LV soccer scholar athletes to be named

On Sunday, Jan. 29, at 5:30 p.m. the Lehigh Valley Soccer Scholar Athlete Foundation will hold their annual banquet at the Northampton Community Center.

Over 43 area schools will be represented by both a male and female nominee and a scholarship will be given to the winner in each category.

The award began in 1975 with seven male nominees and has gone through several transitions.

A separate award will be presented to Gary F. Toth, and will also recognize and induct two new members Walt Sweedo and Jozef Kazimir, a semiprofessional and local Lehigh Valley player and referee for over 50 years.

Nominees for Whitehall are Kylee Cunningham and Bailey Luckenbill.

Cunningham is a four-year varsity player and was second team all-EPC in her junior and senior year. She’s a member of FC Lehigh, Lehigh Valley United and also plays field hockey, basketball and runs track. She’s a member of the National Honor Society and plans to attend college.

Luckenbill is a two-year varsity player and a member of Tri-Boro Youth Soccer Club as well as a National Honor Society member. He plans to attend either U.S. Coast Guard Academy to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Nominees

Central Catholic - Christina Marinos, Chris Alvarez

Bangor - Amalia Abrahamsen, Timothy Ferguson

Bethlehem Catholic - Blake McGill, Kevin Michels

Catasauqua - Sofia Alquirih, Nicholas Hertzog

East Stroudsburg No. - Kassandra Patrick, Joshua Becker

East Stroudsburg So. - Gabrielle Bonnar, Jordan Cortez

Easton - Jayliana Bedoya, Keith Grega

Emmaus - Reilly McGinnis, Kevin Williams

Faith Christian - Nathaniel Peterson

Freedom - Jaiden Coyne, Judson Freidl

Jim Thorpe - Margaret Holloway, Cameron Condly

Lehigh Valley Christian - Jonathan Stamper

Lehighton - Raja Alie Quinones, Tyler Dietz

Liberty - Jessica Becker, Valentin Perevalov

Dieruff - Joey Saba

Moravian Academy - Shabaig Chatha, Griffin Richards

Nativity BVM - Madison Ulsh, Patrick Crane

Northampton - Brandy Moser, Trevor Hanuschak

Northern Lehigh - Karlyna Kemery, Everette Bevans

Northwestern Lehigh - Emily Renner, Dominic Mertz

Notre Dame (East Stroudsburg) - Krista Kissell

Notre Dame (Green Pond) - Catherine Kelly, Cameron Sauers

Palisades - Brianna Johnson, Bobby McClintock

Palmerton - Johanna Matska, Jacob Taylor

Parkland - Olivia Schantz, Mark Stenske

Pen Argyl - Megan McCarty, Mason Hudnall

Phillipsburg - Lauren Brown, Peter Dragun

Pleasant Valley - Natalie Lautz, Ryan Prator

Pocono Mountain East - Taylor Yacuboski, Michael Bone

Pottsville - Megan Dalton, Charles Botto

Quakertown - Victoria Sturgess, Jacob Graham

Salisbury - Kyra Bruns, Ethan Heydt

Saucon Valley - Ashleigh Nagy, Ryan Smith

Schuylkill Haven - Mary Zimmerman, Ryan Kunkle

Southern Lehigh - Allison Borelli, Daniel Qian

Stroudsburg - Becca Meisse, John Burns

Weatherly - Morgan Gower, John Hinkle

Whitehall - Kylee Cunningham, Bailey Luckenbill

Allen - Erika Sinchi, Josen Mana

Wilson - Augusto Sanchez

Nominees for Bethlehem Catholic are Blake McGill and Kevin Michels.

McGill is a four-year varsity player, a member of Enco Soccer Club and also runs track. She’s a homeroom representative and Key Club president. She plans to study international relations.

Michels is a two-year varsity players, senior captain, played for the Blue Mountain Youth Soccer League and ran track. He earned the Eisenhower Leadership Award, is a member of the National Honor Society and plans to study biochemistry and biology.

Nominees for Freedom are Jaiden Coyne and Judson Freidl.

Coyne is a three-year varsity player and was third team all-EPC. She’s also a member of the Lehigh Valley Magic. She’s a SGA member and an Eisenhower Award winner. She plans to study nursing and become a pediatric oncology nurse.

Freidl is a three-year varsity players and a senior captain, a member of the Bethlehem Soccer Club and Bethlehem United. He is a SGA and National Honor Society member as well as the co-founder of the Freedom Robotics Club. He plans to attend Cornell to study chemical engineering and business entrepreneurship.

Nominees for Liberty are Jessica Becker and Valentin Perevalov.

Becker is a three-year varsity player, played for the Bethlehem Soccer Club and also swims and plays lacrosse. She is class secretary, a majorette, a member of the National Honor Society and SADD secretary. She plans to study nursing.

Perevalov is a three-year varsity player and was a first team all-EPC member his senior year. He also plays for the Lehigh Valley United. He plans to attend Lehigh to study math and play pro soccer.

Nominees for Moravian Academy are Shabaig Chatha and Griffin Richards.

Chatha is a two-year varsity player, honorable mention in the Colonial League who also swims and plays lacrosse. She is DECA president, a member of the International Club, SGA, Science Olympiad, county chorus and a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. She plans to study business or pre-medicine.

Richards is a three-year varsity players and a senior captain who also plays lacrosse and basketball. He plans to study marine and animal science.

Nominees for Notre Dame Green Pond are Catherine Kelly and Cameron Sauers.

Kelly is a three-year varsity player and senior captain, a two-time second team Colonial League all-star as well as a member of Lehigh Valley Magic. She also runs track and plays basketball. She plans to study pre-medicine.

Sauers is a two-year varsity player and a member of the Bethlehem Soccer Club as well as the National Honor Society, speech club, debate club and mock trial. He plans to study history and go to law school.