SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT He has been a fixture on the Mount Carmel Area gridiron since the second half of the Shamokin game in his freshman year. He went on to start his next game with Allentown Central Catholic and made it 45 in a row until he walked out of the Silver Bowl following the Selinsgrove game in November. During his career, Drew would become only the 5th back in MCA history to run for 1000 yards in 2 seasons. He would also become the 5th back in MCA history to rush for over 3000 yards in his career finishing with 3,127. He also had 38 receptions for 627 yards, 50 punt returns for 580 yards and 23 kick off returns for 483 yards. His total of 4,817 all purpose yards also ranks 5th on the all-time MCA list. He scored 44 touchdowns and 268 points in his career – good enough for 6th on the all time list. His 255 yard rushing game against Shikellamy was the third best individual performance in MCA history. It was as a defensive back where Drew elicited most of the oohs and aahs from the crowd. A devastating hitter, Drew posted 253 tackles – 144 solo – as a free safety: adding 10 interceptions, 17 passes broken up and 2 fumble recoveries. Only Mike Diminick had more tackles than Letcavage as a defensive back. Drew would help his teams win one District IV championship in 2002 and one PIAA AA State Championship in 2002. He added an Eastern Conference Crown in 2001. He would be honored as a Pennsylvania Football News 3rd team running back in 2002, a second team defensive back in 2003 and first team defensive back in 2004. He would become a 30time Reading Eagle, Pottsville Republican, Press Enterprise, and News Item first team all-star. He capped his career following the 2004 season by being named to the Associated Press AA First Team All State Team as a defensive back. He was also honored by WNEP-TV as a Dream Team All Star and was named to the Patriot News Platinum 33 Team as a defensive back. Drew has recently been chosen to play in the East-West All Star game in Altoona in June. Andrew is the son of Annette Buczeski and Thomas Letcavage. He has accepted a full scholarship to William and Mary University as a safety, a position he excelled at while at Mount Carmel.

JOSEPH D. WASILEWSKI FEMALE SCHOLAR ATHLETE This year’s female scholar athlete is Adrienne Baksi. Baksi is on track to become the second consecutive valedictorian to be named the female scholar athlete. She currently ranks number one in her class with a GPA of 100.98 and has become a member of the 1300 Club by virtue of her 1320 SAT score. She is a member of the National Honor Society and as a member of the Science Club has participated in the Science Olympiad, Elementary Science Lessons and Science in Motion. She has taken part in the Bloomsburg University math competition for 3 years and was involved in the Exploring Environment Chemistry Workshop at Muhlenberg College in the summer of 2001. Adrienne can be seen daily as an anchor of “MCA Live” Mount Carmel Area’s student run school television program. She has served as the morning new editor for 2 years, as well as acting as the editor of “Tornado Times”, MCA’s seasonal news and feature magazine. Adrienne also serves as the sports editor for “The Watch”, MCA’s school newspaper. She is the Co-president of the Interact Club, heading up such projects as Food and Coat Drive, Food bank stocking, Hoops for Heart, Hams for the needy, Toys for Tots, SPCA Drive, Crop Walk, and visits with the elderly. Other extracurriculars include serving as SADD secretary, Developmental Studies President, Yearbook staff, homecoming float committee and performing in the school musicals. Athletically, Adrienne has the distinction of throwing 2 no-hitters for Mike Trocki’s Lady Tornado softball team. Unfortunately, one of those games was a loss vs Pine Grove in her sophomore year. The second was a win over Lourdes Regional in 2004. She has lettered for three years with the Tornado softball squad as a pitcher and left fielder with a .900 fielding percentage. Baksi has also lettered for 3 years with the Lady Tornado Basketball squad as a point guard and 2-guard. Her hustle and aggressiveness is noticeable whenever you see her play. Adrienne has also participated in intramural volleyball for three years and Powder Puff football for two years, serving as captain of this year’s team. Adrienne has certainly distinguished herself both on and off the court for Mount Carmel Area and deserves to have her name up there with past winners of this award. She is the daughter of Elaine and David Baksi, Marion Heights, and will continue her education at Franklin and Marshall College to major in Biology with an interest in pursuing veterinary medicine.

