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.

INDUCTEE Joe Ahrensfield has had the good fortune to be able to be on championship teams at every level of his playing and coaching careers. As a high school football player at Mount Carmel Area, Joe was a letter-winner on MCA’s 1970 Southern Division Championship team. As a senior in 1972, Joe was one of the main cogs on the 12-0 Eastern Conference Championship 11. Joe was a starter at offensive guard and linebacker for that Tornado edition that defeated Valley View 20-12 to win it all. Archie would help lead the offense to over 260 yards rushing per game and over 33.5 points scored per game. Joe led the defense with 5 interceptions, while holding the opposition to less than 87 yards per game on the ground. Ahrensfield would win the mike Terry Award and was named to the First team All Anthracite and Susquehanna Valle All Star teams. Joe also made his presence felt on the hardwood for Mount Carmel Area. He would establish a new single record for rebounds when he pulled down 27 vs Schuylkill Haven in 1973. He helped the 1972 team into District XI playoffs only to come up short in a game with Northampton by a score of 44-72. Following graduation, Archie later enrolled at Shippensburg University and would letter for all four years as an offensive guard. Jose was part of a rebuilding program at Sip going 2-9, 3-8, and 4-7 under Coach Gene Epley. As a senior under Coach John Marks, The Red Raiders improved to 9-2-1 and would play East Stroudsburg for the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Title. Since the game ended in a tie, and no rules existed at the time, both schools shared the PSAC title. Following graduation in 1977, Joe would spend one year At Big Spring Middle School before returning to MCA. He took on a position with Coach Joe Jazz Diminick and would stay on until 1992. In 1993, Arch left with Coach Carm to coach at Cardinal Brennan High School, and from there continued on to Danville from 1995-99. While at Danville, the Ironmen won the Susquehanna Valley Conference Championship in 1998 and 1999 and would compete for District IV AAA championship in 1997, 1998, and 1999. In 2000, Joe again went with Coach DeFrancesco to Shamokin where he stayed through the 2006 season. .In 2007, Archie returned ‘home’ to MCA as a freshman line coach and varsity assistant for Coach Mike Brennan. Joe is married to the former Linda Michak, and, they are the parents of a daughter, Kaitlyn, a junior Business Administration major at the University of Pittsburg.

INDUCTEE Known for his rugged and physical type of play, Phil Klaus finally adds his name as an inductee in the Ed Romance Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Phil joins 8 other classmates form the class of ’71 and 13 other team mates from the 1970 Southern Division Championship team. Phil started for 3 years as a defensive end and tight end for Coach Jazz Diminick. He was a main part of MCA’s “Golden Era” that saw MCA go 34-2 over a three year period and never lose a regular season game. They would win 3 Southern Division Crowns and one Eastern Conference Championship. For his efforts, Klaus was named to the all state 2nd team as a defensive end and to the 3rd team as a tight end. He would also become the starting defensive end in the 1971 Big 33 game at Hershey Park. Phil would receive a full scholarship to UCLA and would become the starting guard and long snapper for the freshman team in 1971 and would letter as an offensive guard/long snapper in 1972. He then transferred to Humbolt State University, where he started at defensive tackle and would earn Honorable Mention to the All West Coast Division II All Star team. Klaus would also letter two times in basketball and 4 times in track while at MCA. As a track athlete, he is a true rarity in that he owns District IV Championships in the shot put, discus, and javelin. He is also a part of only a handful of athletes to throw over 50 feet in the shot and 150 feet in the discus. Phil had bests of 52’1.5″ in the shot, 150’0″ in the discus, and 192’10” in the javelin. His MCA team would win 4 consecutive District IV Championships. At Humbolt State, Phil would garner Far West Conference Honors as a Javelin thrower, heaving the spear over 198 feet. . Klaus would begin his professional career as a coach at Mount Carmel Area and Bloomsburg High Schools before moving on to State College High School. Phil would coach football, basketball, and track and field for various periods from 1979 to 1999.His throwers and pole vaulters were always in the midst of District Championships. Philip has taught Technology Education at State College since 19983. He has added duties as a drafting instructor for the South Hills School of Business and Technology, as well as, Penn State University Career Development. Phil and his wife, Donna, are the proud parents of daughter, Stephanie and son, Jeffrey.

