From left: O-M's Jesse Johnson and Todd Kautz, and Watkins Glen's Ashley Savard.

From left: Watkins Glen's Molly Bilinski, O-M's Cassie Fitch, Trumansburg's Lauren Nelson.

Top Drawer 24

The Brian J. O'Donnell Schuyler County Scholar-Athlete-Citizen Team

By Charlie Haeffner, Editor/Publisher

ODESSA, May 5 -- Welcome to the unveiling of the third annual Top Drawer 24 -- a team of area high school students selected as honorees based on a combination of athletic, academic and personal achievements which, taken together, mark these students as uniquely qualified to handle the challenges of today and the future.

The 24 attend the Watkins Glen, Odessa-Montour, Trumansburg and Bradford high schools -- each of which have student population within Schuyler County. The highest number of honorees was ascribed to Watkins Glen because of its numerical advantage in student population within the county.

Anyone in grades 9 through 12 was eligible for consideration. However, no freshmen made the team this year or last year, and no sophomores are on it this year. Seven juniors and 17 seniors comprise the squad. Eleven of the 24 have been members of the team in the past; six of them have been honored in each of the past two years. Thirteen are newcomers.

Nobody was chosen strictly on the basis of what he or she might have achieved on the playing fields, and nobody was chosen strictly on academic accomplishment. And even excellence in both of those areas did not automatically merit inclusion. We are adhering, as we did the past two years, to a standard by which another capacity is taken into account, as well: the ability by the honorees to engage the world through civic endeavors or to leave behind them positive consequences from their positive actions.

Taken together, all of those factors lead to the term impact. By that we mean the importance of these students’ roles in sports, academics and otherwise -- the depth of the impression they left on those people who determined the team's makeup. Input was provided by teachers, coaches and administrators. That input was important in the selection process.

There are, of course, many Schuyler students of achievement and intellect and abilities beyond these 24 -- but as we have explained in the past: "In fashioning a small team such as this, not everyone can be included. The limited size of this particular team is designed to emphasize the special nature of the honor -- not to suggest any shortcomings in those who are not part of it."

The team's subtitle is The Brian J. O’Donnell Schuyler County Scholar-Athlete-Citizen Team, named in honor of the former Watkins Glen High School principal and current Watkins Glen School Board vice president who also served in the 2005-06 school year as interim principal at Odessa-Montour. He embraced the concept of this team from the beginning, mirroring as it does his long devotion to students and his ongoing desire to honor them for their achievements.

When we unveiled the team in its first two years, we did so in a low-keyed fashion, announcing the honorees publicly only after the party honoring them was held. This year, we are announcing them well ahead of the party, which is scheduled for the Watkins Glen State Park pavilion (near the south entrance) on May 21 at 5:45 p.m. This year, we are inviting various dignitaries, and urging parents of the honorees to attend, along with other relatives, friends, school teachers, coaches and administrators. This is, after all, a celebration of a group of youths symbolic of the best this county has to offer -- and perhaps its best hope for homegrown leadership in the future.

As in the past, cheese, crackers, grape drink, cake, ice cream and grapes will be provided for honorees and guests in a setting prepared by officials of the Watkins Glen School District. O'Donnell will take the honorees on a walk, imparting wisdom to them in private, and will provide remarks to the assembled guests during the ceremony itself.

A group photo of the honorees will be taken and distributed later to each one, along with a certificate marking the honor and the occasion. (Addendum Note posted after the party: see Top Drawer for photos of the celebration.)

The selectees on the Top Drawer 24 team are as follows, by school and grade:

WGHS

11th Grade

Ellie Fausold (swimming, and assistant coach on the boys swim team)
Jaimie Sedlack (soccer, basketball, track)
Nick Phoenix (soccer, basketball, tennis)
Abby Stamp (soccer, indoor track, softball)
Joe Stansfield (football, basketball, baseball)

12th Grade:

Molly Murphy (swimming, tennis)
Sophie Peters (soccer, basketball, track)
Jaclyn Conklin (swimming, basketball, track)
Alan McIlroy (soccer, basketball, track)
Ernie Brennan (football, bowling, golf)
Ashley Savard (soccer, tennis)
Erik Dahl (football, swimming, track)
Molly Bilinski (soccer, basketball, softball)
Ben Quigley (cross country, indoor track, track)