JOSEPH JAZZ DIMINICK MALE SCHOLAR ATHLETE Unlike most of the past recipients of this award who excelled in the more traditional sports like football, basketball, wrestling, baseball and track and field, Rich Chesney made his way to the head of the class by way of the soccer field and cross country course. Being the top ranked male in the class of 2005 has also played a role in his being named the Joseph Jazz Diminick Male Scholar Athlete by the Ed Romance Lower Anthracite Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Chesney has excelled for the Red Tornado soccer team for four years, serving as captain in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. As a junior, Rich led the Tornadoes to a 9-10-1 record in only their fourth year of existence. He scored 29 goals and chipped in with 13 assists for a total of 71 points. Both numbers established single season marks at MCA. As a senior last fall, Rich added 21 goals and 18 assists, giving him a career total of 55 goals (a school record) and 35 assists and a total of 145 points (also a school record) in his career. His efforts earned him News Item all star honors in 2003 and 2004; being named Soccer Player of the Year in 2003 and Offensive Soccer Player of the Year in 2004. He was also named a Schuylkill League All Star as a junior and senior. Chesney was also named a Schuylkill League All Star following his junior and senior seasons with the Tornado harriers. He finished 12th in 2003 and 11th in 2004 at the Schuylkill Interscholastic All League Meet and medaled with an 11th place finish at the 2004 District IV Meet in a time of 17:56; qualifying for the PIAA State Championship Meet. In addition to his 98.8 GPA, Richard ranks 4th in his class of 114 at MCA and has posted an 1120 on the SAT’s. He is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, Interact Club and was recognized by “Who’s Who Among American High School students”. He has participated in the Science Olympiad, the Envirothon, and has volunteered in teaching elementary students and as a coach of u-14 AYSO soccer. Rich has been awarded a Vickroy Scholarship at Lebanon Valley College where he plans to pursue a doctorate degree in physical therapy and also play intercollegiate soccer. He is the son of Richard S. and Shirley Chesney of Kulpmont.

INDUCTEE How many athletes can boast of only losing one game in their varsity careers – in two sports? Sam Skelding is one of those special athletes for he went 33-1-1 as a football player for Coach Jazz Diminick and was 43-0 in dual meets for track coaches Breslin and Diminick. As a hurdler on the Tornado track team, Sam ran the 180 lows, 330 yd intermediate hurdles and participated as a member of the 4 x 220 yard relay. Sam won District IV gold in 1975 in the 330 yard IM and 4 x 220 yard relay. During his four years with the track team, MCA won four consecutive Schuylkill League Meets and won two District IV Championships and placed second on two other occasions. It was as a football player where Skelding made his mark. Sam became a starter during the 1973 championship season as a strong safety and helped lead the defense to 12 consecutive wins and an Eastern Conference Crown. As a senior co-captain, Sam led the Tornadoes to a 9-1-1 record, with their only loss coming in an upset loss to Tamaqua 9-7. Sam helped the team with 71 tackles and was the second leading scorer with 10 TD’S on only 86 rushing attempts. He was named All Anthracite, Al Central Susquehanna Valley, and First Team on the Reading Eagle All Anthracite Team. Sam was also recognized as the Ed Romance Player of the game for his 27 carry – 152 yard performance in a 16-6 win over Pottsville. Following graduation, Sam was given a full scholarship by Coach Wayne Hardin of the Temple Owls. Sam became the starter at strong safety four games into his freshman season. The Owls went 6-5 and 4-6 during those two seasons, but had upgraded their schedule to include teams such as Penn State, West Virginia, Boston College, Syracuse and Pittsburg University. Sam got to play against Tony Dorsett from Pitt and former teammate Joe Diminick at Penn State. Sam was featured in an article in the Philadelphia Inquire recognizing his 10 tackle effort vs Dorsett and the Panthers. Sam returned a punt for a touchdown against Grambling and ran an interception back to paydirt vs Rhode Island. A severe knee injury shortened Sam’s career, but he graduated on time in 1979 with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree, and followed that up with a Master of Computer Science Degree from Dayton University in 1984. Sam continued in football as a grad assistant under Hardin and coached outside linebackers. Sam had the priviledge of working under coaches Carson Long at Cardinal Brennan, Bill Flynn at St Clair and Gerry Slemmer at Wilson High. That Wilson team went 13-1 in 1989 and lost in the AAAA state final to Upper Saint Clair. Sam is currently Director of Global eCommerce Software, a division of Systrends Inc. located in Tempe, AZ. Sam lives with his wife Denise and children Kera, 17 and Tyler, 11 in the Reading suburb of Blandon.

