Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Lawrence High Athletic Hall of Fame are the people who have still been left out, because of the greatness that must still get in.
Guys like Brett Brackett and John Nalbone, who have been in the NFL, are still waiting in line as other past legends are escorted through the golden gates. Soccer players who dominated the Mercer County scene during their era have to take a number.
It’s a tribute to the tradition of LHS athletics and it will be celebrated on Oct. 11 at Mercer Oaks Country Club, when the 7th Annual Lawrence Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner will be held.
This year’s class features athletes George Tiger (Class of 1977), Todd Brunner (Class of ’86), Michael Moore (’81), Cathy (Rosato) Florek (’82), Sara (Lamont) Kocmond (’87), Joseph Franc (‘94), Isabella Kotowski (‘99) and Pat Haggerty (’01); coaches/teachers Laura Barrall (1978-2010) and Dean Mason (1984-2013), special contributor Tony Watson and the 1974 Central Jersey Group II champion baseball team.
Athletic director Ken Mason said that in making the selections, attention must be given to every team and every era.
“Obviously the word you hear around the county is you don’t want to use up everybody in one year, you try to spread your stars out,” Mason said. “We do take a look at that aspect. You have a Brackett and Nalbone in the wings, these are NFL guys not (yet) inducted. So you look at that and you look at all the variety of sports — you have 20 varsity sports – you have to spread it around.
“I think we could inundate with soccer players every year, especially if it was up to (long-time Hamnetts coach) Steve Groeger,” Mason added with a laugh. “He’s on the committee and he does a great job as our master of ceremonies. We try to get as many of the older teams and players in as we can. Obviously you want as many different time periods represented as possible.”
Several of this year’s inductees have a special place in Mason’s heart, as Dean Mason is his brother and Watson was his boss.
“Dean is well deserving,” Mason said. “He coached a long time, made that swim program what it is. It should be an exciting night not just for him but my family.
“You’ve also got Tony Watson, who as an administrator there hired me, so that’s kind of nice. But everyone going in is well deserving. It should be a good night.”
George Tiger is on a roll, having just been inducted to the Mercer County Soccer Hall of Fame last spring. A three-sport athlete who lettered in soccer, basketball and baseball his junior and senior years, Tiger played for the 1975 state champion soccer team that was ranked No. 2 in New Jersey; and the 1976 state finalist.
He became one of eight players from the ’76 team to play Division I soccer, as he walked on to the Lafayette team and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player his final three seasons. He was also the leading scorer and an All-East Coast Conference selection for three years and was the MVP of the ECC Tournament. He is also in the Lafayette Hall of Fame. Tiger played professionally with the Pennsylvania Stoners and Pittsburgh Spirit.
Todd Brunner has continued the family tradition of working in the NFL, as his brother and fellow inductee Scott Brunner once quarterbacked the New York Giants. Brunner played basketball and football at LHS, and was a quarterback and award-winning safety in football. He went on to Lehigh, where he tied or broke 14 school passing records.
After one season as a graduate-assistant coach at Temple, Brunner got an internship with the Eagles and became a full time scout in 1994. He went to the Browns in 1999 and a year later joined the 49ers, where he spent 12 years before going to Seattle’s scouting department. He was part of last year’s Super Bowl champion Seahawks.
Michael Moore was an All-County football and baseball player as a junior, and captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams as a senior. He went on to play football for the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, and played in the first West Coast Army-Navy game in the Rose Bowl in 1983.
After college, Moore twice deployed with 3rd fleet Battle group on board the USS Enterprise CVN-65; the Navy’s first nuclear powered aircraft carrier. From 1985-2005, Moore traveled to 23 different countries on six continents.
A three-time All-County soccer player and two-time Colonial Valley Conference Coaches’ All Star, Cathy Florek scored 76 goals in three seasons and was among the county’s top 10 scorers every year. She was the Cardinals Female Athlete of the Year as a senior, and was also the recipient of the Lawrence Athletic Association Outstanding Athlete Award, and the American Legion Auxiliary Americanism Medal.
