Democrat Photo by Frank Rizzo The Monticello girls’ ski team (combined downhill and cross country) was the scholar-athlete state champion in its sport for the fifth consecutive year, combining for a 99.714 average. Members were, from the left, coach Jim Bates, coach John Maranzana, Meghan Garry, Sam Tucker, Katie Manz, Emily Leidner, Erin Garry, Jennifer Johnson, Allison Benson, Mara Miller, Kelly Bennett, Kristie Beamer, Laura Katzenberger, Kristin Fried, coach Warren “Buddy” Goldsmith, Candice Sheerer, and Rebecca Sheerer.

Monti Ski Teams
Champs In Classroom

By Frank Rizzo
ROCK HILL— April 14, 2000 -- Friday, March 31 was a few days short of the official Scholar Athlete Day (which fell on April 6), but timely for the Monticello Central School annual scholar athlete luncheon at Bernie’s Restaurant in Rock Hill.
The occasion was to celebrate all the pupils at the school who had achieved the criteria of student athlete, and also to honor the scholar athlete state champion teams for winter, the boys’ and girls’ ski (combined downhill and cross country) teams. It was emceed by Ken Garry, the school’s athletic director.
Walter Eaton of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association office near Albany made the trip to present the banners to the teams. This was his second trip to Monticello this school year; in January, he had presented a banner to the state champion girls’ tennis team.
Eaton noted that Monticello had won 24 state scholar-athlete titles, far more than any other school. For the girls’ ski team the title was fifth in a row and sixth in the nine years the program has been in existence. The team’s 99.714 average not only topped the ski teams in the state, it was the best average of all the qualifying teams. (Teams qualify by having a required number of students achieve a combined 90 or better average during the sport season.)
The boys won their third straight crown and sixth in eight years with a 98.142 average. Both averages were the highest ever achieved in the sport.
The scholar athlete program began, Eaton related, as a way to give recognition to the athletes who achieved excellence in the classroom, to get rid of the idea and myth of the “dumb jock.”
The best students are often athletes, Eaton noted, and participating in athletics gave them valuable life skills.