SPORTS
23
NEWS
New Era Begins For Football and Soccer
New eras for both the football and
soccer teams began this fall, when both
teams opened up pre-season camp under new leadership.
Heading up the soccer program is
interim head coach John Curran 0W5,
who takes over after the death of longtime head soccer coach Tony Wolski
who passed away this past Memorial
Day. When soccer camp began, it was
the first time in 16 years that someone
new was in charge of the program.
Though new as head coach, Curran
could not be more familiar with Williamson and the way Wolski ran his
program. He played three years under
Wolski and then was an assistant under
him for five years. He currently is the
assistant paint shop director.
Heading into his first campaign as
head football coach is none other than
current head basketball coach Bill Michaels. He took over the dual roles of
head football/head basketball coach
when he was hired in December after
the school decided to make a coaching
change. He too is very familiar with the
school having spent the past 10 years as
the head basketball coach. During that
time he won two USCAA Division II
national championships with his teams
playing in the title game four times during that 10-year span. He is the school’s
career leader in wins and closing in on
his 200th career win at Williamson.
“This is definitely a time of transition, but it is one we are excited
about. We will never be able to replace
Coach Wolski, but if anyone can get us
through this difficult time it is Coach
Curran. And while Bill Michaels is
“untested” as a head football coach,
let’s face it, with his track record, there
is no one we’d rather have than him at
the helm,” commented athletic director
Dale Plummer.
“We are always the underdog in both
sports, but with these guys in charge,
we surely hope that changes in the very
near future.”
Abrams ’12 Voted Athlete of the Year
Andrew Abrams 1W2 was named the
George W. McCarty 3W7 Athlete of the
Year at the 46th annual Sports Banquet
in May.
Long-time athletic director Dale
Plummer said, “The award is the most
prestigious athletic award we offer. It’s
even more special because it is the only
award we offer that is selected by our
student-athlete themselves; every other
award is selected by a coach, conference, or national organization. As far as
being worthy, no one could argue that
Abrams was more than deserving.”
At the banquet, he took home awards
for being named first-team All-Seaboard Conference in football as both
the top punter and kicker as well as the
Special Teams MVP award. In soccer,
he was named the team’s Defensive
MVP award winner as well as a firstteam all ESSL selection. He also was
named the baseball team’s Kevin Scott
award winner as the team’s top pitcher
for the year.
Additionally, he was given an award
at the banquet for lettering in four sports
(soccer, football, basketball, and baseball) during the 2011-12 school year.
For his career, Abrams earned nine
varsity letters (two in soccer, three each
in football and baseball, and one in basketball. He was a first-team all ESSL
selection in soccer during the 2010-11
school year as well as the Sal Intelisano
Memorial award winner as the baseball
MVP the same year.
Athletic Director Dale Plummer (left) shakes hands with Andrew Abrams 1W2
for being named the George W. McCarty 3W7 Athlete of the Year.
Football Coach Bill Michaels
Soccer Coach John Curran 0W5
Athletic Dept. Busy This Summer,
Joining EPAC And ASAC
The 2012 summer, while dormant
for some athletic departments, was
anything but for Williamson’s as the
school helped in the formation of two
new conferences and also saw football
added as part of the USCAA’s overall
growth and expansion plan.
“It was a busy time, but an exciting one for the school, our programs,
and our student-athletes,” commented
athletic director Dale Plummer, now
entering his 25th year at the helm of
Williamson’s Athletic Department.
The first move the school made was
to become an inaugural member of the
Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC) as part of Region XIX of
the NJCAA. It joined 11 other schools
in Pennsylvania in doing so.
“We have always been a member of
Region XIX, which encompasses 32
colleges from Penn