2024-2025 Wrapped

Now that the 2023-24 academic year has come to an end, it is time to reflect on all that has been accomplished by the students at Jim Thorpe this year. This past year has consisted of fun, challenges, accomplishments, and memories made by the student body.

Some notable events of this past year for each sport team or extra-curricular group are compiled below.

Cheerleading

Though the debate between whether or not cheerleading should be considered a sport still stands in some places, it is clear to anyone at Jim Thorpe with open eyes that Olympian Cheerleading is a sport, and one that requires full year round commitment.

Captained by seniors Ashlynn Miller and William Newton, the cheerleaders have been working hard all year through to practice and memorize routines that they performed at pep rallies, football games, and basketball games.

In July, the cheer team went to NCA Cheer Camp at Shippensburg University. The NCA All American nominated cheerleaders were William Newton, Nekya Strohl, Ashlynn Miller, and Kyla Adams.

Following the end of a season, the team comes together for the Jim Thorpe Memorial Birthday run to encourage the participants.

Cross Country

This year, the captain of the Cross Country team was well-rounded senior Aubrey Bonner. The big event of Cross Country this year was hosting the Annual Jim Thorpe Elementary Run.

Of course, this fall is when Cross Country will be back again, to send even more students to state qualifiers.

Boy's Soccer

The Olympian Boys’ Soccer team had a commendable performance this past fall. Captained by seniors Cael Heaney and Blake Barbario, the team qualified for districts and placed third in leagues.

Heaney described the team as having played well and grown together, as well as individually. 

Girl's Soccer

As one of Jim Thorpe Area High School’s best performing sports, Girls’ Soccer is taken quite seriously. This past year, seniors Olivia Rosenberger and Sarah Hartman were the captains of the group.

Olivia Rosenberger was recognized with the "All Star State Award," being the first women's soccer athlete of Jim Thorpe to receive this award.

More can be read about what she has accomplished in her time as captain, including the rest of her high school career, in her Senior Spotlight.

Boy's Tennis

The Jim Thorpe’s Boys’ Tennis team for the 2023-24 school year consisted of captain Alex Plesniarski and members Ian Walck and Maxwell Priore.

This team had to work double time for the entirety of their season. They only won a couple matches, but this marks an improvement for an overworked, inexperienced team, playing varsity as second year members, facing four year tennis veterans.

Next year, they plan to continue and improve upon the progress they have made thus far. 

Girl's Tennis

The Jim Thorpe Girls’ Tennis team’s co-captains of the 2024-2025 school year were Senior Ashlynn Miller and sophomore Keira Reese. The pair also qualified for the District XI Doubles Tournament. They were the 8th seed.

This accomplishment, though in any context is impressive, is more meaningful to Jim Thorpe history than it seems at face value because this was only the second time in Jim Thorpe’s Girls’ Tennis history that they were seeded in the District XI tournament.

Miller also qualified for the District XI Singles Tournament.

Girl's Basketball

The Lady Olympians’ Basketball team was captained by seniors Sarah Hartman, Amara Robinson, and Kiara Ginopolas.

Though this season presented a challenge, the Olympians will be back next year to face the challenge and bring about better outcomes, in stride.

Boy's Basketball

The Jim Thorpe Area High School’s Boys’ Basketball endured a struggle throughout the course of the year, though senior and captain Benjamin Goldberg saw hard work and impressive ethic from the players.

They recently hired new coach, Brian O’Donnell.

To prepare for next year, the boys’ basketball team has in store the Colonial League, many open gyms, various summer leagues, and high aspirations. 

Wrestling

Jim Thorpe’s Olympian wrestling team was led by captain Ricky Kenna.

Wrestler Stephen Korte qualified and competed at Regionals PIAA 1-2. Other achievements of this year include Aiden Sterling and Nicholas Schwartz both placing 6th at district level competition.

The wrestling team also took a trip to North Carolina for a tournament, during which time they were able to compete and had fun.

For the duration of the spring, the Olympian

Boy's Baseball

Boys’ Baseball team was captained by seniors Jack Edwards, Owen Hubbard, Nick Schwartz, and Matt Domski.

A major victory of this season was when Jim Thorpe was able to overcome North Schuylkill for the first time in at least four years.

The team worked hard and displayed excitement to play over the course of the season.

Girl's Softball

The Lady Olympian Softball captains of the 2024-25 school year were Megan Rohrman, Mara Levins, Melina Schwartz, and Oleska McAdndrew.

Despite the struggle gaining footing at the beginning of a season, there is much hope yet for the girls’ softball team, due to their hard work and improvements upon last year’s schedule.

