Brooklyn’s top athletes headlined the Public School Athletic League’s annual Wingate Awards dinner at the Brooklyn Marriott on June 8.
The Kings County was represented by 12 of the 48 student-athletes honored as the top seniors in each sport who shined on the field, in the community, and in the classroom in their respective sports. Former New York Jets full back Tony Richardson was the event’s keynote speaker prior to handing out the hardware.
For the fall season, Erasmus Hall wide receiver Kefa Cort won for football and James Madison’s Cameron Wong was the boys’ bowling recipient. Dylan Jun Jie Yang of Franklin D. Roosevelt took home the award for boys’ badminton and Marlena Budna of Fort Hamilton won for girls’ volleyball.
“All the girls supported me and helped me out,” Budna said.
South Shore girls’ basketball McDonald’s All-American Brianna Fraser highlighted the borough’s winter season winners. Brooklyn swept the indoor track-and-field awards, with Brenessa Thompson of Medgar Evers and Richard Rose of Boys & Girls taking home the girls’ and boys’ indoor track honors respectively. Shaheem Trammell of Thelma Hamilton earned the award for Multiple Pathways boys’ basketball.
“It feels like a brother-sister thing,” Rose said of winning along side Thompson.
The spring season saw six Brooklynites bring home hardware. Midwood’s Melanie Garate and Brooklyn Tech’s Usman Ansari were the girls and boys handball recipients respectively. Brooklyn Tech’s Dominik Tolstykh won for boy’s volleyball. Fort Hamilton flag football quarterback Maria Papadakos went home a winner, along with Tyneisha Williams of South Brooklyn Community for Multiple Pathways girls’ hoops.
“It’s an honor to be with the program since it started,” Papadokos said.
