Monday, February 5, 2007
NEWTON -- Almost everyone in Sussex County knows about Joe Martinek's success on the football field. On Sunday, the Hopatcong football star was noted for his successes in a discipline that's just as competitive -- the academic field. The nominees in the Sussex County Scholar Athlete program are all winners. Eleven scholar-athletes in all will be honored when the program divides $10,000 in scholarship money among its participants at the event's annual banquet scheduled for March 31 at Perona Farms in Andover Twp. On Sunday, the nominees from 10 Sussex schools as well as Jefferson, which plays in the Sussex County Interscholastic League, were announced at a brunch held at the Sussex County Community College Theater. Until then the scholar athletes will make speeches at local service organizations and help the United Way of Sussex County raise money for youth development and educational programs in the area. All the athletes are strong competitors in their respective sport, terrific in the classroom and serve as role models in the community, but Martinek has gotten added attention than your average nominee over the years because of his football exploits. The leading career rusher in the state of New Jersey, who will be attending Rutgers University next fall, doesn't know how his exposure will affect his chances of earning an additional scholarship.
"With the media and all that, it could help," Martinek said. "But me and my family are proud that I'm here not only for athletics but academics, too. Everyone in this room balances both sports and academics." Martinek may have had to budget his time even more than the others considering how heavily he was called upon by coaches during the football season. "Especially with the recruiting, college coaches would call me and say they want to come up on this day," Martinek said. " And I would tell them I have this going on and this and I would only be free on this day. You have to keep a good schedule and things just work out but it can get confusing. ... If they want you bad enough, they will make time to see you. They understand and they recruit a lot of kids like that." Budgeting time is a difficult task for all the scholar athletes. "I think that the hard work you put into the studies translates into the hard work you put into sports," Jefferson's Connor Grant said. "If you have a good work ethic in one, you will do well in the other." Pope John cross-country and track athlete Timothy Burns agreed. "It does take work," Burns said. "I've found that doing both you get into a rhythm and find your normal routine. By having your sport, you get into a set schedule and have time to do the academics as well. You find a balance and figure what the best time is to get things done." Newton's Natalie Elvidge was thrilled at being recognized as a scholar athlete. She believes that having the ability to balance athletics and academics is both inborn and inherited. "I'm an active type to begin with,"Elvidge said. "It's all about budgeting time. It helps because you know you have to stay focused and get done what you have to do." Here's a smattering of the achievements of each nominee:
• Joseph Martinek -- Hopatcong Martinek has a GPA of 3.2. His honors courses include biology, English, algebra and physics. He's also been successful in track and field with an SCIL record in the triple jump. At the Penn Relays he's finished in the top seven twice in the javelin throw. He's a member of Kids 4 Kids and Bring It and loves to coach football and track at the youth level.