Track & Field

Throughout the course of the spring, nobody saw work harder than that of the Track & Field team. Coached by Mr. Miller and Mr. Cameron, the members of Track & Field practiced daily and attended meets often.

The track and field teams competed in their last Schuylkill League Championships this past season, as all sports teams will be moving to the Colonial League for the 2024-2025 School year.

Jim Thorpe’s Schuylkill League Championship Medalists are senior Leah Wasko for 4th place in the 100 Hurdles and 2nd place in the Triple Jump, Olivia Rosenberger for the 4th place in the Pole Vault, Aubrey Bonner for 4th place in the 100 meter dash, freshman Kayden Spence for 4th place in the 400 meter dash, Ehren Hassler for 3rd place in the pole vault, and Conner Miller for 4th place in pole vault.

Ehren Hassler, Kayden Spence, Josh Louk, and Cole Lazorick collectively placed 4th in the 100 meter relay.

The Olympians who became District Medalists are Leah Wasko for 4th place in both the long jump and the 100 hurdles, Olivia Rosenberger for 3rd place in the pole vault, Cole Lazorick for 4th place in the high jump, Conner Miller for 4th place in the pole vault, and Kayden Spence for 4th place in the 400 meter dash. 

Football

This year, the football team worked hard, played harder, and brought entertainment and school spirit to the student body.

They won the 209 Trophy against Lehighton and qualified for districts, finishing the year with a score of 4-7.

The team was coached by Mr. Miller and Mr. Rosenberger. 

LLS Volunteering

Over the course of the past school year, some members of the senior class have participated in monumental fundraising to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, most prominently Olivia Rosenberger.

With an original goal of accumulating $75,000, the team managed to amass $86,304, through various fundraising efforts.

These include, Valentines sales, hosting soccer tournaments, purse bingo, and many bake sales.

As seniors, these champions of charity will be moving on up, but hopefully next year Jim Thorpe’s students will bring the kind of contributions to the community that these girls did this year. 

Mock Trial

This year’s Mock Trial team had no shortage of opportunities for growth and learning. This year, Jim Thorpe’s Mock Trial team saw young up-and-coming members take on significant roles and learn much about the legal system and court proceedings in the process.

Jim Thorpe’s Defense team met to face Palmerton’s Plaintiff at the Monroe County Courthouse on February 12. Three days later, the teams returned to the courthouse for Jim Thorpe’s plaintiff team to face off against Stroudsburg’s defense.

Months later on May 2, Law Day was hosted at the Carbon County courthouse, and Jim Thorpe had another chance to compete against Palmerton, this time as the prosecution, opposing their defense. This resulted in a hung jury.

The members of Mock Trial gained valuable experiences and are eagerly awaiting the chance to give it their all again next year. Mr. Strubinger is the advisor, who is assisted each year by Attorney Matt Mottola and Attorney Sarah Modrick.

History Club

Jim Thorpe’s history club year has been eventful and educational for members, as well as non-members. History club is advised by Mr. Holub and Mr. Ellison.

This year’s officer elections resulted in the president being junior Madison Freeby.

History club began the year with a Day of the Dead display, and continued throughout the rest of the year with a 9/11 display, Veteran’s Day Program, a trip to Bethlehem, and a Memorial Day Program.

History club met every week to discuss new things and engage in new activities. 

SADD

Jim Thorpe’s Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD, carried out activities to help maintain the safety of the youth both here and elsewhere.

Most recently, they performed the “Prom Promise”, which was an auto demonstration of the potential outcomes of drinking and driving.

Earlier in the year, SADD also ventured to the Lehigh Valley Zoo, where they educated children on the dangers of smoking and alcohol.

This morally committed group was advised by Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Vermillion.

FBLA

Jim Thorpe’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) had no break from constant fundraising, social events, and educational opportunities.

A commendable 85 students qualified at the Regional Leadership Conference to attend the State Leadership Conference.

Of those that attended the SLC, four high school students and 26 middle school students qualified to attend the National Leadership Conference this summer in Orlando.

On Tuesday, May 21, the FBLA End of the Year Banquet was held. Awards for participation and community service were distributed.

This past year’s officers, president Harmony Berk, vice president Amaya Heffelfinger, secretary Adriana Day, treasurer Grace Ossowski, reporter Maura Malaska, parliamentarian Mikayla Andreas, historian Jon Duffy, and community service and fundraising coordinator Cassidy Pychinka.

New officers for next year were also inducted.

This fantastic year of FBLA would not have been possible without the amazing work of the talented and devoted officer team as well as that of Mrs. Thompson who started Jim Thorpe’s chapter of FBLA 8 years ago and makes it bigger and better each year.

Scholastic Scrimmage

Scholastic Scrimmage is a PBS39 tournament style trivia competition for high school students, consisting of competing teams of four, from 30 different local schools.

