MHS SPRING SPORTS BANQUET
By: Mary Ellen Zangara
The spring season official ended with the spring sports awards banquet on June 6 at Manville High School. Athletes and their parents gathered for a dinner in the high school gym and the awards presentations. The successful MHS baseball team was a big part of the evening.
Mike Tehan, the junior varsity, coach presented the team with their awards for the season with many of them playing for their first year at MHS. Most of the team were freshmen and they included Michael Bezick, Jordan Crespo, Drew Evanylo, Bobby Hammernick, Adam Hardgrove, Aaron Janner, Shane Jurkowski, Mark Kulick, Stephen Oram, Anthony Pavolick, Dennis Petrone, Christopher Weber and Andy Zagaja. They all received a participation certificate and sophomore Tuan Anh Lee also received a participation certificate.
Steve Venuto, the head baseball coach, spoke about his varsity team then presented the awards along with principal Mary McLoughlin. The varsity team, consisting of sophomores, juniors and seniors, made the state playoffs for the ninth straight year and finished the season at 13-6.
"These kids never quit and as their head coach, I am very proud of them," Venuto said. "I am very proud of my baseball players, they had a really great season this year. They did a great job."
Venuto explained how the boys wrote a letter to the New Providence head coaches thanking them for moving the playoff game up an hour so they could attend their prom. The other athletic director told Venuto that Manville was a "first-class operation" and Venuto was very proud of his boys.
The sophomores that played varsity were Jack Calvo, Patrick Horner, Tommy Rock, Kyle Sopko, and Robert Wood. Juniors Jeffrey Opachinski and Andrew Schaefer joined senior players Steve Anderson, Greg Babich, Mike Chabra and Ernie Lukacs on this very successful team. All of the baseball players received a varsity letter and pin.
Special awards for baseball were presented to Anderson for Most Valuable Player, Rock for Most Improved Player, the Coaches Award went to Lukacs and the Highest Grade Point Average went to Chabra.