and Cross Country

CFS, SCHOOL AT CHURCH FARM
Chad Pohlig of Lansdowne
Soccer, Baseball and Basketball; Varsity Starter in Soccer and Baseball

CHICHESTER HIGH SCHOOL
Amy Hultzapple of Boothwyn
Field Hockey and Lacrosse; All Delaware Valley Honors

Robert Power of Boothwyn
All-State Swimming Team; State Champ in Breststroke

CONESTOGA HIGH SCHOOL
Jeffrey Chu of Berwyn
Varsity Lacrosse, Squash, and Cross Country; National Merit Scholarship Qualifier

COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL-SACRED HEART
Katie Dempsey of Drexel Hill
Varsity Field Hockey and Lacrosse; Captain

DELAWARE VALLEY FRIENDS SCHOOL
Ryan Jahnle of Villanova
Tennis; MVP

FRIENDS CENTRAL SCHOOL
Marc Parker of Bryn Mawr
Varsity Soccer, swimming, and Track and Field; Captain of Soccer Team

Emily Brodsky of Bryn Mawr
Varsity Basketball, Lacrosse and Varsity Soccer; Captain- Basketball and Lacrosse

GARNET VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Andrew Weber of Garnet Valley
Football, Track and Field; Football All-Central League

Katelyn Loughery of Garnet Valley
Field Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, Soccer; Ambassador Award

GERMANTOWN ACADEMY
Margot Wummer of Havertown
Water Polo and Swimming; Captain

GREAT VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Christopher Yake of Malvern
Track and Field; Captain

HAVERFORD HIGH SCHOOL
Edward Donnelly of Ardmore
Cross Country and Track; National Merit Commended Scholar

Sarah Somers of Haverford
Cross Country, Swimming, and Track; National Merit Semi-Finalist

INTERBORO HIGH SCHOOL
Bob Mulholland of Glenolden
Varsity Football and Wrestling; Track and Field; Captain – Wrestling and Track

Kellie Medendorp of Prospect Park
Cross Country and Winter and Spring Track and Field; Cross Country Team MVP

KENNEDY-KENRICK CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
Matthew Moloney of Norristown
Soccer, Baseball and Basketball; 1st Team All-Catholic

Angela Sortino of Eagleville
Volleyball, Basketball and Softball; Volleyball All-Catholic

MALVERN PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Wallace Spencer, Jr. of Boothwyn
Football, Winter and Spring Track; Indoor Track MVP

MARPLE NEWTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
Jeremy Hwang of Broomall
Swimming and Tennis; Team MVP

Kate Homa of Newtown Square
Soccer and Softball; Varsity Starter in Soccer and Softball

MERION MERCY ACADEMY
Laura Buongiorno of Newtown Square
Crew; Team Captain

MONSIGNOR BONNER HIGH SCHOOL
Michael Murphy of Glenolden
Football, Wrestling and Rugby; AP Scholar Award

Alexandra Topa of Drexel Hill
Soccer, Basketball, and Softball; 1st Academic Honors

NORRISTOWN HIGH SCHOOL
Brandon Bell of Norristown
Baseball and Basketball ; All Area American Legion 1st Teams

Shari Kluth of Jeffersonville
Varsity Softball; National Honor Society

OVERBROOK SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND
Jeffery Boudwin of Drexel Hill
Swimming, Wrestling, and Goal Ball; Varsity Letters in Swimming and Goal Ball

PENN WOOD HIGH SCHOOL
Richard Lion of Lansdowne
Football and Wrestling; Wrestling MVP

Terayah Overton of Lansdowne
Field Hockey and Lacrosse; 1st Team All Delaware Valley in Field Hockey

PENNCREST HIGH SCHOOL
Neil Campbell of Media
Cross Country and Track and Field; 1st Team All-County

Lauren Tusar of Media
Varsity Track and Field, Soccer; All-State Track and Field

RADNOR HIGH SCHOOL
Kelyn Freedman of Newtown Square
Varsity Cross Country, Basketball, and Lacrosse; All-League First Team