Jim Thorpe’s competing team for the Scholastic Scrimmage trivia tournament consisted of junior Landon Thompson, sophomore Maxwell Priore, sophomore Luke Bosi, and sophomore Gabriella Cerra.

Alternates for the team were freshmen Spencer Moore and Lena Quezada.

On October 26, Jim Thorpe succeeded over competitor Marian Catholic, moving on to the second round.

They were then to face Parkland, who came out victorious.

Though Jim Thorpe did not succeed past the second round, this was the first year being a member of Scholastic Scrimmage for every member of the team, and the victory they had is notable.

Next year the Scholastic Scrimmage team will have a more experienced core.

The team plans to come in kicking, more knowledgeable and victorious.

This year, Ms. MacCorkle led Scholastic Scrimmage through daily practices and success as a not yet mature team. The team wants to express their gratitude for her commitment and guidance.

Newspaper

Jim Thorpe Area High School’s newspaper, The Olympian Current, was this year ran by advisor Ms. MacCorkle and president Kaylee Tate.

The Olympian Current has hosted numerous meetings to work on plans for many great articles, regarding topics such as personal opinion, school news, wide-ranging news, staff appreciation, and seniors worthy of recognition.

Just since October, the Olympian Current’s website received over 400 visits. As for what one can expect from Jim Thorpe’s newspaper staff next year, there will likely be many more educational opportunities; fundraising; and of course, writing.

Literary Magazine

This year, the Flame has garnered an amount of student participation that has exceeded that of any recent year. The Flame staff plans to surpass this level of participation in the upcoming years, as well as broaden the awareness and membership amongst the student body.

You can bet that next year Jim Thorpe’s the Flame will come in swinging with programs, contests, group events, fundraisers, and more.

The Flame is still running its “What Ignites Your Flame?” Program, asking students to make literary and artistic submissions regarding personal motivators or passions of the past year.

These are asked to be shared to Ms. MacCorkle any time until the end of the year. Ms. MacCorkle has guided the Flame staff through an entire year of various programs and contests.

She has increased student participation and shown all students willing what it means to be able to express themselves in a public forum, as a representation of themselves and Jim Thorpe.

Anyone interested in viewing the works published by the Flame, from this year and years past, is able to look on (theflamejtasd.com).

Student Council

Advised by Mr. Kovac, the Student Council’s most significant events of the year include the Homecoming Spirit Week, the Pie Eating Contest, Polar Express Day, the Volleyball Tournament, and the Powder Puff Game.

In the beginning of the year, the members voted on officer positions, to which senior Aubrey Bonner was elected president.

Band

This year, the band, advised by Dr. Christ, was heard all year round. From performances at every football game to prep rally performances, the band and Dr. Christ never stopped working.

Notably, they attended the North Schuylkill Band Festival on Friday, May 17. The band also performed at the North Schuylkill Jazz Festival.

Chorus

Like band, Jim Thorpe’s Chorus is advised by Dr. Christ. Members of the chorus, and the group as a collective, have shown great activity and fluency.

Notable events of the year for this group include County Chorus and District Chorus. 

Theater

Throughout the course of this past school year, theater members and advisor Dr. Christ have worked diligently to flawlessly perform a Christmas Carol in the first semester and the Addams Family in the second.

Both shows required hours upon hours of work each week and ended up very well liked by the audiences.

Class of 2026

 In the beginning of the year, the Class of 2026 held officer elections, which resulted in the positions being president Maura Malaska, vice president Lila DeJessa, secretary Keira Reese, treasurer Jack Decker, and historian Cole Lazorick.

To meet their goal of having a memorable prom, the Class of 2026 officers held various fundraisers, including Gertrude Hawk Chocolate Bar sales and a soup sale at Bright Path Brewery.

Class advisors are Mrs. O’Donnell and Mr. Kovac, who help run class meetings and guide the officers in their pursuits.

Class of 2025

The class of 2025, advised by Mrs. Shirar and led by president Justin Yescavage, had a year full of fundraising and preparation for prom, for both this year and next year.

Some notable fundraisers include the Halloween bash, breakfast at the high school, and the $200 certificate sale.

The class of 2025’s most notable event of the year was their May 21 Whitewater Rafting Trip.

Prom of 2024

At the May 10th prom, seniors Monica Rizzo and Michael Strika were elected Prom Queen and King. Congratulations to them.

Class of 2024

This year the seniors fundraised and held the prom. June 5 was the Senior Rehearsal, Picnic, and Baccalaureate.

Last of the events for the Class of 2024 was their graduation on June 7.

