Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing the Peekskill Athletic Director, Lou Panzanaro. Our interview was very informative and discussed  all of the fall Sports and upcoming events in Peekskill Athletics. Our Boys Soccer team, Cross Country, Girls Volleyball and Girls Swimming were all teams that made it to sectionals this fall. Mr. Panzanaro felt that certain athletes stood out this year.  PHS Varsity Football quarterback, Naim Mickens was one of them.  Naim led his team to a 6-2 record and did it with an incredible offense. 8th grade Varsity swimmer, Kaitlyn Quezada had an amazing season and swam individuals in the butterfly and freestyle, and made a new record with her teamates in the 200 medley relay.  Mr. Panzanaro also mentioned the unforgettable junior, Chelsea Ogindo. He conraluated her for making it into the top ten and winning her division in Track.

The Athlete of the Week feature is something brand new at PHS this year.  The Athlete of the Week feature allows students to be recognized for all of their hard work and dedication, gives students motivation to achieve something greater, and congratulated them for having an indescribable and never ending love for the sport.  Seven athletes this fall were individually chosen by their coaches for Athlete of the Week. Congratulations to our student athletes, Jarrette Gilleo, Jasmyn Lucas, Gabby McMillan, Oswald Annang, Chelsea Ogindo, Naim Mickens, and Alana Donabie.

On November 17, 2014, there was the annual Athletic Hall of Fame dinner at Colonial Terrace. This dinner was held to honor and recognize former athletes that “left their mark” in Peekskill High School history. This year, five athletes were inducted into the Hall of Fame, Amy Johansen, Eric Crayton, Brad Wheeler, Jean Clem and Jack Catherd. These five inductees made remarkable accomplishments and worked extremely hard.  Mr. Panzanaro stated, “These athletes have left their mark in Peekskill High School history” and that is certainly true. Congratulations!

During the summer of 2014, Dr. Fine, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, held a meeting where the eligibility policy was discussed and planned out for the 2014-2015 school year.  The new eligibility policy requires that all athletes must be accompanied by their parents’ to a mandatory eligibility meeting. The purpose of this mandatory meeting is to not only involve parents in their child’s participated sport but to enforce the importance of academics. In addition to always remembering to be “Student Athletes.” The feeling was that starting the meeting in the fall was short notice and most athletes had already started training.  However, there will be one for the Winter and Spring Sports seasons.  The winter sports eligibility meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 19th 2014.  Mr. Panzanaro expects each athlete to be committed to their sport and academics equally by holding their end of the bargain. He feels that this meeting will benefit each athlete by becoming more responsible, independent and motivated to do better. As a result of this new eligibility policy, if any athlete and their parent or guardian, for whatever reason does not attend the meeting, they may not participate in that sport or any winter sports.  For more information, call Peekskill High School at 737-0201 or the PCSD at 737-3300.