Top Johnston athletes honored at sports banquet

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It was a night of firsts for Johnston High School athletes and coaches – as well as alums – Tuesday evening inside 12 Acres Restaurant in Smithfield.

For starters, never before in the history of JHS athletics, have the present Panthers enjoyed a separate awards dinner. Tradition was that all sports awards were always presented during Honors Night inside the school auditorium.

That changed this year by way of Tuesday night’s impressive first-ever Sports Banquet, which was organized by Keith Cory, the Panthers’ current Director of Interscholastic League Athletics, who succeeded the legendary and late Gary V. Mazzie.

Because Johnston is no longer home to the former and famed DiLorenzo’s 1025 Club and there’s no other banquet facility in town, Cory had to scurry landscape that has a limited number of facilities and finally decided upon 12 Acres on Douglas Pike in Smithfield.

Thus, JHS seniors and juniors who participated in Panther athletics were invited to the affair along with their respective coaches, and Tuesday night helped rewrite the school’s tradition-rich history book during a macaroni and meatball dinner that concluded with individual and team awards and an ice cream sundae bar and Kyle Nelson and Jordan Moretti taking home the prestigious Male and Female Athletes of the Year honors.

Throughout the speech-filled evening, an attentive audience heard coach-after-coach thank Cory for initiating the sports dinner that speaker-after-speaker predicted will get better and better with each passing year.

Moreover, Cory enlisted the services of Carolyn Thornton-Iannuccilli, one of the most successful female athletes in JHS history, to deliver the night’s keynote address.

Although her remarks were brief, Thornton – who told an attentive audience how she graduated 30 year ago – delivered a powerful and moving message to the affairs attendees.

“Sports is a powerful vehicle,” Thornton told the Panthers. “It’s a vehicle I used to get my college education. Become a mentor. I was where you are tonight – and there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.”

Thornton, who starred in basketball, softball and even ran cross country and has roots at Brown Avenue Elementary School, told male and female Panthers how sports was the vehicle she used to obtain an Ivy League education at Brown University, and later traveled around the world as an accomplished sports writer who covered pro sports and the Olympics before assuming her current position as Communications Director for the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.

Several other current Panther coaches – namely Dan Mazzulla and Chris Corsinetti – also delivered powerful messages during their brief remarks.

“It’s a sports person who is a student-athlete,” Mazzulla, who said how playing sports at JHS paved the way for his professional career, offered. “But do not think you’re better than anyone else; you have to keep working and working.”

Corsinetti, who coached the JHS girls’ basketball team to an unblemished record and Division II State Championship, offered: “One of the main reasons for our success this (past) season was that our girls embraced each other. We even had a transfer student, but she fit in right away. All our players had a never-say-die attitude. They loved each other.”

Each member of the 13-player Lady Panthers’ championship basketball team and coaching staff received beautiful personalized rings for winning the state title, and the coach called upon School Committee member Gena Bianco to help present each player with a ring.

Corsinetti’s club included: Capt. Jordan Moretti, Madison Dannenfelser, Sophia DaCosta, Capt. Lauren Civetti, Amelia Moore, Caroline Howe, Julianne Zalewski, Cleasia Peoples, Bianca Robbins, Gabriella DiRaimo, Capt. Hillary Rogers, Megan Philbrick and Taylor Poland.

Moretti, meanwhile, who won the Female Athlete of the Year Award, which is voted upon by JHS coaches, also excelled on the Lady Panthers’ softball team and participated in track and field.

Nelson, who one speaker mused “must have played about six sports this year,” had his name added to the list of JHS Male Athletes of the Year after contributing to the football, basketball, baseball and track and field teams.

Lady Panther soccer standout Lindsay Frein and hockey star Bradford Townsend were honored as the Senior Scholar Athletes of the Year. Frein compiled a 3.81 GPA and Townsend had a 3.64 mark.

A total of 14 Panthers received Athletic Directors Awards for being a four-year letter winner in a single sport. The recipients were: Ryan Yankee, basketball; Carson Kenny, wrestling; Gianna Vizzacco, softball; Justin Harvey, ice hockey; Samantha Hardman, lacrosse; Loriann Samayoa, lacrosse; Jacsmile Cassion, lacrosse; Devon Atkinson, soccer; Anthony Cabral, soccer; Kyle Nelson, track and field; Alexia Cabral, Nina Carnavale, Kristine Falso and Gabriella Spina, cheer.

Ten Panthers were also honored with Scholar-Athlete awards that required a student to have a 3.3 cumulative GPA (weighted) in order to qualify.

The 2017 winners were: Hillary Rogers, basketball; Veronica Lamoureux-Sloane, lacrosse; Zachary McFarlane, football; Anthony Cabral, soccer; Nina Carnevale, Paige Grenkiewicz and Isabel Connors, cheer; Aristides Tejada Marmolejos, football; Nicholas Mollicone, basketball; and Evan Pennacchia, football.

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