Maroon and White Honors Senior Athletes at June Barbeque

Track team Seniors: Jordan Claman, Sophia Rosset, Adam RossEvery season, the Maroon and White parent’s organization hosts a sports awards dinner to recognize athletes for accomplishments in their respective sports. The spring dinner, this year held on Tuesday June 5, especially honors seniors, as the spring season is their last opportunity to compete as Raider athletes. A barbeque is followed by the general awards ceremony, which recognizes seniors for their dedication to Scarsdale athletics. Individual sports teams break into smaller rooms to present sport-specific awards after the ceremony.

The Iron Man award is the first of a series of senior awards. The Iron Man honors senior athletes who have completed 12 full seasons of athletic participation, meaning they have played a sport in every high school season. The Iron Mans were awarded to Lily Steckel for Tennis, Basketball, and Lacrosse, and Jordan Claman and Sophia Rosset for 12 seasons of track and cross country.

The first of three memorial awards, the Elizabeth Timberger Memorial Award, honors an outstanding member of the Scarsdale athletic community. Elizabeth served on the board of Maroon and White prior to her untimely death, and was a friendly, supportive, and cooperative member of the board. The Timberger award is given to a senior who helps a team not as a player, but through some other form of participation. The 2018 award went to Savannah Smith, manager of boys Varsity Lacrosse.

The Nina Mooney award is presented to a senior female athlete who “displays commitment, enthusiasm, spirit, concern for others and a positive work ethic,” per Maroon and White President Beth Dell'Orto’s presentation speech. Nina Mooney, who passed away in 1991 at the age of 54 after a courageous fight against breast cancer, organized many Maroon and White events, and was loved for her kind and boisterous spirit. The 2018 award was given to Samantha Mancini, a captain and four-year varsity player for both girls Basketball and Soccer.

The Nonie Knopp Memorial Award honors Knopp, an outstanding member of the Scarsdale community, and an avid sports fan who was devoted to Maroon and White as a vice-president and chairperson for the Holiday Basketball Tournament. The award recognizes a male senior varsity player who exemplifies dedication, commitment, spirit, enthusiasm, concern for others and positive work ethic. The winner of this award was Noah Glantz, a captain of Varsity Football, who will continue his football career at Trinity College in the fall.

The Peppers Award honors Sue Peppers, the recently retired assistant principal of Scarsdale High School, as she remains closely tied to Scarsdale schools and athletics through her daughters, who were scholar athletes at Scarsdale High School. According to Dell’Orto, “combining high standards for academics, sports, and team play have always been an important part of the Peppers Family.” The female Peppers award was presented to Lily Steckel, who has distinguished herself in athletics and academics, being voted Captain by her teammates in Varsity Tennis, Lacrosse, and Basketball, as well as maintaining a level head, passionate spirit, and an impressive academic record. Steckel will attend Dartmouth in the fall.

The male Peppers award was presented to Jeremy Wolfe, who separated himself from his peers in his captainship of both varsity boys Lacrosse and Volleyball. He was also a member of the Ice Hockey Team, and played a role in founding the boys Volleyball team at SHS. Wolfe will attend the US Naval Academy in the fall.

The Scholar Athlete Honor Society Award is presented to a top male and female student who have excelled in dedication to their sport, performance and leadership on and off the field of play, performance in the classroom, with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and accomplished SAT or ACT scores. The winners of the 2018 Scholar Athlete Honor Society award are Jordan Claman for cross country and track, and Annemarie Horn for Volleyball. Claman will attend Tufts in the fall, while Horn will play volleyball at Dartmouth.

The Scarsdale Raider award, recognizes the intangible characteristics that represent the spirit of a Scarsdale Raider--- the attitude, work ethic, and leadership qualities that the sports community hopes to instill in all Raider athletes. The winners of the Scarsdale Raider Award are Sam Seltzer, captain of Boy’s Varsity Ice Hockey and Lacrosse teams, Nash Goldman, captain of boys Varsity Basketball, and Katie Reisman, Captain of Girl’s Varsity Lacrosse and member of girls Varsity Soccer.

Although the awards only recognize a select group of senior athletes, the nature of the dinner is to appreciate all seniors as they matriculate and bring a Raider pride with them in their future endeavors.

Jordan Claman of Boys Varsity Track noted that the highlight of the spring track season was finishing his 12th season on a high note by seeing “people from all track--- mid distance, sprinting, and distance--- come together”. Claman emphasized that the team’s camaraderie was nothing like he’d ever seen before, which allowed the seniors to end their seasons on a positive note. Distinguished Senior Sophia Rosset will run cross country and track and field at Washington University in St. Louis in the fall.

Baseball: Clockwise from top: Michael Green, Matt Daniel, James Conlan, Kiran Ramachandran, Daniel Beitler, Joe Weintraub, Evan Maroney, George Samwick

Evan Maroney, captain and shortstop of the boys Baseball team, noted that his favorite part of his last season was going down to Florida for spring break with the team, mentioning that it helped the team bond, work on their game, and “have a lot of fun off of the field.” The Raiders lost in the 1st round of Sectionals against Suffern, but were able to maintain a competitive season led by a strong group of seniors. Senior Michael Green will continue playing baseball at Carleton College.

Lone Senior of the decorated boys Varsity Golf team Golf: Scott GalstScott Galst noted simply that the highlight of the team’s season was “being able to compete for the section final.” The team went on to top a formidable Bronxville squad to win their 4th Section 1 title in 5 years. With a strong core of underclassmen returning next season, Scarsdale’s dominance in boys’ golf will surely translate to success in 2019.

Lily Steckel of girls Varsity Lacrosse noted that her most memorable moment of the team’s season was a win against Mamaroneck, a team that went on to compete in the Section 1 finals. She emphasized the importance of this game, noting “Mamaroneck have been our rivals since as long as I can remember, and beating such an incredible team on their home turf as a cohesive unit was an unforgettable feeling.” The girls lacrosse team experienced hardship, as their longstanding coaches were fired just weeks before the start of the season. Still, strong leadership from their seniors allowed the team to have an enjoyable and successful season, which was encapsulated in their close-fought battle against Mahopac in the first round of Sectionals.

Girls Lacrosse: Left to right: Holly Rittmaster, Lily Steckel, Maya Kulick, Katie Reisman Not pictured: Abby Glaser(image 4, lacrosse)
Left to right: Holly Rittmaster, Lily Steckel, Maya Kulick, Katie Reisman
Not pictured: Abby Glaser

Daniel Koch, one of many seniors on a large boys Varsity Lacrosse team, noted that his highlight for the season was “beating Wappingers by 14 goals”, as the team had lost to Wappingers in the Section semifinals in a heart-wrenching end to last season. The boys’ team put up impressive statistics, including a 6-0 run to begin the season. The leadership from Scarsdale’s seniors brought the boys lacrosse program to a well respected status among Section 1 teams. Senior Seth Thornton will play collegiate lacrosse at Syracuse.

Boys Lacrosse: Left to right: (top row) Noah Glantz, Nick Coeytaux, Jeremy Wolfe, Jason Lipsay (middle row) Jacob Kahan, Sam Seltzer, Daniel Koch, Mason Marsh, John Seider, Miles Rosenstadt (bottom row) Vin Franco, John Keltz, Matt Hyman, David Love, Robert Britto

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