For the third year, a group of WW-P graduates are participating in the New York Giants Snow Bowl benefiting Special Olympics New Jersey. The flag football event will be held Friday to Sunday, March 1 to 3, at MetLife Stadium. Team WW-P participates in the Co-Ed division, in which there must be two females on the field at all times. Each team is allowed 15 participants, and Team WW-P is full. Thirteen of the 15 players on the team are graduates from High School North.
In 2011, Team WW-P won second place in the Co-Ed division. The following year, Team WW-P won third place.
“Each time we have participated we have been in the top fundraisers,” says Marybeth Kowalski, the team’s captain. The team is asking for community support to help it reach its goal of $9,000. To donate to the team visit www.kintera.org and search for Team WW-P. Checks payable to Special Olympics New Jersey may be sent to 18 Hamilton Lane, Plainsboro 08536. Donations will be accepted until Sunday, March 3.
Kowalski, a member of North’s Class of 2006 and a graduate of College of New Jersey, teaches in the special education program at Robbinsville High School. She has coached Special Olympics programs in WW-P and created a local training program at Robbinsville.
WW-P Team members include:
Jeff Torralba, Class of 2005, graduated from University of Louisville. He coaches football and basketball at High School North. He is one of the quarterbacks in the tournament.
Billy Randolph, Class of 2005. An Edison resident, he is a pilot with American Eagle Airlines.
Ryan Van Lewen, Class of 2005, graduated from Penn State. A resident of the East Village in Manhattan, he works in Ernst & Young’s advisory services department.
Lauren Eccleston, Class of 2005, graduated from George Washington University. A New York City resident, she is a sales associate at S&P Capital IQ in NYC.
Conor Hayes, Class of 2006, graduated from University of Louisville. He is now a physical education teacher in Allentown.
Dan Marasco, Class of 2005, graduated from Rutgers University. He lives in Hoboken and works for S&P Capital IQ.
Matt Ponchin, Class of 2005, graduated from West Virginia University. He lives in Lawrenceville with his wife and works for Enterprise.
Andrew Shogan, Class of 2005, graduated from Clemson University. A certified public accountant, he is in product control in the income group with Macquarie Holdings, an Australian investment bank. He lives in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Joe Mastrangelo, Class of 2005, graduated from Brown University, where he ran on the track team. He lives in New York City and works for a design company in the city.
Lauren Lam, Class of 2005, graduated from University of Pittsburgh. She lives in Hoboken, and is a financial analyst for SS+K, a marketing and communication agency.
Barry Kay, Class of 2005, graduated from University of Rhode Island. An Edison resident, he is a financial planner with First investors Corporation.
Charity Smith, Class of 2005, graduated from University of Virginia. A West Windsor resident, she works for McMaster-Carr in Robbinsville.
All proceeds collected by the flag football teams benefit Special Olympics New Jersey athletes and help foster the organization’s mission to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Since its inception six years ago, the Snow Bowl has raised more than $500,000 for Special Olympics New Jersey. The success of this event directly helps more than 22,000 athletes who train and compete free-of-charge, year-round in 24 Olympic-type sports.
“Special Olympics New Jersey does amazing things,” says Kowalski. “Last year we raised more than $8,000 and hope to beat that this year — as well as win the co-ed division.”