INDUCTEE In 1939, Edwin Rakocy stood atop the podium at Penn State’s Rec Hall as a state champion wrestler – Mount Carmel’s FIRST ever wrestling state champion. Rakocy won the state championship wrestling in the 155 pound division, back in a time when winning a state championship was as tough as qualifying for the medal round. There was only one division back then and one loss – and you were done. The top four qualifiers in Districts didn’t move on – only the winner. He wrestled in a time where the point system was in its infancy. Edwin would decision Joe Manozi of Grove City in the 1/4 finals, defeat John Abraham of Canonsburg in the semi, and bested Art Foot of Lower Marion to win the gold. Rakocy wrestled for Coach Alfred Morse and led the 1939 team to its most successful season since the sport was inaugurated with a 5 – 2 -1 record. Included was a 24-11 victory over powerhouse Shamokin. The Red Tornado matmen were also crowned District IV Champions in the first meet of its type to be held in District IV. In addition to Rackocy, Matthew Rakus, Chester Zukowski, and Aldo Cortellini won District IV Crowns. Rakocy would earn four varsity letters wrestling for the Big Red. Rakocy made it to Penn State in 1938 wrestling heavyweight, even though he only weighed 155. He would lose to the eventual state champion from Cannonsburg. Rakocy would also play football for Mount Carmel and after the 1938 season was chosen, along with Sam Ososkie and Dink Duncavage, to represent Pennsylvania in an all star game in Florida As it turned out, Rakocy lost his state championship medal as he moved through different parts of the country before settling back in Elysburg. Replacing it began with a chance meeting with Judge Robert Sacavage at the Northumberland County Law Library. As Sacavage puts it, “I was in the library when this elderly gentleman came up to me saying he was looking for the wrestling match,” Judge Sacavage told him that ‘they were in Hershey, but the gentleman said he was looking for the judge who was the state champion, and wanted a match with him. In discussions with Rakocy, Sacavage discovered that his medal had been lost, so he, along with his brother Greg Sacavage, began the process of replacing Rakocy’s medal. The Mount Carmel Area wrestling boosters were nice enough to pay for the medal and had it presented to Rakocy along with a Citation. Following graduation, Rakocy entered the Air Corps and was unfortunate enough to be in Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. A carpenter by trade, Edwin moved about the country through Hershey, Cape Cod, and Florida before settling at his current home in Elysburg with his wife Vitalia. He is the father of a son, Dennis, and daughter, Brenda.

INDUCTEE In 1965, Ray would break the Mount Carmel Cross Country course record by 8 seconds in running a 12:03 over the 2.3 mile course. The old record had been established 16 years earlier by the famous Lowthert twins from Pottsville. Ray would also establish a new District IV record in winning the first-ever individual District championship in MCA history: running a 12.40 over the 2.4 mile course at Bloomsburg. That MCA team would also win the new Valley League Championship and the District IV Team Championship for only the second time in school history: the other being the 1940 team. The “65 team, under legendary coach Gerald Breslin, would go on to finish 10th in the state at the PIAA Championships at State College. Remember, that there were no classes at that time, making the accomplishment that more significant. Ray’s XC teams would go 26-3 during his 3 years as a harrier. Ray would also establish a new District IV record in the two mile, posting a 10:03 in 1967. Ray would also anchor the 2-mile relay team of Nicoletti, Brennan, and Butkera, establishing a new school while winning the District IV Championship in 1966. That year found Ray also qualifying for the state meet in the mile. Over the course of his career, Ray would be a five-time state qualifier in both track and XC and would be elected to Captain both teams as a senior. After returning to Mount Carmel, Rothermel would coach the cross country team from 1978-1984, with his best finish in 1982 with a 10-1 record. Their only loss that season was at the hands of Blue Mountain, a team that had not lost a dual meet in a number of years. Ray had done so well, as to have 2 bus loads of students attend the match with Blue Mountain – a definite first for the sport at MCA. Ray also started girls running at MCA in 1979, and was able to see the start of the Girls League in 1984. His team went 9-1, losing only to Tamaqua by one point. Ray is Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina with a degree in Chemistry . He would earn a B.S. in Educations from Bloomsburg University and eventually would teach Chemistry at MCA until 1984. At that time, Rothermel left to take over his father’s business at the Willard A. Rothermel Funeral Home. Ray and his wife Linda K. have lived and worked in Mount Carmel their whole lives and are the proud parents of a daughter, Dr Lori Rothermel, and a son, Detective Ray Rothermel.

