Scholarship Winners - E. J. Herrmann Cross Country Invitational

2023-2024 E.J. Herrmann Scholarships Awarded

The East Utica Optimist Club is pleased to announce the recipients of the Edward J. Herrmann Scholarships for 2023-2024. The organization salutes the three individuals who are the most recent recipients of the E.J. Herrmann Scholarships. The three scholarship winners are superb harriers, accustomed to the rigors and challenges of academia, and have made an impact on their respective schools and communities. All have demonstrated the ability to overcome obstacles through determination, persistence, and intrepidness to attain noteworthy running achievement and academic success.

Frank Calhoun

When Frank Calhoun was young, he dreamed of being a football player, but found that running was something he really excelled at. He began running in third grade, and in eighth grade decided to devote himself to running and joined the New York Mills cross-country team.

Frank believes that running not only made him more physically fit, but also changed his mentality. He gained motivation and determination to beat his personal best, and compete against runners with better times than him. He trained on his own during summers and on weekends. He found a drive to contribute to volunteer activities in his community. He was class president for two years, and assisted with the kindergarten Physical Education classes during his free class periods.

His school counselor stated that Frank challenged himself academically with a schedule of dual credit courses, cross-country, baseball and community involvement, always demonstrating support for others through his leadership.

Megan Lew

Megan began running in fifth grade. She immediately fell in love with the adrenaline she felt at the starting line—and the feeling of accomplishment at the end of a race. She has been a volunteer with the elementary school cross-country team and has enjoyed encouraging kids to enjoy running.

Megan has broken three high school records for running while a Proctor Raider. She also won the EJ Herrmann Invitation in her senior year. She is a three-sport scholar athlete, maintaining a 90-grade point average all through high school. She appreciates the bond distance runners have supporting each other through tough workouts and races, and shares her passion for the sport by mentoring younger runners.

Owen Sweet

Running has been a driving force in Owen's life for nearly a decade. He began running in elementary school, and connected with Coach Santo Paniccia, who was a big influence on his life and helped Owen develop into an excellent runner. Since learning how much he loved running, Owen has been a Section 3 champion, State Championship podium finisher, and won several invitationals. As captain of the cross-country team, he has helped elementary school runners with his positive attitude and by sharing how much fun running can be.

Owen has excelled academically as well, by taking numerous college level courses, while maintaining a high GPA. In addition to being a three-sport athlete, he also took on an internship at Adirondack Bank Center learning the various roles of working with professional sports teams.

Past E. J. Herrmann Scholarship Winners

Adams Djouma, Arafa
Ambruso, Alec
Ambruso, Amara
Arthur, Joshua
Ashton, Nicholas
Aziz, Jonathan
Beller, Deidre
Bronson, Kevin
Camillieri, James
Chaple, Richard
Charboneau, Emma
Cheney, Matthew
Choiniere, Katelyn
Contento, Nicholas
Crossman, Eric
Dalton, Alyson
DeRocco, Patrick
DeRocco, Vincent
Doney, Alexandra
Drescher, Matthew
Durant, Madeline
Durso, Gennaro
Fanelli, Kristi
Fanion, Samantha
Farmer, Joshua
Fauvelle, Tyler
Gardner, Brandon
Gilgore, Miranda
Greene, Megan Wakley
Greski, Jacob
Hauser, Jordan
Jackson, Jonathan
Jacobs, Magdalene
Johnson, Joseph
Kiefer, Kelsey
Kobielski, Megan
Latella, Salvatore
Levi, Laura
Lincourt, Sadie
Marcellus, Adriane
Melita, Bennett Alexander
Mohamed, Omar
Morris, Ryan
Murphy, Christopher
Newman, Kelli
Nicotera, John
Norton, Grant
Novak, Emma
Okanovic, Najda
Peek, Kelsey
Petzoldt, Emma
Phaneuf, Matthew
Powell, John
Rainbolt, Joshua
Reis, Brian
Reis, William
Roberts, Anna Marie
Roth, David
Roth, Jim
Simpson, Kayleigh
Soblosky, Nicole
Stedman, Samantha
Syrotynski, John
Syrotynski, Russell
Tanner, Meghann
Thayer, Sara
Vainauskas, Nicole
Vandewater, Lindsay
Vroman, Heather
Waldeck, Kyle
Walker, Aaron
Washington, Reginald
Wetzel, Jonathan

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