O-M

11th Grade:

Katey Cheplick (volleyball, basketball, softball)
Cassie Fitch (volleyball, basketball)

12th Grade:

Sherry Benedict (volleyball, softball)
Michele Kenney (soccer, track)
Jesse Johnson (soccer, swimming, track)
Todd Kautz (soccer, swimming, golf)
Eric Davis (soccer, swimming, tennis)

Trumansburg HS

Lauren Nelson (soccer, indoor track, track)
Ben Robertson (football, wrestling, baseball)

Bradford HS

Chelsea Dykes (basketball, softball)

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While athletics served as the starting point in considering potential team members in our first year, we employed a slight shift in philosophy the second year so that athletics and academics served as dual starting points. We adhere to that philosophy this year, with a determination that in order to be considered, a person must have at least one sport, and preferably two or three, on his or her resume.

Each member of this team -- whether standout athlete, standout academic, standout activist or a combination thereof -- has impacted the Schuyler County scene in a unique way. Some of the accomplishments are easily quantified; some are not.

In the final analysis, the reason for a person's presence on this team is impact -- the impression he or she has left behind by virtue of academics, athletics, attitude, maturity and citizenship. With all of those variables, it is easy to see why impact is a factor that can often be felt more easily than it can be defined.

The thumbnail sketches below will give you an idea of the qualities and achievements of the honorees.

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Nick Phoenix (right) makes the team as a Watkins Glen junior for his unique talents and service to the school, as well as for academics. He was an outstanding defensive player on both the varsity soccer and basketball teams, and is competing this spring on the varsity tennis squad. He is maintaining High Honor status in the classroom, but above that is always at the ready to lend a hand when something goes amiss with sound and video equipment in the school. Highly praised by teachers and administrators for his creativity and unique view on life, he has developed a following as well for his DJ work at dances, and was the creator of a Top Drawer logo as well as one being adopted by the school with the Seneca Nation theme. He personifies the spirit and tenacity and participatory nature of his school.

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Abby Stamp joins the Top Drawer team in her junior year at WGHS for her outstanding ability in sports -- both on the soccer field and as a softball player -- as well as for her high academic achievements, her service outside the classroom, and for an optimistic disposition that affects those around her in a wholly positive way. She has also been a standout in the Model UN program at the school. Known for her intensity in competition and her kindness off the playing fields, she is a leader and excellent role model for her peers.

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Ashley Savard joins the Top Drawer team in her senior year with a combination of gifts that mark her as one of the standouts at Watkins Glen. A gifted soccer player and a member of the varsity tennis team, she is among the leaders in her class academically and a member of the National Honor Society, and was one of the four WGHS students selected to attend the Model UN Conference in South Africa in October. She was also in the school play, and is involved in such civic endeavors as the Rotary-affiliated Interact Club.

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Ernie Brennan (right) has hit his stride in his senior year at Watkins Glen, excelling in football, bowling and golf, achieving consistent High Honor status in the classroom, and providing a marvelous musical comedy performance in the school play. His accomplishments in both football and bowling earned him All-Star merit in the fall and winter sports seasons. Quiet and yet affable, he is intense in competition, but a sportsman throughout.

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Todd Kautz is an honoree as a senior at Odessa-Montour for a prototypical Top Drawer year: for outstanding performances in sports (soccer, swimming and golf), for sportsmanship (always kind, though highly competitive), and for High Honor achievements in the classroom that have him near the top of his class academically.

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Eric Davis earns a spot on the Top Drawer team in his Odessa-Montour senior year for a combination of achievements and attributes. He was an outstanding defensive player on the varsity soccer team, an intense competitor on the varsity swim team, and is the top singles player on the varsity tennis squad. He is consistently good-natured, but determined to excel both on and off the playing fields. A member of the National Honor Society (he has served as its president), he is a High Honor student near the top of his class academically.

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Michele Kenney (right) has had injury obstacles to overcome this year -- and has done so with a singlemindedness that has carried her once again to athletic heights at Odessa-Montour. After injuring an ankle pole-vaulting in the summer, she missed much of the soccer season, but made it back in time to reestablish her credentials as a formidable defensive force. This spring, she is once again competing in several track and field events, excelling in the 100 Hurdles, Long Jump and Pole Vault. After turning her grades around from lackluster to High Honors last year, she is once again a High Honor student in this, her senior season. Fearless in sports and often outspoken in school, she has the kind of willpower that could carry her far after graduation from Odessa-Montour.

