Annual Maroon and White Awards Ceremony

The athlete honor society athletes receiving their awards.On Tuesday, June 2nd, 2026, the annual Maroon and White barbecue took place at Scarsdale High School. This awards ceremony honors the student athletes who played in many seasons of sports throughout their high school athletic career. Many of the awards given at this ceremony have plaques inside the school with the past recipients. Before the awards ceremony, there was a community dinner, hosted outside the school, at the Brewster Road entrance. This dinner is attended by athletes of all seasons.

Jordan Wechsler, President of Maroon and White, and Athletic Director, Cindy Parrot, presented the following awards.

Spring Sectional Champion Teams
2026- Girls Golf
Sophia Black, Rory Winston, Zoe Winston, Arwen Dong, Liya Chu

Boys Tennis Team
Nathan Appleman, Ethan Goh, Mark Ha, Jeffrey Huang, Jerry Jin, Emmett Klingsberg,
Sean Ma, Matthew Nussbaum, Dylan Pai, Jack Reis, Charles Robertson, Rohan Sehgal,
Chris Strovink, Kaito Tsukamoto, and Lucas Yao

Tennis Individuals
Jack Reis

Track and Field
Alice Nicassio - 100 meters and 200 meters
Boys 4x400 - Raj Bhatt, Yuhan Cruz, Jonathan Shawn, Joseph van de Broek
Ana Pettinelli - 800 meters

Awards:
TIMBERGER AWARD
The Elizabeth Timberger Memorial Award honors an outstanding senior who supports a team or the athletic program in a non-playing role, such as manager, statistician, audio-visual assistant, play-by-play person, mascot, or sportswriter. This year there are two recipients.

Mr. Timberger presenting Samara Feuerstein and Chase Timberger with the Timberger award.Recipient: Samara Feuerstein
The first award winner this year is an exceptional team manager whose impact reaches every corner of the soccer and flag program, leading with a team-first mentality and anticipating the needs of players and coaches before they arise, from keeping meticulous stats and organizing uniforms to setting up drills, checking ball pressure, and even stepping into goal when needed. Beyond logistics, she shapes team culture: organizing “bus buddies” on away trips, flagging to coaches when a teammate seemed off, supporting players through rehab, and already mentoring the next generation of managers to carry the program forward. Samara Feuerstein is one of two recipients of the 2026 Timberger Award.

Recipient: Chase Timberger
Chase Timberger spent two years as a hardworking football player and a loyal baseball manager whose organization, pre-game preparation, and meticulous tracking of statistics, roster changes, and pitch counts proved invaluable to his coaches. Chase Timberger is the second 2026 Timberger Award recipient, receiving the honor that bears his family’s name.

MOONEY AWARD
The Nina Mooney Award is presented to a senior female athlete who displays commitment, enthusiasm, spirit, concern for others, and a positive work ethic, with no academic requirement.

Mr. Mooney presenting Leah Brown with the Mooney award.Recipient: Leah Brown
The 2026 recipient of the Mooney award is Leah Brown, who has been a tremendous player for the girls soccer, basketball, and flag football teams. On the basketball court she shut down opposing scorers; on the soccer field she anchored the back line with the work ethic and grit that earned her this year’s Defensive MVP; and as a flag football captain, she leads with dedication and spirit while contributing on both sides of the ball as a rusher and blocker.

KNOPP AWARD
The Nonie Knopp Memorial Award is presented to a senior male athlete who displays commitment, enthusiasm, spirit, concern for others and a positive work ethic.

Recipient: Collin Brennan
The 2026 Knopp award winner is Collin Brennan, who exemplifies what it means to be a true leader, captaining both the football and lacrosse teams not with words but through consistent actions and unwavering character. On the lacrosse field he is the definition of an unsung hero, living out the team’s motto of “together” through selflessness, toughness, and a high standard for himself and his teammates; on the football field he is calm under pressure and calculated in everything he does, and has extended his leadership beyond the program by involving the Varsity Football Team in a Sunday-morning flag football program that nurtures the next generation.

PEPPERS AWARDS
The Peppers Awards recognize one female and one male senior scholar-athlete who distinguish themselves through dedication in games and practice, unselfish sportsmanship, and active encouragement of teammates, with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5.

The Pepper family presenting Rachel Rakower and Gil Krausz with the Pepper award.Female Recipient: Rachel Rakower
This year’s Female Peppers Award winner has competed at a high level across all three track seasons of her high school career while holding school records, earning state championships and All-American status, and serving as a calm, inclusive leader who helped guide the girls to their first Cross Country State Championship qualification in forty years. Off the track, she has conducted cancer-immunotherapy research at the NIH and siRNA-delivery research at Regeneron. Rakower, who holds a 4.01 GPA and will attend Caltech in the fall.