INDUCTEE Have you ever noticed how something that seems really bad at the time turns out to be something very good. Mike Scicchitano and his family experienced the low, when in 1982, Mike lay on the Williamsport High School football field uncontious. He was taken to a Williamsport Area hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion. It was that experience in the hospital that changed Mike’s career ambition and decided that he would become a doctor – and he did! Scicchitano was a two year starter and letter winner for coach Jazz Diminick’s Red Tornadoes in 1981 and 1982. Mike played center and defensive tackle and would go on to earn All Anthracite honors from both the Reading Eagle and Harrisburg Patriot News. He served as co captain in 1982 and would be given the Joe Grey Award as the teams outstanding lineman. Michael was the middle of five Scicchitano brothers who would play 13 seasons for the Tornadoes from 1976 thru 1996 and would be a part of 127 Tornado victories. Mike also letter for four seasons as a discuss and javelin thrower for coach Diminick’s MCA track team. As a senior, Michael would win District IV Gold Medals in the discuss and javelin and would represent Mount Carmel Area at the PIAA State Track Championships in 1983. Mike would enter follow brother in law Mike Revenis to East Stroudsburg University in the fall of ’83. As a freshman, Mike would finish second in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference with a throw of 227′ 8″ in the javelin. His throw would earn him a trip to the National Championships in Missouri where he finished in the top ten. Scicchitano then transferred to Temple University where he threw the javelin for the Owls in 1986 and 1987. When he was elected captain of the track team in 1987, Mike accomplished the rare fete of being elected captain of his team at two different universities, having also served as captain as a sophomore at East Stroudsburg. He was recognized as Temple University’s Scholar Athlete in 1987. He graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1987. Scicchitano would go on to graduate from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1991, completing the journey that started that October night on the football field in 1982. Not surprisingly, Dr Mike is now an emergency room physician at the Shamokin Area Community Hospital. He is married to the former Laurel Goodlunis and makes his home in Denmar Gardens, Kulpmont. They are the parents of four children, Emily (13), Michael (10), Erin (7), and Mathew (3 months). He enjoys spending his days off as an avid hunter and fisherman.

