10/24/2012 - SUCO Hall Has New Look
When Gunner Frauenpreis terrorized the old Sussex County Interscholastic League on the hardwood and on the football field for Pope John in the 1970s, he brought a passion for the games that was unmatched.
Now the former PJ star and member of the Sussex County Sports Hall of Fame is bringing that same unbridled enthusiasm to the Hall as its new president.
Frauenpreis has been selected the organization’s new head and with that the Hall has a new name, and according to Frauenpreis, a bright future, as the Sussex County New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame.
The Hall will hold its annual induction dinner Friday, Nov. 2 at Farmstead with six new members in David Beach of Pope John, Cori Harrington of High Point, Stephen Stefkovich of Franklin, Rick Zandarski of Newton, and former New Jersey Herald photographer Anna Murphey.
The Hall’s Veteran’s Committee has chosen former Newton wrestling state champ John Kozdeba as its selection.
To purchase tickets, call Mary Ann Rowe at 973-383-4230.
Frauenpreis was inducted into the Hall in 2007 and has been very active in promoting the organization and he feels the Hall has unlimited potential and should be a hallmark of Sussex County.
“Men like John Zamos, Gene Conquy and Ron Earl have done a great job for the last 35 years,” said Frauenpreis of the trio who been part of the backbone of the Hall for the last four decades.
“It is time for some of the new members to take over and they (Zamos, Conquy and Earl) are happy about it. They put in their time and we hope to bring the Hall to the next level.”
Frauenpreis said that over 50,000 athletes have participated in sports in Sussex County over the years and there are only 180 members of the Hall, so enshrinement is quite an honor.
But he just doesn’t want the Hall to be an exclusive club and he said the Hall is opening its doors to anyone who wants to join as an unelected member, meaning they are not selected to be in the Hall but want to help out.
He said he wants to broaden the Hall’s horizons and include different sports, not just the old standbys of football, basketball and baseball. He mentioned more skiers, cross country runners, track and field athletes, tennis players, swimmers and even down the road fencers will be enshrined.
Frauenpreis pointed out the growth of lacrosse and that in the future there will be several more players and coaches in the Hall to join the only lacrosse member, George Morville.
And over the years, the Hall has shed its reputation as an “Old Boys Club.” For many years there was a perception if you didn’t go to Newton or Franklin, you didn’t get in. And worse, if you were a female you didn’t get in.
That has changed dramatically. But in fairness to the old guard, there were only four high schools in the county for the better part of the first part of the 20th century before the explosion in the mid 1970s.
As for the females, Title 9 was not passed until 1972 and female athletics were not prevalent prior to the passage.
If you look at the list of inductees over the last 10 years there has been a wider variety of sports, schools as well as females represented.
Another topic under discussion is the eligibility of Jefferson athletes for enshrinement. Jefferson joined the SCIL in the Fall of 1982 and played all Sussex schools in league play until realignment broke up the league four years ago.
The Falcons also played Franklin, High Point and Sparta in Skyline Conference play in the 1960s and early 1970s.
In my view it would great for athletes like Bill Snouffer, Mike Leach, Mike Marchiano, Dawn Gilchrist, Michele Fischer and coaches like The Legend Ed Levens in softball, John Cinotti in football, Joe Cleary in boys hoops and Jim O’Connor in girls hoops along with the numerous other great coaches and players the Falcons have produced over the years to be honored.
But that is my two cents.
Frauenpreis wants to update the Hall’s website, get involved more with the high schools in the county, have fund-raisers and just raise the general awareness of the Hall in the county.
Frauenpreis, former High Point star Scott Longcor, Emmy-award winning ABC cameraman, director and editor Ray Soroka, whose daughter Melissa is a Hall member, and Chris McGrath, a former Pope John star and Hall member, are leading the charge.
If you want to get involved contact any one of the members I have mentioned and they will be more than happy to help you out.
The Hall of Fame is something that every person who has played sports in Sussex County should be proud of. For a little county in the far outpost of the state, Sussex County has a rich athletic tradition that should be preserved, and there is no better way of doing that than becoming a member of the Hall.
TOURNEY TIME…Pope John’s boys soccer team and the High Point field hockey team will be playing in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex title games Saturday.
PJ, the No. 1 seed from Sussex, will travel to play the top seed from H/W, Hunterdon Central, at HC at 4 p.m. High Point, the top seed from Sussex, will do battle with Voorhees, the No. 3 team from H/W, at 4 p.m. at Hackettstown.
This will be Pope John’s first appearance in the final, while HC (11-4-2) won the tourney two years ago. The Lions (13-5-1) are coming off a tough loss to Mount Olive 3-2, but knowing PJ coach Brad Cameron, the Lions will come to play.
I’m sticking to my guns and I think PJ comes home with the hardware in an overtime thriller for Sussex’s first boys soccer title.
As for field hockey, many people who follow field hockey, myself included, thought it was a foregone conclusion that Warren Hills would walk away with the title again. But Voorhees, a thorn in the Blue Streaks’ side over the years, did it again by stunning WH in the semifinals.
So after the upset I’m recalibrating my pick and it will be the Wildcats of Sussex County who will win the crown in penalty strokes.
But no matter what happens, both the Lions and the Wildcats have represented the county well.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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