Five players to attend Scholar Athlete banquet
No. Lehigh’s Jason Check
N’western’s Deven Bollinger
Palmerton’s Braden Gower
Jim Thorpe’s Tyler Hartman
Pleasant Valley’s Cesar Estrada
The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Lehigh Valley Chapter, will hold its annual Football Scholar Athlete banquet on March 1 at 4:30 p.m. at the Northampton Banquet and Event Center.
Five area athletes will participate in the banquet, which has been held since 1961, and one football player from among the 32 schools represented will be named the Lehigh Valley Scholar Athlete of the Year. Last year, Jim Thorpe’s Nathan Rosahac was named the top scholar athlete, while Nolan Wentz of Lehighton earned the award two years ago. Other recent area winners included Northern Lehigh’s Caleb Johnson (2013) and Palmerton’s Aaron Cook (2012).
In addition to high school students, six area colleges will also be represented.
The area players, along with their individual bios follows below.
Tyler Michael Hartman, Jim Thorpe
A 5-9, 230-pound offensive guard, Hartman ranks 11th out of 127 students. He is an Honor Roll student, National Honor Society member, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society member, and earned First Team All-Conference offensive honors.
He is a member of the Powerlifting Team, Scholastic Scrimmage, PA Junior Academy of Science, History Club, and served as Class Vice-President. He also participates in varsity baseball.
He is a Dual Enrollment student at LCCC, and earned Dean’s List there. Hartman is a Student Rotarian, organized and led a gift drive for chronically ill clients through Turn to Us, and volunteers with the National Night Out program.
He is a youth baseball instructor and is active in his Church.
Jason Joseph Check, Northern Lehigh
A 5-9, 240-pound offensive tackle, Check ranks first out of 109 students. He is an Honor Roll student and National Honor Society member.
Check is a student government member as the Class Vice-President, participates in varsity baseball, SADD, Spanish, Envirothon, Patriot, and Gifted Program clubs.
He is active with the Boy Scouts of America, is an Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow member, and is active in his Church Youth Group.
Deven Robert Bollinger, Northwestern
A 6-5, 210-pound quarterback and defensive back, Bollinger ranks 17th out of 179 students. He is an Honor Roll student, member of the National Honor Society, and Curricular Honor Society.
Bollinger earned First Team All-State and First Team All-Conference offensive honors, and was twice the Times News Football Player of the Year.
He is a Student Government Class Officer, member of the Key Club, and plays varsity basketball. He also volunteers with Special Olympics.
Braden Gower, Palmerton
A 6-0, 205-pound offensive guard and defensive tackle, Gower ranks fourth out of 122 students. He is an Honor Roll student and carries a GPA of 4.26. Gower is a Natural Science academic tutor, and participates in varsity track and the class play.
Gower is a member of the Environmental Club and FBLA. He is active in Boy Scouts (working on Eagle Scout), the PA Game Commission Fish Rehabilitation Program, landscaping at Gettysburg National Military Park, Toys for Tots, and helped set up the Vietnam Moving Wall in Palmerton.
He also participates in food drives and paper drives at his Church.
Cesar Alejandro Estrada, Pleasant Valley
A 5-9, 225-pound offensive guard and defensive end, Estrada ranks 93rd out of 358 students. He is an Honor Roll student with a GPA of 3.70.
Estrada participates in varsity track and weightlifting intramurals. He also volunteers and is active with his Church and in his community.
**********
The remaining players include Jhon Castro (Allen), Benjamin Charles Carbonetto (Allentown Central Catholic), Joshua Bradley Pittenger (Bangor), Brandon Scott Lysick (Bethlehem Catholic), Zachary Nathan Scheirer (Catasauqua), Karam Chakif (Dieruff), Bryan Matthew Stanel (East Stroudsburg North), Joseph Paul Fulmer (East Stroudsburg South), Tyler Thaddius Pastula (Easton), Liam Richard Garrett (Emmaus), Jared R. Jenkins (Freedom), Dallas Jevon Holmes (Liberty), Jake Taylor Wilson (Nazareth), Dario J. Walnock (Northampton), Ben Matthew Carlin (Notre Dame), Gus Yocum (Palisades), Luke Dauberman (Parkland), Maxwell Steven Houck (Pen Argyl), Michael P. Gomez (Phillipsburg), Drew Joseph Altemose (Pocono Mountain East), Tyler James Armand (Pocono Mountain West), Aaron Michael Kahn (Salisbury), Evan Reid Deily (Saucon Valley), Cameron Michael Fisher (Southern Lehigh), Leo Ohrem Sattamini (Stroudsburg), Eli Nuscher (Whitehall) and Taylor B. Sheridan (Wilson).
The college players selected include Levi Murphy (East Stroudsburg University), Justin Tindull (Kutztown University), Ryan Barnett (Lafayette College), Alex Motley (Lehigh University), Salvatore Pagano (Moravian College) and Max Kirin (Muhlenberg College).
Comments