Male Recipient: Gil Krausz
This year’s Male Peppers Award winner has been credited with turning around Scarsdale Baseball, anchoring the program as a three-year varsity pitcher and two-year captain who his coaches and teammates trust to beat anyone when he takes the mound. Named Section 1 AAA Pitcher of the Year as both a junior and a senior, he was All-League in 2024, 2025, and 2026 and All-Section in 2025 and 2026, drawing every top opponent on the schedule and keeping hitters off balance through four years of working in lockstep with his coach. Krausz, who holds a 3.87 GPA and will attend Colby College in the fall.

The Iron Athlete Award
The Iron Athlete Award recognizes active interscholastic athletic participation in every season across grades nine through twelve, totaling twelve consecutive seasons at Scarsdale High School.

Recipients:
Leah Brown
Camryn Culang
Parker Lin
Nate Lynch
Leia Patel
Rachel Rakower

The Iron Athletes receiving their awards.

The Scarsdale High School Scholar Athlete Honor Society Award
The Scholar Athlete Honor Society Award, established in 1969 in the name of Grant Geiger, is presented to top senior athletes who exemplify:
Dedication to their sport
Competitive spirit
Performance on and off the field of play
Performance in the classroom with a GPA of 3.5 or higher
Positive attitude
Citizenship
Sportsmanship

Recipient: Leo Green
Leo Green is a natural leader whose selflessness and team-first mindset prompted Coach Verboys to shift him from running back to lineman, a move he accepted without hesitation, telling his coach, “No problem, Coach. Whatever the team needs.” When a season-ending injury sidelined him, he coached his backup and worked the sidelines motivating his team.

Recipient: Gavin Wellen
Gavin Wellen is a two-sport athlete who draws the opposing team’s top player on the lacrosse field and starts at center on the football team, bringing the same physicality, discipline, and quiet leadership to both. Coach Synowiez describes him as a stoic young man whose teammates listen when he speaks.

Recipient: Jalyn Ryu
Tennis player Jalyn Ryu is described by Coach Jen Roane as a team player, consummate student, and the epitome of a Scarsdale student-athlete, with a quiet, unassuming manner that exemplifies her hard work and competitive spirit. Passionate about the law, she was selected for the Columbia University High School Law Institute and will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.

Recipient: Stella Van Arsdale
Stella Van Arsdale is an accomplished skier and multi-year team captain who won Scarsdale’s first-ever Skimeister Award by finishing #1 across two disciplines at Sectionals and has medaled four times at the New York State Championships. Coaches Pat Liu and Mindy Genovese point to her mature, patient demeanor and the high bar she sets for herself — a bar that extends off the field, where she is training to become a fifth-generation airplane pilot. Van Arsdale, who will attend the University of Rochester in the fall as a dual-sport soccer player and ski racer.

The Raider award athletes receiving their awards.The Raider Award
The Raider Award recognizes the intangible characteristics Scarsdale Athletics aspires to develop through interscholastic competition. It is given to athletes who possess the attitude, work ethic, resilience, and leadership qualities to change the outcome of a game, the culture of their team, or the quality of a season by their presence.

Recipient: Gia Asen
A two-sport captain, Gia Asen is a deeply committed vocal leader whose work ethic and intensity set the tone for her teams, so much so that the flag football coaches designed a play specifically for her because her effort never wavers. Whether on the soccer or flag football field, she leaves everything on the field every game and consistently puts her teammates first, checking in on them on and off the field.

Recipient: Tessa Franco
Tessa Franco is a tenacious four-year starter whose grit and competitiveness rattle attackers and force errors, in the words of Coach Berger, who calls her the engine that makes her team run and a player who raises the bar for everyone around her. She will continue her lacrosse career at SUNY Cortland next year.

Recipient: Joseph Pappalardo
Joseph Pappalardo brought a team spirit second to none, leading beyond his title as basketball captain and showing up every day with a positive attitude. When he wasn’t playing football or basketball, he was managing the baseball team or leading the student section from the stands, building team culture across the program.

Recipient: Labrowne Brown
Labrowne Brown holds school records in multiple events, but it is his character and mindset that impress Coach Bedoya. Laser-focused during workouts and the ultimate hype man before a teammate’s race, he is consistently the loudest and most excited voice cheering on his fellow track athletes. He is always positive and committed to being the best athlete and teammate.

Maroon and White hosted a festive BBQ and a meaningful awards ceremony. Congratulations to all the athletes who received awards and best of luck to all the seniors attending college in the fall.