INDUCTEE Beth Santelli made it a point to keep herself busy. Busy enough that she would earn 12 varsity letters in four different sports during her career at Mount Carmel Area. You can add four years of winter track to that list to see how busy she really was. Beth first made her presence felt as a freshman cross country runner for Coach Alex Madalis. She would run to a 4th place finish in the Schuylkill League meet and 5th in the District XI meet and would be the lead runner on MCA’s District XI AA Championship Team. She would eventually be the first female runner at MCA to qualify for the State Cross Country Meet at Penn State for four consecutive years. She would lead the Lady Tornadoes to their second consecutive Dist XI Championship as a sophomore. Running for Coach Bruce Wanzie in 1989 and Coach Angela Farranato in 1990, Santelli would continue her 4 year streak as MCA’s Most Valuable Runner and Schuylkill League All Star. From 1987-1990, Santelli would establish 9 new course records, including a 19:11 at Edgewood in the Pines, and would go undefeated in regular season meets as a senior. Somehow, Santelli would only run track during her freshman and senior years and would be a 2-time Schuylkill League all-star. She finished as the League runner-up in the 1600 and 3200 meter runs and would earn a silver medal at the 1991 District XI meet in the 3200 meter run. She posted bests of 5:19 in the 1600 and 12:08 in the 3200 meter run. She was named the Most Valuable Track Athlete by Coaches Michael Woytowich and Jolene Scicchitano. Santelli would also swim competitively for Coach Betty Katona, lettering for 4 seasons. She would be elected Captain of her Cross Country and Track teams as a senior and would be voted Most Athletic Female in the class of 1991. Beth would attend Penn State University and is a Corporal in the Pennsylvania State Police. She resides in Palmyra and continues to run competitively, focusing mainly on the 5K and 10K races. She has competed in several half marathons as well as the 2004 Philadelphia Marathon; and ran a 1:39.58 in the Hands on House Half Marathon in Lancaster. Santelli is the mother of a son, Alex, 7 and daughter, Grace, 4.. Today she becomes only the 9th female athlete to enter the Ed Romance Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

