Zanin brothers headline MN Hall induction
The Marple Newtown High Athletics Hall of Fame added seven individuals and two teams as well as honoring one coach and a coaching staff at its
2019 awards dinner last month.
Joining the Hall of Fame were Lindsey Cassidy (Class of
2000); Heather Ericson Dwyer (Class of 1993); Scott Lehman (Class of
1978); the late Meghan Mulqueen Taylor (Class of 1988); Frank Zanin (Class of 1995); TJ Zanin (Class of 1994); Hall of Fame co-chairperson Gary Becker; the 1995 Central League champion field hockey team; and the 2007 state finalist baseball team.
Vince Clarke, who has coached at Marple Newtown for more than 40 years, and Wendy Smith and Helen Donoghue, coaches of the 1995 field hockey team, also were recognized.
Cassidy was an All-Central and All-Delco selection as well as a 1,000-point scorer in basketball and earned Academic AllAmerica honors in lacrosse. At the University of Pennsylvania, she earned All-Ivy League and All-Mid Atlantic honors in lacrosse. She has competed in the Broad Street Run and Philadelphia Marathon.
“My teammates always helped make me better,” she said. “And my sisters helped give me confidence and make me believe in myself.”
Ericson Dwyer was the
1993 Daily Times Softball
Player of the Year. She pitched one perfect game and 13 no-hitters for Marple Newtown then earned Academic All-America honors at Widener University.
“I have to thank my coaches and teammates, especially my catchers,” Ericson Dwyer, who serves on the board of directors of the Newtown Square Petticoat League and arranges youth softball pitching clinics, said. “Now I’m happy to be able to give back to the community.”
Lehman was an AllDelco selection as a member of a Central League champion football team and earned all-league honors in baseball. He helped Millersville University earn a pair of conference baseball titles and set a school record for runs batted in in a season.
“One of the greatest aspects of sports for me was being able to be a teammate,” he said. “That was a tremendous gift.”
Mulqueen Taylor, who died in 2018, was an AllDelco field hockey and lacrosse player at Marple Newtown, played both sports at the University of Delaware, and helped young women in Georgia and South Carolina learn the game of lacrosse. She also served as head lacrosse coach at the University of Santa Barbara.
“She coached lacrosse for 30 years and always enjoyed the friendships she made through the sport,” said her husband, Greg Taylor. “I know how proud she was of Haley and Hannah, her daughters.”
Frank Zanin was a 1,000-point scorer in basketball at Marple Newtown
and helped one of the teams he played for set a school record with 23 wins. At West Chester University, he earned an award as the team’s best defensive player as well as a scholar-athlete award. He has spent more than 15 years as an NBA scout.
“Without the teammates I had, I wouldn’t have had much of a career,” Zanin said. “And I had my brother (TJ) to push me every day. I’m still a (Marple Newtown) Tiger, and I always will be.”
TJ Zanin averaged 24 points per game as a Marple Newtown senior basketball player then earned the Swope Award for academics and leadership at West Chester University. He also has spent more than 15 years scouting for NBA teams.
“Basketball has given me so much in my life,” he said.
Becker “has given so much of his time and energy over so many years,” Smith said in making the surprise announcement of his Hall of Fame induction.
The 1995 field hockey team had 12 shutouts among its 17 victories. Five players earned All-Central first-team honors and three were named to the All-Delco first team. Each week, the team would visit a homeless shelter in Upper Darby, bringing food to the less fortunate who spent time there.
“It’s so great to see so many of these players back together after more than
20 years,” Smith said. Head coach Mark Jordan represented the 2007 baseball team, which won
11 of its last 15 games and became the first Marple Newtown team with three wins in state playoff games.
“I remember when we lost to Conestoga, 15-1, and their coach (John Vogan) told me I had a good bunch of boys,” Jordan said. “I guess I realized that when we were down
9-1 to Donegal in states and came back to win that game.”
Clarke has coached 30 seasons of outdoor track and was head boys basketball coach at Marple for four years. He was a member of the boys soccer coaching staff for more than 30 years and the girls soccer coaching staff for five years.
“The good thing in life is finding your place,” Clarke said. “And I found my place at Marple Newtown in 1976.”
Smith had a 132-2218 record in eight seasons as head field hockey coach at Marple Newtown. Her teams won five Central League championships as well as a district title. Donoghue was her assistant for five years and took pride in her work with the teams’ goalies.
“We believed in hard work, commitment, and dedication to the team,” Smith said. “I had the honor of coaching Meghan Mulqueen in my first year as an assistant coach.”
••• Patricia Mescanti has stepped down as the Delaware County Athletes Hall of Fame’s secretary.
She was inducted into the Hall in 1988 for her skills in bowling and worked closely with former president and executive Joe Cirilli until his passing in 2016.
She helped gather information for nominations to the Hall of Fame and helped organize monthly luncheons and the annual Hall of Fame dinner.
One of her fondest memories as a Board member was having her son, Steve Mescanti, honored as Coach of the Year after Penncrest High team won the state ice hockey championship. Steve was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016, making the Mescantis the only mother and son to be members of the Hall.
“Patricia became the (Hall of Fame’s) heart and soul in 1988 and has been ever since,” Delco Athletes Hall president John Leary said. “She will be missed very much.”
••• Ridley High graduate Julianna Moss, a Delaware County Community College freshman, set a school record with her time of
20 minutes and 51 seconds at the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference cross country championship race at Luzerne County Community College recently.
Moss easily bettered the DCCC record of 22:31 set last year by Chester High graduate Danayzah Fitzgerald.
Moss was among the top 10 finishers in four of the five meets in which she participated before her record-breaking run, in which she lowered her time from the Luzerne Invitational in September by almost three minutes.
••• Plans are being made to honor long-time local baseball coach Rich Merchant at a reunion of his former Delco Senior Babe Ruth League players. The event, which will take place at Barnaby’s in Aston, will be held from 4-7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10.
The cost will be $30, which will include beer/ wine and a buffet. Contact Adam Wojtelwicz at adamw@shipleyschool.org for additional information.