INDUCTEE Wrestling is one of the oldest sports known to mankind and dating back to the first Olympiad held in Athens, Greece. It is a fierce individual combat sport requiring a combination of strength, endurance and discipline to compete. Joe Pecaitis did elect to compete and follow in the footsteps of his father and brother and become a wrestler. After more than 25 years of dedication as both a wrestler and a coach, the Kulpmont native has amassed and impressive 209 victories as a wrestler and coach on the high school and college levels Joe’s distinguished athletic career began at Mount Carmel Area High School where he won 75 matches in PIAA and AAU competition. In 1982, he finished second in District IV competition to eventual state champion Nate Carter of Shikellamy. He eventually reached the state quarterfinals before losing in overtime to the defending state champion. In 1983, he became the first wrestler in MCA history to qualify for the state tournament for two consecutive years by winning the District IV 155lb championship, finishing third in Northeast Regional competition and repeating as a state quarterfinalist. He was a Susquehanna Valley League All Star and was the recipient of the D’Angelo Memorial Award as well as the Lou Grayson Award. After graduation, Joe won first place in the Region III qualifying Tourney and won a bronze medal at the Keystone State Games. He also finished second in the 190lb open division at the Middle Atlantic AAU fall freestyle wrestling championships. joe earned an athletic scholarship to Lock Haven University, where he went on to win 49 matches against some of the stiffest competition in the nation. Joe finished third at the prestigious Mat-Town Usa tournament and was a runner-up and third place finisher at 177lb at the Naval Academy Turkey Bowl Invitational. He also place 3rd and 6th at the Sheridan Tournament at Lehigh University and 7th at 190lbs at the Midwest Open held at Iowa State University. Following graduation, Joe went on to pursue a teaching and coaching career as an assistant at Gettysburg College and helped the “Bullets” record 36 wins from 1989-1993 in the MAC conference. Joe moved onto the scholastic ranks as an assistant at Gettysburg High School from 1995-2000,where the Warriors won 49 duet meets and recorded the best season in school history. That 1999 squad won the District III Championship and Mid-Penn League Championship. Off the mat, Joe has earned a B.S. in education with emphasis on the mentally and physically handicapped from Lock Haven. He later earned a Masters Degree in Physical Education and Principal Certificate from Western Maryland College in 1999. He is currently employed as a Department Head for Middle School Education at Gettysburg Area School District. He is married to the former Michele Cassis of Lock Haven and is the father of two children, Madison 6, and Joseph 4, and currently resides in Gettysburg.

INDUCTEE If you were a young football player at Mount Carmel, you only had to look to the storied teams of the past 100 years to find a role model. But if you were a young girl and interested in running track, finding someone to emulate was not as simple. After all, track had only been around since 1971 when coach Al Santos started the program for girls at Mount Carmel Area. In the early 80’s, Joanne Menapace ran her way into the record books and established marks as a middle distance runner that still stand today. She became the role model for all young girls who would go on to run for the Lady Tornadoes. Joanne became only the second female athlete at Mount Carmel Area to represent the Tornadoes at the PIAA State Championship Meet for 4 consecutive years. Joanne won 7 District IV gold medals during her career, winning the AAA 800 meter championship as a freshman, the AA 800 meter and 1600 meter championships as a junior. She became the first, and only, MCA female to ever win 4 District IV golds in 1985 when she won the 800, 1600, 1600 meter relay and 3200 meter relay championships. The 3200 meter relay team, consisting of Menapace, Margot Guinan, Angela Vaughan, and Tammy Trione would go on to place 4th at the PIAA AA State Championships in a time of 9:42.8. Her 800 time of 2:20.37, 4 x 400 meter relay time of 4:12.7, and 4 x 800 meter relay time were all regional and school records. Joanne would lead her track team to the District IV AA Team Championship in 1985, the first since 1976. Her 800 meter time of 2:20.37 and 1500 meter time of 5:20 established region records at the time. Cross-country started out as a way to get in shape for track, but after one season Joanne was hooked, and lettered for three years. Her second place finish at the District IV meet in 1984 helped the Lady Tornadoes to a silver medal at the District meet as well as 8th place at the PIAA State Championship. Following high school graduation, Joanne attended Bucknell Univeristy, and was another in a long line of dedicated runners to perform under the guidance of late legendary coach Art Gulden. Her Bison teams were the ECC Women’s Cross Country Champions from 1985-1989. Joanne also ran on Bucknell’s Indoor and Outdoor Track teams which both placed second in the 1987 ECC Championship Meets. Individually, Menapace finished third in the ECC Indoor 1000 meter in a time of 2:49.54 and third in the ECC outdoor 1500 meter in a time of 4:49.32 in 1987 – the 4th best time in Bucknell history at the time. The Bucknell women finally won the ECC Outdoor Track Championships as a team in 1989, with Joanne adding a second place 1500 meter finish in a time of 4:50.42. Joanne continues to run competitively in local road races, corporate challenges,, and team relays including the Hood to Coast – the largest relay race in North America stretching 195 miles from the top of Oregon’s Mount Hood, down to the Pacific Ocean. Menapace has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1990. She has worked in the software industry for large companies (Oracle) and small start-ups (Amplitude), and now independently provides technical consulting services. She is a volunteer and President of the Board of Directors of Discovery Dogs – a non-profit organization the trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities. She is married to Russell Bertuccelli who loves football and wishes that he too could have grown up in Mount Carmel.