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Alan McIlroy continued this year as the prototypical Top Drawer member: outstanding Watkins Glen scholar-athlete, well-mannered, well-respected. This is his third year on the team, until recently a healthy year compared to last, when he sustained a broken leg playing basketball. This year he was healthy through the basketball season and into the track season, but once again injured the leg, this time running the mile. Before that happened, though, he achieved status as an IAC All-Star in both soccer and basketball, and was a member of The Odessa File fall and winter All-Star teams.

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Erik Dahl (right) makes the team for a combination of achievements and traits that stamp him as a leader of the senior class at Watkins Glen. A fiery player on the football team and an intense competitor in track, he was also an IAC and Odessa File All-Star in swimming despite an emergency appendectomy that sidelined him for weeks. A consistent High Honor student, he is highly regarded by teachers, administrators and students.

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Molly Bilinski joins the Top Drawer squad as a WGHS senior for an outstanding year in which she excelled on the soccer field, played varsity basketball, and is a key player on the varsity softball team. A consistent High Honor student, she recently toured Europe playing soccer, and was named student ambassador to the Watkins Glen Public Library as part of its annual membership drive. She has impressed administrators and teachers with her work ethic and attitude, and has been a participant beyond the playing fields and classroom, as a member of the cast of the recent school production of the musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

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Katey Cheplick (right), a member of this team the past two years, competed in her usual three sports this year at O-M: volleyball, basketball and softball. She is a High Honor student, and a member of the National Honor Society. She was an IAC All-Star in volleyball, and is the varsity softball team's starting pitcher this season -- a sport in which she can play any position. A fiery competitor with a keen sense of humor, she can take over a basketball game, hitting shots from outside, rebounding and passing. With one year yet to go in high school, colleges have been approaching her thanks to her successes as a member of an Adidas basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio.

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Sophie Peters has continued to excel in three sports in her senior year at Watkins Glen -- as an IAC All-Star in soccer and basketball, and as a standout distance runner on the track team. She is at the top of her class academically, maintaining a focus and determination undiminished by the condition known as senioritis. Both sweet in person and tough in competition, she has earned a spot on this team for three straight years. This year also marked a year of significant travel for her -- to South Africa as one of the four students selected to represent the school at a Model UN Conference, and to Europe on a soccer tour.

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Joe Stansfield (right) is a three-sport standout at Watkins Glen -- an Odessa File football All-Star and a key component of the varsity basketball and baseball teams -- as well as a consistent High Honor student. A quiet leader, he draws raves from teachers and coaches alike for his work ethic, on-field accomplishments, and sportsmanship. Mention him to anyone who knows him, and they'll usually say: "Joe? Great guy."

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Jaimie Sedlack earns a spot on the Top Drawer squad for the second straight year for a combination of traits: she is a WGHS three-sport athlete who played center on a successful varsity basketball team, improved markedly in soccer, and is a standout in track. She is a High Honor student who is involved in such extracurricular activities as the school play. Naturally outgoing and engaging, outstanding academically and athletically, she is highly touted by coaches and teachers alike.

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Sherry Benedict makes the team for the third straight year despite a shoulder injury that
limited her O-M volleyball playing time, forcing her to change from offensive standout to defensive specialist. That injury has also driven her from the pitcher's mound in softball -- a position at which she was exceptional. But even so, she is a force in that sport from her first-base position and at the bat, where her ability to reach base and steal bases sets the offensive tone for the team. Academically, she is near the top of her class with an
amazingly high grade-point average, and has -- despite her injury problems -- maintained
a winning disposition and leadership qualities.

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Ellie Fausold (right) makes the team for the second straight year for another outstanding WGHS swim season in which she was on a relay team that qualified for the State tournament; for her continued dedication to the sport through her assistance to the boys swim team in the winter; for her outstanding High Honor grades; for her participation in such pursuits as band, and for a personal outlook that is wholly positive and promises outstanding achievements in the future. Her senior year should prove just as fascinating as her sophomore and junior years have.

