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Speakers set for 9th annual Top Drawer 24 gathering

WATKINS GLEN, April 10 -- Preparations are under way for the 9th annual Top Drawer 24 party at the Watkins Glen State Park Pavilion on Sunday, June 1, 2014.

Among those preparations has been confirmation of the appearance of a line of guest speakers headed by Alfred University Head Football Coach Dave Murray.

In addition, WENY-TV Sportscaster Jenna Cottrell will be a speaker, along with former Top Drawer 24 honoree Chelsea Lehman and longtime soccer coach and Elmira Psychiatric Center executive director Mark Stephany.

Those speakers can talk from experience to the honorees -- the Top Drawer class of 2014 -- about life's challenges and rewards.

The Top Drawer team, chosen annually by committee and to be announced in May, is subtitled The Brian J. O'Donnell Scholar-Athlete-Citizen team, named in honor of the retired Watkins Glen High School principal and former district School Board president (at right). The team is composed of outstanding high school students who come from school districts in and near Schuyler County.

This year the expanded slate of school districts represented includes previous participants Watkins Glen, Odessa-Montour, Trumansburg, Spencer-Van Etten and Bradford, and newcomers Horseheads, Elmira Heights Edison, Elmira Notre Dame, Twin Tiers Baptist, and Elmira Christian Academy.

The evening will begin at about 5 p.m. with a social gathering -- featuring various finger foods -- and there will be a group picture of the 24 honorees snapped by parents and by a photographer from this website for publication here. Awards sponsored by E.C. Cooper will also be presented to The Odessa File Athletes of the Year from the Watkins Glen and Odessa-Montour High Schools. Another honoree: the recipient of the Susan B. Haeffner Award sponsored by The Odessa File and given annually to a high school student who embodies sportsmanship and has overcome adversity..

The Top Drawer 24 honorees will go on a brief walk with O'Donnell at about 5:45, after which speeches will begin -- all fairly brief. The lineup of speakers includes.

--Alfred University Head Football Coach Dave Murray

Dave Murray was appointed head football coach at Alfred University prior to the 1998 season.

In 15 years leading the Saxons, he has a 100-57-0 record, with the 100 career wins representing the second-most in school history, behind only the legendary Alex Yunevich’s 177.

Murray guided the Saxons to two straight appearances in the NCAA Division III national championship tournament (2009, 2010). AU won a share of its first-ever Empire 8 Conference title in 2009 and won the conference crown outright in 2010. The Saxons earned the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament victories in 2010, winning two games to make it to the national quarterfinals.

Murray is a three-time Empire 8 Conference Coach of the Year, winning the honor in 2005, 2009 and 2010. He has coached five Empire 8 Players of the Year, five Empire 8 Rookies of the Year and two ECAC Northwest Players of the Year. Six times his players have earned First Team All-American recognition.

A 1981 graduate of Springfield College, where he played linebacker for the Chiefs, Murray spent a season as a graduate assistant coach at Ithaca College, where he earned his master’s degree in physical education in 1984. In 2002, he earned a Certificate of Advanced Study from Cortland.

After Ithaca, Murray went on to serve as linebackers coach at Dartmouth College, a position that prepared him to become defensive coordinator at SUNY Cortland in 1987. In 1989, Murray’s defensive unit posted an NCAA record six shutouts and was ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in scoring defense (2nd), total defense (4th) and passing defense (7th).

In 1990, he was tabbed head coach at Cortland and recorded a 44-30-1 mark in seven seasons, taking the Red Dragons to the post-season five times, including a trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs in 1990. Murray guided the Red Dragons to ECAC Northwest titles in 1991 and 1992 and an ECAC Northeast championship in 1994. Eight players earned All-American honors under Murray during his tenure at Cortland. Murray served as head football coach at Lebanon Valley for one season (1997) and has a career record of 138-93-1 in 23 seasons.

He is a native of Scotia, NY, and is a 1976 graduate of Scotia-Glenville High School. He and his wife, Karin, live in Alfred and have three daughters: Chelsea, Kailea and Megan.

--WENY-TV sportscaster Jenna Cottrell

Jenna Cottrell joined WENY-HD in September of 2013, as Sports Reporter and Anchor.

She has a strong connection to upstate NY, growing up outside of Albany in Saratoga Springs, and is a proud Orange Alumni. Jenna graduated from Syracuse University with a dual degree in broadcast journalism and political science.

She grew up playing sports but never thought she could turn her love of them into a career. It was not until getting to SU and realizing psychology was not for her that Jenna decided to pursue her dream job.

During her college years she interned at WRGB and WTEN in Albany, as well as at WAER in Syracuse. She enjoyed her time and the people she met at all of her internships, but is especially grateful to have covered the New York Giants Training Camp during the summer of 2012.

On the highlight reel is also the time Jenna spent working production for ESPN.

In her spare time Jenna enjoys watching sports and eating food. She says life is really about the simple pleasures -- like hanging out with her family and friends.

--Former Top Drawer honoree Chelsea Lehman

Chelsea Lehman has for the past two years been a student at Corning Community College, where this year she competed in two varsity sports: soccer and basketball, and excelled at each. She also played both sports while a student at Watkins Glen High School, where in her senior year of 2012 she was a member of the Top Drawer 24.

While in high school, she was a two-time soccer MVP and an IAC First Team basketball All-Star, and a member of two Division and IAC Championship basketball teams. She was also an Odessa File All-Schuyler pick in soccer and basketball, and a youth basketball coach. Academically, she was a High Honor student and a member of both the National Honor Society and Business and Marketing Honor Society. She is majoring in business, and plans to transfer to a four-year college to earn a bachelors degree in business management.

--Mark Stephany, longtime soccer coach and executive director of the Elmira Psychiatric Center.

Mark Stephany is a US Soccer Federation “D” licensed coach with 25 years coaching experience within the recreational, travel, JV Boys, Varsity Boys and Varsity Girls ranks.

A graduate of Cornell, Alfred and Syracuse Universities, he has worked for 33 years for the New York State Office of Mental Health and is currently the Executive Director of the Elmira Psychiatric Center and Greater Binghamton Health Center, with over 750 employees and more than 5,000 customers throughout 15 counties of the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier.

His brief presentation will be on “Leadership and Resilience – Why We Coach.”

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After the speeches, O'Donnell will introduce each of the 24 honorees, describing their achievements and presenting each with a medallion. Plans also call for presentation of Certificates of Achievement from the offices of Congressman Tom Reed, State Senator Tom O'Mara and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano. Watkins Glen High School Principal Dave Warren will once again serve as emcee.

Ralph Diliberto, a teaching assistant and volunteer strength trainer in the Watkins Glen School District, will present the invocation and benediction.

Following the award presentations, there will be a cupcake reception.

The honorees are being encouraged to invite as many people as they wish: friends and family who can share in the celebration. The event is also open to the public. There is no charge.

Photos in text: From the top: Brian O'Donnell; Dave Murray, Jenna Cottrell, Chelsea Lehman and Mark Stephany.