INDUCTEE You can imagine not ever losing a basketball game at home for a full season. But how about a whole career? Charlie Griscavage did just that! During his four-year career at Mansfield University, his teams never lost a game at Decker Gymnasium, home turf for the Mansfield Mountainiers. From the time he entered college in 1958, the Mansfield basketball team would start a 27- year run where they would enter post season play on 21 different occasions. During his career, they were the first PSAC Champion ever and would go on to win it for four consecutive years. His teams were a combined 76-9 during his time with coach Bill Gibson. Charlie would become a three-year starter at shooting guard and would average 14-15 points per game while leading the team as captain in 1962. Some of his teammates like Craig Cooley, Jim Turner, Dave Russell and Dick DiBiaso are also listed in the Mansfield record books Griscavage’s career started at Mount Carmel Catholic High as a freshman under coach Joe Apichella. He started for four years for the Rams and in 1958 helped coach Frank Ulicny achieve the first winning season in Catholic High history. Charlie would also become the leading scorer in Catholic High history when he posted 1,335 career points, surpassing Billy O’Brien’s 1,068 from 1951-54. Charles led the Anthracite Basketball League in scoring as a junior when he threw in 500 points, including a single-game high of 41. As a senior Charlie lead the Rams into a playoff for the first half title with Pottsville Nativity, and had high games of 35 against Marian Catholic and 30 in a 102-82 victory over Jim Thorpe. That was the highes scoring game in Ram history. Charlie’s 1,335 points still ranks 10th on the combined all-time scoring list of St Ed’s, Shamokin Catholic, Mt Carmel Catholic and Lourdes Regional. In 1958, Catholic High entered the Bloomsburg State Teachers College Tournament for the first time and were victorious in the opener against Moscow, but lost in the semis to Tri-Valley. But Charlie and his pals Tony Brennan, Earl McGinley, George Richards, Stan Petrovich, Tony Strike, Ron and Larry Joyce and Billy Brown would start Catholic High basketball on the path to great success on the hardwood. Griscavage would graduate from Mansfield in 1962 with a B.S. in Education and would begin a teaching and coaching career that would last close to 40 years. He would become the head basketball coach at Wellsboro for seven years and serve as the golf and tennis coach for 20 years. His 1983 tennis team would win the District IV Championship. Charlie also helped young basketball players develop as the coach of the Wellsboro Middle School basketball team for 25 years. He recently retired as a PIAA basketball official after 31 years. He makes his home in Wellsboro, where he and his wife, Sandy, are parents of four children, Charles Jr, Susan, Debbie, and Lisa.

INDUCTEE In the previous 100 plus years, only one graduate of Mount Carmel High School had ever played professional baseball – Joseph B. Young in 1892 – and that was for two innings, pitching for St Louis in the National League. That all changed in 1993 when Frank Bolick was announced as the starting third baseman for the Montreal Expos and manager Felipe Alou. Bolick would play most of that 93 season with the Expos at third base and first base, hitting 4 home runs and posting a .329 slugging percentage. He also posted a .992 fielding percentage. From 1994 thru 1997, Bolick played in the minor leagues for the Pittsburg Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, and Anaheim Angels. He also spent some time playing winter ball in the Mexican League. Franks’s perseverance paid off in 1998 when he was called up to the Anaheim Angels and played first, third, left field and was the designated hitter. Bolick then took a gamble and signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Japanese Major League. He went on to have four solid seasons with the Marines, playing first, third, and excelling as the designated hitter. Bo was so beloved by the Japanese fans that he was elected to play in the Japanese All Star game in 2000 as the designated hitter. Frank hit over 100 home runs and batted just under .280 during his 4 years in Japan with his best being 31 HR’s in 2001, 102 RBI’s and .296 average in 2000. Frank became only the 5th foreign player in Japanese history to homer in his first ever at bat on April 14,1999. All this is even more impressive when you consider that Lotte Marine Stadium, with its deep outfields and winds