Jin Hwang of Bryn Mawr
Swimming, Golf and Crew; Class President

RIDLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Timothy Kirk of Secane
Wrestling; Featured in Sports Illustrated

Rebecca Donkin of Folsom
Field Hockay, Lacrosse and Basketball; Field Hockey 1st Team All-Central

SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
Alexander Furia of Morton
Winter and Spring Track; Member of Hi-Q

Morgan Russom of Springfield
Field Hockey, Track, Lacrosse, and Sailing; National Honor Society

ST. JOSEPH’S PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Stephen O’Hara of West Chester
Football and Lacrosse; Football 1st team All-Catholic

STRATH HAVEN HIGH SCHOOL
Richard Scott of Wallingford
Varsity Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track; State Qualifier in Cross Country

Katherine Loiselle of Wallingford
Cross Country and Track; Cross Country Captain

SUN VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL
Michael O’Malley of Aston
Ice Hockey, Baseball and Soccer; Citizenship Award

Danielle Volpe of Aston
Field Hockey and Lacrosse; 1st Team All-League in Field Hockey

THE BALDWIN SCHOOL
Noelle Niu of Swarthmore
Swimming and Soccer; Captain of Swim Team

THE EPISCOPAL ACADEMY
Kyle Brooman of Ardmore
Soccer, Wrestling and Baseball; Most career wins in school history

THE HAVERFORD SCHOOL
Robert Greco of Wayne
Varsity Squash; Captain of Squash team

THE SHIPLEY SCHOOL
Andrew White of Wayne
Squash and Baseball; Captain of Squash team

Jennifer Nichols of Newtown Square
Volleyball and Softball; National Merit Finalist

UPPER DARBY HIGH SCHOOL
Brendan Ryan of Upper Darby
Baseball and Golf; Rotary Student of the Month

Amanda McCann of Drexel Hill
Soccer, Softball and Swimming; Soccer team MVP

UPPER MERION AREA HIGH SCHOOL
Geoffrey Rushlau of King of Prussia
Cross Country, Track and Crew; Top Scholar

Kirtida Patel of King of Prussia
Tennis and Track; Captain of Tennis team

VALLEY FORGE MILITARY ACADEMY
Alexander Reeves of Swarthmore
Swimming and Rugby; Valedictorian

VILLA MARIA ACADEMY
Anna Zarkoski of Trooper
Field Hockey and Basketball; Junior Olympics Alternate

WEST CHESTER BAYARD RUSTIN HIGH SCHOOL
Erik Shaw of Glen Mills
Wrestling and Cross Country; Wrestling Coaches Award

Lindsay Zajac of Thornton
Varsity Tennis; Coaches Award for Tennis

WEST CHESTER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Tres Ramirez of Glen Mills
Soccer, Basketball and Baseball; Outstanding Basketball Player of the Year

WESTTOWN SCHOOL
Madison McKee of Malvern
Varsity Tennis and Lacrosse; Dorm Prefect

Erich Sirinek of West Chester
Varsity Soccer, Baseball and Varsity Basketball; Captain of Soccer, Baseball, and Basketball teams

Joe Sestak was elected to Congress in 2006 after a distinguished 31-year career in the United States Navy, and he is honored to represent the Southeastern Pennsylvania district where he was born and raised. He is a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania. During his Navy career, Joe attained the rank of 3-star Admiral, served in the White House as Director for Defense Policy on President Clinton’s National Security Council, served in the Pentagon as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, and led a series of operational commands at sea, culminating in command of the USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (30 ships, 100 aircraft, and 15,000 sailors/marines/aviators/SEALs) during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In our nation’s time of crisis in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Navy turned to Joe Sestak to serve as the first Director of “Deep Blue,” the Navy anti-terrorism unit formed in response to the attacks. Joe is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to either branch of Congress. He graduated second in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a PhD in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. Joe lives in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Alex, and proudly represents the 7th District, where his mother and many of his seven siblings still reside.

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