By Mary Ellen Zangara, Special Writer
Scott Alpizar and Dana Mortensen were named 2010 Athletes of the Year at Manville High School this spring.
Mr. Alpizar is now a student at the University of New Haven in Connecticut, and Ms. Mortensen is a student at Raritan Valley Community College. Mr. Alpizar earned eight letters during his MHS career with three in football, two in wrestling and three in track.
”I’m honored to have been selected for this prestigious award. I’ve been lucky enough to receive many awards during my time at Manville High School involving athletics, but this one is most memorable,” he said.
”I wasn’t expecting it at all, which was why it came as such a surprise. This is an award that I will never forget. The plaque will be cherished for a long time and used to always remind me that no matter how tough the challenge, if I can rise to it, it’ll all be worth it in the end.”
Mr. Alpizar had a slight thought that the Athlete of the Year could be him but was not sure.
”I had glanced over the program and saw the award listed towards the end of the night, but when I thought about it I felt that even while I had a chance, it wouldn’t be me,” he said.
”My favorite sport to play was definitely football. It was just the most fun. Being able to hit people for three hours a night was awesome, and it was the first high school sport I ever experienced. I don’t think I would have done any sports if I hadn’t started with football,” he said.
” My most memorable sports experience at MHS had to be during the wrestling season of my senior year. It’s a night that won’t soon leave my mind. It was senior night for our home match against Bound Brook,” Mr. Alpizar said.
”I remember looking out into the crowd as we were mentioned and realizing that it was much larger than usual. There’s always the rivalry, but for me it was a personal match. My opponent had just dominated me 4-2 on the previous Saturday, so this was a chance for revenge. So when my weight came up, I was ready. We had a back-and-forth match, but in the third period I managed to put him on his back. I couldn’t even describe how loud the gym was when the whistle blew and I pinned him. There’s nothing that can top that night for me.”
It was tough for Mr. Alpizar to decide on his best/favorite moment during his MHS senior year.
”I had many great moments during my senior year, one of them being that Bound Brook wrestling match,” Mr. Alpizar said. “But some of the others include our overtime North Warren football game, even though we lost; our Thanksgiving football game against Bound Brook; and the fact that our 4-by-400 relay team made it to states in track,” he said.
”But my best had to be during the state meet, where I ran a personal best in my race, finally under 55 seconds, which I was waiting for all season.”
Mr. Alpizar has also received the MHS Scholar Athlete award for all his seasons of football, wrestling and track.
”As of right now I’m not considering playing any sports in college. If I was going to play one later on down the line, it would be track. However, I do plan to use the recreation center often as well as all of the sports clubs that they offer in order to keep doing the things that I enjoyed for the past four years.”
Dana Mortensen earned a total of 10 varsity letters, two in soccer, four in basketball and four in softball.
”I was so happy when my name was called out for the top Female Athlete of 2010 to represent MHS. I have been a varsity player in soccer, basketball and softball since I was a freshman. To be selected for this award meant to me that I have excelled and have succeeded at my passion for playing high school sports,” she said.
”I have always been recognized for my athletic ability and competiveness by my coaches and athletic director(s) since my freshman year. To have continued this recognition through my senior year has been really great. I feel that all the hard work and dedication to my teams have paid off. I feel that all my hard work and dedication to my sports has given me a great sense of accomplishment … . To be recognized for all that I have contributed to athletics is a nice touch. This award would be the summation of my athletic career and it shows the value that sports has played in my life. Coming from a family of athletes, this is quite an honor!”
Ms. Mortensen was also hoping for the award was for her but she had a little doubt, too.
”To be quite honest, I love playing sports and being competitive, so I thought I would have a shot at it,” she said. “Since I was voted Most Athletic in the fall by my peers, out of all the other good female athletes in our senior class, I was thinking maybe the committee would consider me for this honor. When we were at the Senior Scholarships Ceremony and I started getting scholarships from the Roundball Club, the Booster Club and the Manville Area Federal Credit Union, I thought maybe my talents would lead me to the final award which was the Athlete of the Year Award.
”Since I was ranked ninth scholastically in my graduating class, I thought I might have a good chance of being recognized for my athletics as well. When I was given the female athlete of the year honor, it put a nice finish on my high school athletic career and I felt I was being recognized for all that I have accomplished for myself and my teams,” she said.
For Ms. Mortensen, her favorite sport was soccer.
”My passion will always be soccer. I have prided myself on my ‘sweeper’ position. I loved to slide tackle my opponents and then get up and get the ball back for our team,” she said. “Coach Shannon would come up to me before each game and ask me: ‘Are you sure you don’t want to play forward, we need your aggressiveness up front? We need you to put the ball in the net for us.’
”Each time I would say to her, ‘Coach, I love to play defense.’ You do not get a lot of credit on defense, since you are not the one scoring the goals, but I believe defense wins games,” she said. “Coach knew I needed to get the ball up to the forwards and also be there to defend our goal. I feel that is where I would help out the team the most. I loved defense. I feel I have perfected the art of slide tackling my opponents over the years and coming up with the ball for offense in soccer. In basketball I loved playing guard and in softball playing centerfield and diving for the ball.”
When asked about her most memorable sports experiences at MHS, Ms. Mortensen gave a few words on each of her sports.
”Soccer my sophomore year coming back from a pre-season injury and starting at forward and scoring the first goal to get our first win of the season against Dunellen which we won 5-0. During another game, scoring on a penalty kick to tie the game! Receiving Coaches Award in my junior year and being named Second Team All Conference,” she said.
”In basketball it was dominating on defense by upsetting South Amboy in the first round of the NJSIAA Tournament. In just three quarters of play scoring 17 points, eight assists and six steals in junior year to win our first game by beating Sussex Tech. It was also being named honorable mention for the conference.
”For softball it was receiving MVP for softball in my junior year. Having a .600 batting average, the most stolen bases and runs batted in for that year. Also winning our first county tournament came against Ridge (16-5) since 2006 and going 3-fo-4, two RBI and three runs scored.
”Also, receiving the Coaches Award for softball in my senior year,” she said.
The best/favorite moment during her MHS senior year was in softball, getting MHS’s first division win against Belvidere (8-3) and going 4-for-4 at bat and being selected first team All Conference.
Ms. Mortensen is attending Raritan Valley Community College and wants to make sure her grades come first.
”Since I have been chosen to represent the NJ Stars in College because of my scholastic ranking being ninth, I will be concentrating on upholding this honor and maintaining my grades so I can graduate from college in the NJ Stars Program. I plan on playing intramural softball in college. I would also like to play soccer pick-up games in the off season.”

