Category Archives: July 2024

Dunmore Lions Club present student athlete awards

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  • The 2024 Holy Cross High School Female Student Athlete Awards recipient is Brooke Pawelski, shown here with Gino Tempesta, awards dinner chairman, at left, and Lions President James Colangelo, right.
  • Joe Lalli, the 2024 Holy Cross High School Student Athlete award winner for the Dunmore Lions Club is shown at center, with Holy Cross athletic director Alex Higley, at left, and Lions President James Colangelo, at right.
  • Dunmore High School Penn State Award recipient is Anthony Tunis, shown with Lions president James Colangelo, left, and Dunmore athletic director Mark Finan, right.
  • 2024 Dunmore High School Male Student Athlete Awards recipient is Domenic DeSando, shown here with Lions President James Colangelo at left, and Dunmore athletic director Mark Finan, at right.
  • 2024 Dunmore High School Female Student Athlete Awards recipient is Tristan Canavan. Shown from left: Lions president Jim Colangelo, awardee Tristan Canavan; Renee Iezzi and Mark Finan, Dunmore athletic director.
  • Retiring Holy Cross High School Girl’s Basketball Coach, Barry Fitzgerald was recognized. He is shown at center with James Colangelo, Lions president at left, and Gina Tempesta, award dinner chairman, at left.
  • Holy Cross Penn State Award recipient is Brendon Art is shown at center flanked by Holy Cross athletic director Alex Higley at left and Lions president James Colangelo at right.

Dunmore’s Jamie McMynne shows strong improvement this season

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By Steve Svetovich

Dunmore outfielder-pitcher Jamie McMynne credits experience, repetitions, and his hitting coach Eric Lenz for his strong improvement at the plate this past season.

Son of Paul and Beth McMynne, Jamie, as a sophomore, was among the Dunmore Bucks leaders in most hitting categories this past baseball season.

The sophomore stalwart also credited pitching coach John Kranick for his development as a pitcher.

He credited Dunmore veteran baseball coach Mike “Sid” Hallinan for helping him to develop more confidence.

“Coach Hallinan teaches us a lot about the mental aspects of the game,” said Jamie.

“He tells us not to let the little things get in the way. Don’t let the little things bother us.”

Jamie, who shows great respect for the game and his coaches, has played travel baseball for the past six years for Baseball U.

“They have played a great role in my development as a baseball player,” he said.

The talented outfielder-pitcher was second in batting average on the Dunmore Bucks team at .476. He was third in on base percentage at .625. He tied Matt Iezzi and Max Forgione for the team lead in homers with two and was second in stolen bases with six. He led the team in RBIs with 12 and was second on the team in slugging percentage at .761.

Dunmore finished the season with an overall record of 9-10.

A right-hander, Jamie started a few games on the mound showing improvement as the season progressed.

“I was a little shaky in the beginning,” he said. “But I got better. I hope to show more improvement as a pitcher next season.”

He talked about his vast improvement as a hitter.

“Getting a really good hitting coach helped a lot,” he said, “Eric Lenz was my hitting coach and he worked a lot with me on my hitting. I also had to get used to the pitchers and velocity changes. It took a lot of at bats. Lots of repetitions always help the most.”

Hard-working and consistent, Jamie said his parents are always huge supporters.

“My parents teach me to always be respectful. They teach me about hard work and dedication. My parents always tell me good things take time.”

Jamie is an honor student at Dunmore. He said his best academic subject is science.

The swift sophomore talked about what it takes to excel in the outfield.

“Number one, you need to be fast,” he said. “That sets you apart. You need to be able to reach in and keep in front of the ball.”

Jamie said Dunmore has been a good experience for him. “It’s been pretty good,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life. This is what I know.”

Jamie said he likes listening to music in his spare time and would like to see Drake in concert.

He is already looking forward to next baseball season. “I think we are going to have a very good team,” he said. “Most of the team will be back. We will have mostly returning starters.”

He talked about his future aspirations. “I am thinking about studying engineering in college. I definitely want to play college baseball.

“I wanted to earn a college degree while continuing to play baseball. I want to have a successful life and family.

‘In the meantime, I want to help this Dunmore baseball team win a district title.”

Holy Cross grad’s next goal is to become state trooper

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By Steve Svetovich

Holy Cross graduate Nic Borgia put on quite a display as a shortstop as well as reaching a personal goal to hit over .300 in his senior year.

But now he has even bigger aspirations to become a state policeman.

Son of John and Shawn Borgia, Nic will study business at Marywood University in the fall. He also hopes to continue his baseball career there.

“But eventually, I want to become a state policeman,” he said. “It’s a dream I’ve had since I was a little kid. I come from a family of state policemen. I have cousins in the state police. My late grandfather, John Atapovitch was a state policeman. He died at 44, so I never knew him. He was my mom’s dad. I heard a lot of good stories about him.”

Nic finished second on the Holy Cross team with a .323 batting average and .429 on base percentage.

He led the team in hits with 21, runs with 15 and stolen bases with 10.

The Crusaders finished the season with a 7-13 record, but Nic’s performance was one of several bright spots for veteran coach Sandy Menichetti.

The talented infielder had a 3.0 academic average at Holy Cross, His best academic subject is Math.

Nic was a four-year member of the Holy Cross baseball team. He was a second baseman his first three years on the team, but switched to shortstop his senior year. “It was an easy transition for me,” he said. “It’s not too far from second base. You just need to make a longer, harder throw. My coaches were there for me, hitting a lot of ground balls and watching my throws to first base. And when I wasn’t practicing with them, my dad was hitting ground balls to me.”

Well-spoken and confident, Nic said he set a goal to hit over .300 this season. He more than accomplished that by hitting .323.

“I kept practicing with my dad and friends. I practiced as much as possible. And we practice hitting here with the best coaches five days a week at Holy Cross. My goal was to hit over .300 and with all that practice I did it.”

The hard-working infielder said his parents are always a positive influence.

“They always teach me to be respectful. That kind of goes along with attending a Catholic school. They are always behind me, but tell me to show respect, Be nice to everyone. Treat people like you want to be treated.”

Nic said he enjoyed Holy Cross right from the start. “I loved it from day one,” he said. “I had a great time there. I met great people and made great friends. The teachers are all very good people. It was a great experience every step of the way. My siblings set me up for success there. My brother John and sister Allie went there before me.”

A hustler on the diamond, Nic praised veteran baseball coach Menichetti. “He always told us there are two things we can control–effort and attitude. If you have that, you are ahead in the game. He’s a great coach.”

Nic was also a member of the Holy Cross golf team for two years. He enjoys listening to music in his spare time and would love to see country artist Morgan Wallen in concert.