All Star Ceremony

On Wednesday, May 29, the Academic & Athletic All Star Ceremony was held. At the ceremony, many scholarships were awarded, as well as recognition in the categories of athletic and academic accomplishment. 

The ceremony began with rewards for students who placed in the top three in their FBLA categories at the Region 21 Regional Leadership Conference in January. Students who placed first were Jonathan Duffy, Grace Ossowski, Gabriella Cerra, Arianna Onofre, Gavin Baker, Makena Scherer, Adam Kosciolek, Jack Decker, Joseph DeMarco, Tobias Garner, Logan O’Connor, Noah Pastor, and Autumn McKenna.

Students who placed second in their respective categories were Aubrey Bonner, Chris Chowaniec, Zachary Grosse, Cooper Kresge, Kyle George, Aubrey Holland, Mara Levins, Alex Plesniarski, Lena Quezada, Logan O’Shura, Luke Bosi, and Conor Holland. Those who were recognized with third place awards were Victoria Ciafrei, Ehren Hassler, Amaya Heffelfinger, Cole Harwood, Anjali Chiulli, Zoey George, Hailey Mosteller, Monika Sarzynska, Kalla Miller, Hannah Yoder, and Bowden Chicarelli.

Following the FBLA awards, Mr. Lesisko presented the students who excelled beyond any standards and achieved scores of over 1300 on their SAT’s. These students were Kaila O’Connor and Grace Ossowski. 

Next, students with the GPA’s in the top 5% of their classes were acknowledged.

For the ninth grade, these students were Gavin Baker, Kevin Chowaniec, Hailey Malaska, Logan O’Shura, Lena Quezada, and Vanessa Sadler.

For the tenth grade, these students were Gabriella Cerra, Joseph DeMarco, Maura Malaska, Ethan McDermott, Keira Reese, and Ian Walck.

The students with the GPA’s in the top 5% of the eleventh grade were Bowden Chicarelli, Soter Cimbolo, Anthony DeCarolis, Natalia Niemirka, Brianna Snisky, and Landon Thompson.

For the senior class, the students awarded were Sarah Hartman, Kaila O’Connor, Grace Ossowski, Zak Pompa, and Dani Rimsky.

The following two awards given were for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award and the CoalCracker Wrestling Tournament Scholarships.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Award was given to Bowden Chicarelli, and the CoalCracker Wrestling Tournament Scholarship recipients were Raphael Dinarte, Cael Heaney, Richard Kenna, Eriz Irizarry, Jayden Mantilla, Max Pfeifer, Benjamin Goldberg, Olivia Rosenberger, and Mikayla Andreas.

Next, academic scholarships were awarded to Mikayla Andreas, Zachary Barra, Harmony Berk, Aubrey Bonner, Olivia Bosco, Julianna Bowen, Rene Bubar, Kayla Burak, Olivia Calcano, Philip Chicchinelli, Adriana Day, Raphael Dinarte, Ada Finsel, Nicholas Germino, Kiara Ginopolas, Benjamin Goldberg, Maggy Hallihan, Sarah Hartman, Cael Heaney, Amaya Heffelfinger, Owen Hubbard, Erik Irizarry, Richard Kenna, Chase Lachaud Whaley, Roberto Magobet, Jayden Mantilla, Oleska McAndrew, Lenora McGilery, Ashlyn Miller, Kaila O’Connor, Grace Ossowski, Max Pfeifer, Zak Pompa, Cassidy Pychinka, Dani Rimsky, Megan Rohrman, Noah Rosahac, Olivia Rosenberger, Melia Schwartz, Ethan Smith, Michael Strika, and Harley Young. 

Lastly, the students who made remarkable athletic accomplishments were awarded. These students are Aubrey Bonner, Stacy Bos, JaeLynn Browdy, Julianna Bowen, William Bynon, Bowden Chicarelli, Aaron Curran, Anthony DeCarolis, Matthew Domski, Haylee Fischi, Kiara Ginopolas, Pierce Gothard, Maggy Hallihan, Sarah Hartman, Ehren Hassler, Cael Heaney, Madison Hill, Joshua James, Richard Kenna, Steven Korte, Vincent Letosky, Mara Levins, Ashlyn Miller, WIlliam Newton, Alex Plesniarski, Aiden Ramey, Noah Rosahac, Olivia Rosenberger, Evan Rosenbrook, Nicholas Schwartz, Kayden Spence, Chloe Tanatala, Ian Walck, and Leah Wasko.

That concluded Jim Thorpe’s 2024 Academic & Athletic All Star Ceremony, and the June 7 Senior Graduation concluded the 2023-24 academic school year at Jim Thorpe.

Congratulations to everyone at Jim Thorpe this year for impressive hard work and their phenomenal accomplishments.

-Gabriella Cerra, Writer