INDUCTEE “One of the best distance men I have ever coached”. That quote coming from legendary track coach Jerry Breslin in talking about Mount Carmel Area’s Jeff Yoder. Jeff burst on to the athletic scene in 169 as a cross country runner for Coach Breslin and would become a three-time place winner at the District IV Cross Country meet. After a 10th place finish in ‘69, Jeff would earn two silver medals at Districts in 1970 and ‘71, and become a three-time state qualifier. In 1971, Yoder placed 46th at the state championships as MCA placed 19th as a team. As a track athlete, Jeff would help the Tornadoes to their 27th, 28th and 29th perfect seasons (going undefeated in dual meets). He would earn a second place finish at the District IV meet in the 2 mile as a sophomore and was part of the first of three consecutive District IV team Championships. He would establish a new stadium record in the two mile with a 9:51.6, and would add a 2:00.5 in the 880 and 4:27.7 in the mile – all regional seasonal bests. He would proceed to win District IV gold in the 880 (1:59.7) and mile (4:26.4) – both District IV records. Yoder earned a 5th place medal at the state championship meet at Penn State by establishing a new school record in the mile with a 4:21.8. He would later win the mile run at the Track Meet of Champions at Lehigh University in 1972. Jeff would continue his outstanding performance as a 4-year letter winner in both XC and track and field at Susquehanna University. He would establish SU records in the mile with a time of 4:20.4 and XC with a time of 24:39 for the 4.9 mile course. He was a three-time medalist in the mile at the MAC Championships, placing 3rd in 1973 and 5th in 1974 and 1976. He would eventually be inducted into the SU Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. In 1973, Yoder was part of a 100-mile relay team that made the Guinness Book of Sports Records and was part of a marathon relay from NYC to Fairfield, CT, carrying a torch through the Bronx. He continues to compete in races from 5k through half marathons. Jeff and his wife have published humor books on parenting, politics, and personal computing. They created the first nationally distributed desktop publishing magazine in 1989 – The Quayle Quarterly. The magazine satire secured them national TV appearances on Phil Donahue, Dick Cavett, CBS Morning and many others. Jeff now lives in Trumbull, CT with his wife Deborah and two children. His daughter, 16, is a dancer, actress and violinist; his son, 14, has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and now studies Hapkido.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT After winning the North Schuylkill League Championship in 1965, MCA baseball suffered through 9 consecutive losing seasons. In 1975, Coach Ed Kaczmarek took over the reigns and immediately led the Tornadoes to an 8-8 mark in his first season. That was only the beginning as Big Red would go 13 – 5 in 1976 and 12 – 7 in 1977 and win two Northern Division titles, only to lose the championship series to Pottsville and Blue Mountain respectively. As the 1978 edition took to the field, they vowed to take it the distance. It would all come down to game three in a best of three series with Saint Clair, when the Tornadoes sneaked a run across in the 7th inning to give MCA a 3-2 victory and the Schuylkill League Championship. Years later, baseball fans would remember that team as being Bob Zavarick and John Andrade’s team, but it was much more than that. It was Joe Zavarick and Bob McAndrew, who had a 6-0 records as a pitchers and Greg Filohoski, who would cross the plate with the winning run in the championship game. It was Ron Basso, who bunted to advance Filo into scoring position for Andrade’s game-winning hit. Mark Koveleski, Bob Murray, and Basso, formed as good an outfield as there was in the league. First baseman John Hancock produced three-hit games against North Schuylkill and Mahanoy Area. Filohoski and back-up Gary Marinelli held down the third base spot. Catcher Kevin Kwiatkowski was the leader from behind the plate, while Mcandrew, Joe Zavarick, and Mark Zosh handled much of the pitching duties. Rob Gergen, Ed Diminick, Ed Skonecki, Dave Hodrick, and Bob Sedor also chipped in with timely performances off the bench. It was Bob Zavarick, however, who came in to pitch in the sixth inning of the championship game to shut down the St Clair offense, after only pitching six innings in relief during the season. And, it was Andrade who had the game winning hit. Together, they formed the best second base-shortstop combo in the league at that time. They both proved their worth with full-ride scholarships to the University of Maryland and Towsend State University. The 1978 team caused writer Ronnie Christ of the Harrisburg Patriot News to proclaim that “baseball had replaced track and field as the premier sport at Mount Carmel Area.” Their 17 wins in 1978 were the most in school history at the time, while their 42 wins in the three year period from 1976-78 was the most ever until teams from 1987-89 won 44. The ’78 team has set the bar for all future baseball teams at MCA, and, until someone wins another championship, will stand alone at the top of the ladder.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Up until 2007, Mount Carmel Area had only had 4 athletes who had achieved 100 wins in their varsity wrestling careers. They were Mike Garcia at 140-9, Eric Lupatsky at 122-24, David Evans at 112-23, and David Fantini at 105-17. MCA has added three more grapplers to that special club, all under the tutelage of head coach Randy Reidler. Randy began wrestling at 135 lbs as a freshman and would go 21-10 in helping the Red Tornadoes back to respectability. He would win his 100th match in fine fashion at the state team championship preliminary match, helping his team advance to the state tournament at Hershey. Randy would improve to 28-11 as a sophomore at 145 and to 21-8 as a junior. He would become a three-time 2nd place winner in the SIAL Championships, as well as, a 3-time District IV qualifier and 2-time Northeast Regional qualifier. Randy entered the Sectionals as the top seed at 152 with a 34 – 7 record. He would earn a second place finish at Sectionals, as well as a sixth place finish at Districts. He would finish the season with a 39-10 mark and a 109-39 career record. He is the son of Lori and Steve Kaminski and Randy Elliott, and will be looking to further his education at a trade school to major in welding.

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT Up until 2007, Mount Carmel Area had only had 4 athletes who had achieved 100 wins in their varsity wrestling careers. They were Mike Garcia at 140-9, Eric Lupatsky at 122-24, David Evans at 112-23, and David Fantini at 105-17. MCA has added three more grapplers to that special club, all under the tutelage of head coach Randy Reidler. James picked up his 100th win at the Biglerville Duals on 1/4/2008. James has placed 6th at the PIAA meet in 2006 and 5th in 2007, He is a three-time SIAL Champion, a two-time Sectional Champion, and the District IV Champion in 2007. James went 16-1 as a freshman wrestling at Pottsville, went 34-10 as a sophomore at MCA and 39-4 in his junior year. James has wrestled his matches at 189 – 215 and some at heavyweight. Haynes would earn his third consecutive Sectional title, his second consecutive District IV Championship. And also win his first Regional Championship at 215 lbs. He entered the state tourney with a 44-2 mark. James won his preliminary match and then went on to pin one of the pre tournament favorites, Justin Peterson, in the 1/4 finals. Haynes would lose his semi final bout, but came back to win a third place medal. He finished at 48-3 – the most wins ever in a season at MCA and 137-18 for his career. James is the son of Ernie Haynes and at this point is undecided as to his college selection.