NJSIAA Honors Local Student-Athletes

Peter Barna of and Nikki Shapiro of were among 335 high school athletes honored by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association at the organization’s annual Scholar-Athletes Luncheon May 15.

More than 1,300 athletes, parents, coaches and school officials attended the event at the Pines Manor in Edison.

Since the program’s inception in 1993, the NJSIAA has honored more than 5,700 high school athletes and presented more than $1 million in scholarships.

“I think this annual awards program is everyone’s favorite event on the NJSIAA calendar,” said NJSIAA Executive Director Steve Timko. “It epitomizes our organization’s core mission, which is to provide education-based interscholastic athletics which support academic achievement, good citizenship and fair and equitable opportunities for students.

“The scholar-athletes we recognize at this luncheon are among the highest-achieving, most athletically-talented high school students in New Jersey,” Timko said. “They are a credit to their schools, their families and their communities, and the NJSIAA is proud to honor them.”

Officials at each NJSIAA member high school have the opportunity to select one senior student as their scholar-athlete of the year.

The scholarships, donated by NJSIAA corporate sponsors and other organizations supportive of high school sports in New Jersey, are awarded by random drawings.

Barna won a $1,000 New Jersey State Coaches Association Scholarship. Shapiro, who will play lacrosse at Villanova University next year, was not awarded a scholarship.