SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Marcus Wasilewski has been named the second team quarterback on the AA All State football team by the Associated Press. He was also recognized by the Pennsylvania Football News as the third team quarterback and was named to the WNEP TV 16 Dream Team. Marcus completed his career as MCA’s all time leader with 408 completions and 64 touchdown passes. He also finished his playing days with 23 consecutive 100 yard games and 36 – 100 yard games in his 41 career starts. He also registered 9 – 200 yard games, 14 consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass, and 28 touchdown passes during the 2008 season – all new school records. Washy would also establish new marks with only 1 interception per 40.5 attempts during the ‘08 season and 1 per 24.3 attempts during the course of his career. His 6,145 passing yards ranks second only to David Shinskie’s 6,334. Marcus is one of only 7 underclassmen in the 166 years of MCA football history to serve as a co captain as a junior. As a senior co-captain, Marcus led the Tornadoes to 13 consecutive wins and its 7th District Championship before losing to Lancaster Catholic in the Eastern semi-final. Marcus will represent Mount Carmel Area well, when he takes his talents to University of Maine on a football scholarship. He is the son of Lisa and Mark Wasilewski.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Chris Steck has recently been named the 38th first team all-star player in Mount Carmel Area’s 116 year storied history. Steck has anchored the Red Tornado offensive line for the last four seasons from his center position. He has started every game in his high school career (46) joining Mike Higgins, Joe Costello, and Jon Veach as other modern era players to accomplish the fete. Chris was also named to a first team slot by the Pennsylvania Football News and was named by WNEP TV 16 to its annual Dream Team. Chris also found himself as a first team selection to all-star teams named by the Reading Eagle, Sunbury Daily Item, Bloomsburg Press Enterprise, News-Item, and the Heartland Conference. As a team co-captain, Chris would lead the Tornadoes to 13 consecutive wins before losing to Lancaster Catholic in the Eastern semi final. The team would average over 360 yards per game in offense and would establish a new school record for points scored with 539. He also contributed 68 tackles – 18 for loss – from his defensive tackle position, as well as, 7 quarterback sacks. Chris is the son of Karen and Mark Steck, Mount Carmel, and will continue his football career at Bloomsburg University.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Mike Brennan recently ended his nine-year stint as head football coach at Mount Carmel Area High School by winning his 3rd District IV Championship and MCA’s 7th. Big Red would also win the Inaugural championship of the new Heartland Conference. He led the Tornadoes to a fine 13-1 record, eventually losing to Lancaster Catholic in the Eastern semi-final. The 2008 Red Tornadoes would establish a new season record for points scored with 539 and would be one of only 6 teams in MCA’s 116 year history to win 13 games. Brennan would win 84 games at MCA, good enough for 3rd place behind Jazz Diminick and Mike Terry. He was named the AP Small School Coach of the Year following the 2000 season, as well as, then AA Coach of the Year by the Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association in 2000 and 2002. He has served as an assistant for the PA Big 33 game in 2006 and was an assistant in the PA East-West all-star in 2005. Michael is a 1993 graduate of Temple University with a BS Degree in Health Education. Mike will now move on to Blue Mountain High School where we wish him the best of luck – as long as he is not playing the Red Tornadoes. ​

SAINT PAULINE VISINTAINER SCHOLARSHIP Eric Jepko of Mount Carmel has been named the second-ever recipient of the Saint Pauline Visintainer Scholarship award by the Bob Greco family. Eric is a senior at Mount Carmel Area High School and has qualified for the award by participating in athletics, by participating in activities that benefit his community, and by showing strong Christian Leadership and participating in some type of church related activity. Eric has been a four-year member of the Mount Carmel Area football team and was a part of the 7th District Championship in school history in 2008. Eric was a wide receiver, and, although he didn’t play as much as he would have liked, was a very important part of the success of the Red Tornadoes. His dedication was evident in the he never missed a practice and was committed to the weight room. It was truly refreshing to find an athlete that did put his team first. Jepko also enjoys being a part of the Interact Club at MCA. He felt that it allowed him to help those less fortunate and was very glad to be able to make someone else smile. He was involved with the food drive at Thanksgiving and helped to collect toys for the needy children at Christmas. He also was very active in collecting food for the animals at the Hillside SPCA. Eric was also a very active participant in a project with the Mount Carmel Area Rotary Club in the downtown tree-planting project on Oak Street in October. Eric, very enthusiastically and with the help of some of his teammates, showed up early on a Saturday morning after a game, and helped with the planting of 22 new tress to help beautify the downtown. As a member of Divine Redeemer Church in Mount Carmel, Eric has helped on many occasions with the parish picnics and festivals. He has also been very involved with the Relay for Life and is committed to remembering those who have lost their battles with cancer. He and his family have called on Mother Pauline for help when his sister was battling her own cancer when she was only four years old. His sister, Jessica, is now 22 years old and doing very well. Eric believes totally in the powers of Mother Pauline and her spiritual connections to the world, and is especially grateful for the gift she has given to his own family. Eric plans to attend the Pennsylvania College of Technology to major in HVAC. He is the son of Kathy and David Jepko of Mount Carmel.

