On Wednesday, May 13, 2015, two student athletes from Arthur L. Johnson High School were designated as the recipients of the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference’s Scholar Athlete Award. The UCIAC is an organization run by Executive Director Tom Lewis, who has continued the great tradition of the Scholar Athlete Dinner from the late Frank J. Cicarell. Frank J. Cicarell was a teacher, coach, administrator, BOE member, and President of the Union County Athletic Conference. In spite of all of these positions, what he was most remembered for was his impact on the student athletes, as he was the driving force that made athletics in Union County what they are today. In fact, our Union County Tournaments are still named after him to this day. Over the years the dinner, organized and run by Executive Director Tom Lewis, has grown in size and has given out hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship money.
These awards, which are presented to a male and female athlete from each school in the county, celebrate not only the athletic successes of our high school athletes on the fields, courts, and mats, but honors the countless hours that they spend in the classroom as well.
Arthur L. Johnson Senior Student Athletes Lucas Gallo and Janet Vill were honored as the recipients from Arthur L. Johnson High School in Clark. Lucas Gallo had a stellar career at Arthur L. Johnson High School participating in soccer, winter track, and tennis. As a senior, Lucas was named captain of all three teams he played for as well as being the Salutatorian of his graduating class. He will continue his education at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. Janet Vill participated in field hockey and winter and spring track & field throughout her career at Arthur L. Johnson High School. She helped both Lady Crusaders’ programs compete for County and Sectional State Titles throughout her years of participation with the programs. Janet will also continue her education at Stevens Institute of Technology, where she will study Naval Engineering.
Gus Kalikas, Athletic Director at Arthur L. Johnson High School, had this to say about the event. “Lucas and Janet have been an integral part of the success of our athletic programs at Arthur L. Johnson High School, allowing us to have success on the fields in multiple sports. More importantly, they have been model student athletes that did things the right way both on the fields and in the classroom. They are truly deserving of being named our recipients of the UCIAC’s Scholar Athlete Awards, and we wish them well as they embark on their college careers.”
