ROSCOE, NY — “Participation in sports is so much more than the opportunity to learn how to dribble a basketball or hit the perfect line drive,” said Janice Phillips, Roscoe High School principal.

She was giving her introductory remarks during the 2022-2023 Spring and End of Year athletic awards presentation at the “Home of the Blue Devils” on June 13.

Sports, she said, enable “athletes to demonstrate their character not only when they win, but when they lose. It teaches perseverance and the understanding that hard work leads to success. It teaches collaboration and the value of lifting each other up.”

Following the presentation of team and individual awards, David Eggleton, athletic director at Roscoe and Livingston Manor, paid tribute to assistant varsity softball coach Nathaniel Juron.

Juron does double duty by driving a shuttle bus getting athletics to their fields of play, a job Eggleton said in essence requires a lot of dedication and patience, and is not for the faint-hearted.

Juron stepped up to the plate at both the Livingston Manor and Roscoe awards ceremonies to receive the hard-earned 2022-2023 Athletic Directors Service Award.

For more awards, click here for a column that highlighted the Livingston Manor scholar athletes.

Merged teams

Varsity boys’ and girls’ track and field, varsity baseball, varsity softball, modified boys’ and girls’ track and field.

Not merged

Varsity boys’ golf (RCS), varsity girls’ golf (LMCS) and modified softball (two teams, one at LMCS, one at RCS).

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Athletes of the Year

Anthony Teipelke received the 2022-2023 Roscoe Athlete of the Year Award (Male). In presenting the award, Eggleton described the 17-year-old senior as a driving force for the teams that he has been part of during his athletic career. “He is a leader, a captain. And a go-to player for any coach.”

At Roscoe, Teipelke played varsity football for three years and varsity hoops for two seasons on the hardwood. This year, he received the team award for Most Valuable Player in football and basketball, and was selected as a scholar athlete.

“It’s tough coming from a small school… we don’t have enough guys to play,” said the merged teams’ quarterback and basketball’s small forward. “But we found a way to do it; always worked as hard as we could.”

His take on playing high school sports?

“It was just a great time, growing as a person, learning new stuff; it was great.”

Teipelke plans to attend SUNY Cortland, where he will try out as a point guard for the Red Dragons.

Athena Niforatos, a 16-year-old junior, was tabbed for Roscoe’s 2022-2023 Athlete of the Year (Female), a rare distinction for an 11th-grader.

Eggleton described her as a “committed role-player to multiple sports teams throughout her athletic career.” He noted that Niforatos was a three-sport scholar athlete for the Blue Devils this year, and while at Roscoe has been part of the varsity soccer, basketball and track and field programs.

Other awards for Niforatos this year are the Coaches Award in basketball and Coaches Award in track and field.

So far, Niforatos has proudly earned nine varsity letters, a tally that Eggleton predicted would increase next year. ”We look forward to seeing her achieve 10-plus varsity letters for Roscoe Athletic next year.

“This athlete’s coaches know that she is always someone that will step up to support her teams,” he said.

Niforatos’s reaction to the prestigious honor?

“I was in shock; I wasn’t expecting to get it because I’m a junior,” she replied, noting that she has been competing in varsity-level soccer and track and field since the eighth grade.

Niforatos’s take on participating in sports at a small, rural high school, and by extension, the benefits of merging selected teams?

“Because Roscoe is so small, it’s a privilege. Sometimes we don’t even know if we’re going to have enough turnout for a team… Next year is up in the air, but winning sectionals in any sport would be great!”