JOSEPH D. WASILEWSKI FEMALE SCHOLAR ATHLETE Chrissy Candelora is this year’s unanimous choice as the Joseph D. Wasilewski Female Scholar Athlete, recognized by the Ed Romance Lower Anthracite Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Candelora’s number one ranking out of 128 students in the Class of 2009 at Mount Carmel Area has earned her this honor. Candelora currently serves as the president of the National Honor Society and Secretary of Student Government at MCA. She has been named a Rotary Student of the Month, as well as, the School Board Merit Award Recipient in March, 2008. She has taken over the presidency of the Interact Club and the Science Club. She is involved with the Science Olympiad, the Iditarod, and the Northumberland County Envirothon. Candelora earned a Second Place finish at the Science Olympiad Northeast Region as a freshman in 2006 in Water Quality and Genetics. As a sophomore, she earned a first place finish in Ecology: repeating the award as a junior in 2008. Candelora also participates in Spanish Club, S.A.D.D., peer mediation, and S.O.D.A clubs at MCA. Candelora is also very active with the MCA Band, serving as the Vice-President of the Marching, Symphonic, and Jazz Bands. Chrissy has been chosen to represent MCA as a PMEA District 8 Band participant in 2007, 2008 and 2009. She has also been a Susquehanna Honors Band Participant in 2008 and 2009. She has also been a member of the MCA Operetta and Pit Orchestras. Athletically, Chrissy has played basketball since elementary school, earning a varsity letter as a member of the MCA Lady Tornado basketball team as a junior while playing the forward position. It was her hustle and determination that earned her considerable playing time for coach Mark Moyer. As a senior, Candelora turned to Coach Tina McClay and the Lady Volleyball team. While not successful record-wise, the team became more competitive each week and finished the season with 2 victories. Candelora is the daughter of Anthony and Diane Candelora of Mount Carmel, and is planning to continue her education at the University of Pittsburgh, Albright, USP, or Lebanon Valley College. She plans to major in biology with the hopes of continuing on to dental school.

JOSEPH “JAZZ” DIMINICK MALE SCHOLAR ATHLETE Colin Menapace has taken his place as this year’s Jazz Diminick Male Scholar Athlete the good old-fashioned way. He earned it! Menapace began his athletic career as one of the 11 freshmen to make his way on to the varsity football team four years ago. A broken collar bone prevented him from playing that year, as most of the others gained valuable experience. Colin continued to work in the weight room and found himself on the field as a sophomore and a starter at tight end as a junior. Colin also began to kick during his junior season and became quite proficient by the end of the year. Because of his hard work in the off-season, Colin became one of the leading kickers in the area, making 64 of 69 PAT attempts. The 64 points established a new MCA record, surpassing the 50 by Mike Sinkovich in 1998. He also established a new season record with 64 points via kicking; and also finished the season with 34 consecutive extra points, surpassing the old record of 25 by Matt Kufta. He also contributed 7.5 sacks and 21 tackles from his defensive end spot, and 10 receptions for 168 yards at tight end. His efforts earned him spots on the Heartland Conference All Star team, as well as, Press Enterprise, Sunbury Daily Item, and District IV all star births. Colin was the recipient of the first-ever Glenn Bonsey Adams Award at the football banquet, as well as, the Joseph F. Greco Scholar Athlete Award. Menapace also lettered as a varsity swimmer in his freshman and sophomore seasons, establishing school records in the 100 butterfly, 200 free-style relay and 400 free-style relay as the team anchor. Colin is also a four-year letter winner in track, participating in the hurdle and field events. Menapace currently ranks second in his class and is a member of the National Honor Society, Masque and Gavel, Quill and Scroll, and the Athletic Honor Society. He was named Rotary Student of the Month for October, and the Ed Romance Chapter Athlete of the Month for September. He has also been voted “Most Likely to Succeed” by his classmates. Colin is also a member of the prestigious 700 and 1300 clubs for SAT excellence. Colin can also be found as an anchor of WKMC TV in the morning and a co-anchor of MCA’s sports show, the Red Zone. He has participated in the school musical for 4 years and is a three-year member of Student Council, serving as President as a freshman and secretary ad a junior. Latin Club, TECH club, Interact club and chorus keep him busy, as does being an Altar Server at Divine Redeemer Church. Colin is the son of Dr. Mike and Missy Menapace, Mount Carmel; and now has the unenviable task of choosing between the University of Michigan, Georgia Tech University, Purdue University, and the University of Pittsburgh, to pursue an engineering degree. Colin joins his sister Maura (2002) as Romance Chapter Scholar Athletes.