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Jesse Johnson is a three-sport athlete at O-M who had a successful soccer season, was outstanding in swimming, and is strong in track -- competing in such events as the hurdles and High Jump. He is at the top of the senior class academically, well-respected by his peers, a young man with a keen sense of humor, and a class leader. This is his second straight year on the Top Drawer team.

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Cassie Fitch makes the team for the second straight year for a phenomenal showing in Odessa-Montour sports (All-State in volleyball and an IAC All-Star in basketball), and in the classroom, where she has continued her habit of High Honor ranking. She is also a member of the National Honor Society -- a young woman who is in turns intense and fun-loving, and both an impact player and impact person.

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Molly Murphy is on the team for the third straight year -- a WGHS scholar-athlete of the highest order. Outstanding in swimming (she was on a relay team that reached the State tournament) and an effective member of the varsity tennis team, she possesses a bubbly personality that is infectious and tends to make those around her excel along with her. She is a High Honor student near the top of the senior class academically, and a sportsmanlike competitor, always ready to warmly congratulate her opponent, win or lose. She was also one of four students selected to represent her school at a Model UN Conference in South Africa in October.

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Jaclyn Conklin (right) is a three-time member of this team -- an outstanding state-level swimmer, an IAC basketball All-Star and a track standout. The Odessa File WGHS Athlete of the Year in her junior year, she has been in the thick of the race for this year's honor, too. She excels academically, as well, landing repeatedly on the High Honor list. Focused and determined in sports and outgoing outside of it, she will likely find success in college and beyond.

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Ben Quigley is a High Honor student at Watkins Glen High School, a three-sport standout, and a leader. Quiet by nature, he encourages his teammates through example and through a gentle sense of humor. Ask his cross country coach, Marie Fitzsimmons, who she depends on in any competitive situation, and she will point to Quigley. He was co-captain of the school's cross-country squad, a fitting tribute for an athlete who fellow athletes look up to.

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Lauren Nelson is a Trumansburg High School senior who competes in three sports -- soccer, where she was an IAC Division 1 First Team All-Star; Indoor Track, where her team won a Sectional championship and she holds six school records; and Outdoor Track, where she excels in several running events and holds two school records. She has served as captain of all three teams, and is a Youth Track counselor. She carries a high grade-point average, participates in band, and is a member of the National Honor Society.

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Ben Robertson is a three-sport standout at Trumansburg High School, where he is a senior. He was quarterback of the varsity football team, competed during the winter on the wrestling squad, and is a pitcher-outfielder on the varsity baseball team. He has served as captain of all three teams. He carries a high grade-point average, is a member of the National Honor Society, and is involved in the community as a wrestling instructor, as a Pee Wee football coach, at Little League Baseball clinics, and at blood drives.

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Chelsea Dykes (right) is a two-sport athlete at Bradford High School, where she is ranked No 1 academically in the senior class. She is a member of National Honor Society, a Teen Tutor, an Elmira Key Award winner, an Academic All Star, and is involved in a Church Youth Group. She was a member of the Bradford varsity basketball team, and is a member of its varsity softball team, playing second base.

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That's all of them -- 24 remarkable people who, at the heart of it, have one thing in common: they have awed and swayed the selectors by excelling in unique and impressive ways, maintaining along the way the capacity to do so while operating with a core of kindness. They are tough, and yet compassionate; determined, and yet sportsmanlike.

They know that sports, while important, are not all-important, but can draw from them their very best, and can prepare them for life's many obstacles. And with that in mind, they excel.

Photos in text:

From top: Watkins Glen's Nick Phoenix, Watkins Glen's Ernie Brennan, O-M's Michele Kenney, Watkins Glen's Erik Dahl, O-M's Katey Cheplick, Watkins Glen's Joe Stansfield, Watkins Glen's Ellie Fausold, Watkins Glen's Jaclyn Conklin, and Bradford's Chelsea Dykes.

From left: Watkins Glen's Abby Stamp, Alan McIlroy and Jaimie Sedlack.

From left: O-M's Eric Davis, Watkins Glen's Molly Murphy, and O-M's Sherry Benedict.

From left: Watkins Glen's Sophie Peters, Trumansburg's Ben Robertson, Watkins' Ben Quigley