blowing off the bay, make it one of the toughest stadiums in the league to homer. Following graduation from Mount Carmel Area in 1985, Bolick received a full scholarship to play baseball for the Ramblin Wreck of Georgia Tech and coach Jim Morris. During his freshman season, Bolick set an ACC record for walks with 72 and set the Georgia Tech record for home runs by a freshman with 16. His team, that year, went 45-23 and won the ACC Championship and went on to play in the NCAA Tournament. The 45 wins represented the most ever for a Tech team up until that time. Bolick was then drafted in the 9th round by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1987and played in A and AA minor league teams for the Brewers. He was then traded to the Seattle Mariners, where he played AA and AA from 1990 thru 1992, before being traded to the Expos. In high school, Bolick was a four-year starter on the baseball team and led them into district play on three different occasions. Bo was also a three-year starter in football as a quarterback, fullback, halfback and defensive back. There are many people who believe that Bo could have gone to the NFL as a punter, with his 40 yard average and 4 to 5 second hang time. Today, Bo joins classmates, Mike Diminick, Rob Varano, Maria Fantanarosa, and Joanne Menapace as members of the Ed Romance Chapter of the Pennsylvania Hall of Fame. Frank makes his home in Kulpmont with his wife, Sue, and two daughters, Heather (9) and Jennifer (6).

INDUCTEE Give me a big tackle! – no, make it two big tackles! Better yet, make it two big, strong tackles! That’s exactly what coach Joe Diminick got during his first two years at the helm of the Mount Carmel High School football program. One of those guys was “Iron Mike” Chapel. The other -James “Jimo” Wasakoski. Jimo would start for two years at offensive tackle at MCA in 1962 and 1963, leading the way for guys like Joe Greco, Bob Menapace, Tom Beierschmitt, Ron Grossman and Jimmy McFadden. Those two teams would go 18-3-1 over the 2 year period, losing 3 games by a total of 10 points. Wasakoski was named to the Reading Eagle All Anthracite Team and would receive an athletic/academic scholarship to the University of Richmond in Richmond, Va. As a freshman at Richmond, Jimo returned a blocked field goal attempt 74 yards for a game winning touchdown and was named the Outstanding Freshman Defensive Player on the team. He then lettered as a sophomore at defensive end before a severe injury short-circuited a very promising career. He would go on to graduate from Richmond with a 3.2 grade point average and earn the Award for the top Economics graduate. In addition to football at MCA, Wasakoski was a four-year starter for coach Tufky Andrulewicz’s baseball nine. He pitched, played first and second base and captained the team during his junior and senior seasons. During his four years, the Tornadoes won 33 games while losing 19 and had 4 consecutive winning seasons. Jimo also pitched legion baseball, along with Frank Bolick Sr, for the Northern Valley of Girardville and posted a 7-0 record on the mound. Wasakoski also started for one year with the Tornado basketball squad and chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds per game. In a complete turnaround, Jimo found himself as a member of the track team at Richmond and ended up with a 154 foot discuss throw – good for the second best throw in school history at the time. In 1972, Jim received a Masters Degree from Penn State University and served as Commander of the 65th Military Police Company at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He served as the player/coach for the Battalion’s football, basketball, and softball programs. He also found time to win the Military Police Golf Tournament at Fort Bragg. After returning home, Wasakoski played in the Adult Basketball League for the Avalon and Political Club teams. He also played Fast Pitch Softball for Shuda Café and B & E Body, winning many league titles and finishing 5th in the state for 2 consecutive years. Jim led the league in home runs for 2 years. Jimo helped to start the CYO Basketball Program at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary in 1984 and coached the team for 8 years, winning several titles and putting up a 34 game win streak. Jim currently lives in Elysburg with his wife, Maryann and is set to retire from the Pa. Dept of Public Welfare after 32 years of service. Jim and Maryann are parents of a daughter, Jenna, 25, and son, Jimmy- an outstanding athlete himself – deceased.