At Ursinus College, Florek played softball for two years (the school did not have soccer), and went on to become athletic director and girls soccer and softball coaches at Villa Victoria Academy. Since 1989 she has worked at Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Sara Kocmond was the team captain and MVP of the 1986 field hockey team that went 14-6 and won the CVC championship. She allowed just 14 goals and had 10 shutouts that season, earning first team All-Group II, and second-team All-State. Kocmond also played shortstop on the softball team
Kocmond went on to an outstanding field hockey career at Brown University, where she was inducted to the school’s Hall of Fame in 2002. She still holds school records for career saves (589), career shutouts (19), career save percentage (.890) and career goals against average (1.02).
Joseph Franc was a four-year letterwinner in soccer, earning CVC Player of the Year and first-team All-State honors his senior season. Joe scored 69 career goals and — in what may be the most impressive feat by any of this year’s inductees — still holds Lawrence’s single season goal scoring record with 29. That’s saying something at a school that produced arguably Mercer County’s greatest player in Mooch Myernick, and a plethora of other soccer superstars.
Franc played for two Central Jersey Group II championship teams, and scored the winning goal in overtime when Lawrence won the 1994 Group III state title. He went on to score 29 goals in three seasons with Elizabethtown College, leading the team in scoring each year.
Pat Haggerty played four years of soccer and basketball and was also a first singles tennis player for two years, and it was on the pitch where he made his biggest impact. He was a first-team All-CVC player for two years, the Mercer County coaches’ Midfielder of the Year and Trentonian’s Conference Player of the Year while earning fist-team All-State honors.
Haggerty became a four-year starter as a central defender at Boston College, earning All Big East honors and first-team All-Region honors. He went on to play in the MLS with the New England Revolution.
The 1974 baseball team went 24-2 and won Central Jersey Group II and Delaware Valley League titles. The Cardinals’ record was the best in New Jersey that year and is also tied for the school mark for most victories. The team was coached by Harry Conover.
Laura Barrall, who played in the Women’s College World Series for East Stroudsburg State College, coached in the Lawrence school district from 1978 to 2010. She coached varsity and JV field hockey, freshman girls’ basketball and varsity and JV softball.
The 1979 field hockey team finished second in Central Jersey Group II and Barrall earned Coach of the Year honors. Her field hockey teams also earned the 1980 CVC Co-Championship and 1983 Mercer County Co-Championship.
Izabella Kotowski was another field hockey star who also participated in winter and spring track. She earned numerous awards from the local papers for her offensive prowess in hockey and continued to star at Fairfield University. Against Division I competition she had 42 career goals and 24 assists for 108 points. She had four game-winning goals, earned All-Patriot League first-team honors, was named Fairfield’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2002; got inducted to the Fairfield Athletic Hall of Fame and was named to Fairfield’s All-Decade Field Hockey team.
Dean Mason came to Lawrence in 1989 to teach but served as an assistant football coach from 1984 until last year. He coached the boys’ and girls’ swim teams from 1990 through 2006, compiling a 169-70 record with the boys and a 151-60-2 record with the girls. The Cardinals won a combined 15 Hornet Relay titles, two Mercer County champions and two Central Jersey titles. The boys were league champs six times and the girls once.
Tony Watson came to Lawrence High as assistant principal in 1983 and was promoted to principal in 1992. He will always be remembered as the number one administrative fan for all sports and extracurricular activities at the high school. He enjoyed watching the students perform on the field, in the pool, on the ice or on the court, as it was his way of letting the students know that he appreciated what they were doing. He realized that sports would enhance the lives of students.
In recognition of his work, Watson received the following awards: 1993 Community Leader of the Year for Lawrence Township; 1997 Granville Academy Educator of the Year; 2003 Life Achievement Award (School of Education) for Rider University; and, 2004 Lawrence High School Hall of Honor.
The 7th Annual Lawrence Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner is scheduled for Oct. 11 at Mercer Oaks Country Club. Cocktail hour is 5:30 p.m. and dinner is served at 6:30. To see if there are still tickets available, call the athletic office at 609-671-5516 or email mcimorelli@ltps.org.
Tiger,
Barrall,
