The Upper Perkiomen athletic department added two members to the Wall of Fame and honored the 2024-25 athletes at the annual Blue & Gold ceremony last week.

            The Wall of Fame honorees were Amy Zdrojesky and Stacy (Jacobs) Ouellette.

            Zdrojesky, a three-sport athlete at Upper Perkiomen –basketball, field hockey

Cole Pierce and Samantha Pedrick display their All- Around Athletes awards.

and lacrosse – passed away in 2022 after a battle with kidney cancer. A 2004 graduate, Amy earned the Most Valuable Player and Outstanding Athlete awards at the Blue & Gold banquet after leading Upper Perk to Pioneer Athletic Conference Championships in 2002 and 2004 and State tournament appearances in 2003 and 2004. 

            After graduating from Upper Perk, Zdrojesky played Division I field hockey at the University of Maine where she garnered more honors and was the team's leading scorer as a senior. Zdrojesky became a teacher and coach, including a stint as an Upper Perk field hockey assistant.

            Amy's mother, Billie Zdrojesky, gave her daughter's induction speech and highlighted Amy's competitiveness and toughness, epitomized by her six-year fight with cancer after being given six months to live. "Much like the athlete that she was, she never gave up and always looked for a better way to fight the pain and move forward."

            Billie Zdrojesky stressed that her daughter felt that athletes were best served by playing multiple sports.

            After Amy's death, Upper Perk established the Amy Zdrojesky Player Award,

Elyse Kreiner and Matther Fisher are named the  Outstanding Athletes for the Class of 2025.

given to a senior field hockey player who, among other criteria, has a "never give up attitude." This year's winner was Maguire Simms. The award includes a $100 scholarship.

            Simms was also named a PAC Citizens Athlete Award winner for displaying "good sportsmanship, school pride" and for community service.

            The other inductee, Ouellette, a 1999 graduate, was a swimmer and water polo player. She set several school records that stood for decades and helped lead her swim team to the school's first PIAA State Swimming Championships. Ouellette achieved All-State honors in the two sports and went on to play two seasons of water polo for Villanova University.

            "Throughout her time at Upper Perk, Stacy always excelled academically," noted her younger brother, Tim Jacobs, who gave the acceptance speech at the banquet, "but she made history in the pool."

            Jacobs described his sister's "quiet confidence" while letting "her performance do the talking."

            Ouellette now lives in New Jersey and is a systems engineering manager for Lockheed Martin.

            Attention then turned to the current crop of athletes.

            Soccer players Matthew Fisher, also the soccer team's MVP, and Elyse Kreiner were named the Outstanding Athletes for 2024-25, while Cole Pierce and Samantha Pedrick were selected as the All-Around Athlete winners.

            Pierce was also named the baseball team's MVP and earned the PAC All-Academic Award for baseball.

            Pedrick, additionally, was named MVP for both volleyball and indoor track.

Several new awards were presented during the ceremony. The Tom Putera Track and Field Scholarship went to Julia Traynor. The award description called Putera, Upper Perk class of 1985, a "champion of the underdog" and the award includes a $500 scholarship.

            The Gwen J. (Jones) Albert Memorial Scholarship was given to Addisyn Fluckey.

            A 1993 graduate of Upper Perk, Gwen Albert was an outstanding soccer and lacrosse player and the award, which comes with a $1,000 scholarship, reflects her "lifelong commitment to helping others."

            Fluckey was also named to the PAC All-Academic Team for soccer.

            Baseball player Jackson Long took home the Dr. George H. Bonekemper Memorial Scholarship, named after the long-time Upper Perk administrator and baseball enthusiast who passed away earlier this year. The award comes with a $250 scholarship.

            Long also received the male Ralph W. Engle Memorial Award and the PAC Citizen Athlete Award.

            Other notable award winners were Hunter Francisco (Terry Fetterman Memorial Award), Jeremiah Peguero (Joe Ricapito Memorial Award), Jonathan Strohl (Kyheim Tripp Memorial Scholarship Award), Micah Keller (Jim "Chief" McFadden Award), Jade Traynor (The Reeder Athletic Award), Maren Landis (Lori Moll Memorial Award), Ava Steinman (Ralph W. Engle Memorial Award), Michael Maciolek and Andrew Izzi (Samantha Snyder Memorial Water Polo Award), Connor Gehman (Champion Award), Morgan Sweed and Braeden Jerrom (Valley Soccer Club Award), Genevieve McKeehan and Riley Eden (Pride of the Diamond Youth Softball Award),

            Notable multiple award winners included Francisco, the MVP of boys swimming and a State qualifier and Landis, who in addition to the Lori Moll Award, was the MVP of cross-country and All-Academic in cross-country and track. Sophomore Olivia Keyser was the MVP of girls basketball and lacrosse while junior Morgan O'Hara was the MVP of girls track and field, for which she qualified for States, and All-Academic for field hockey.

            In the closing address of the ceremony, Pierce reflected on the "countless hours of hard work and unspoken bond that connects" all the athletes.

            "Being an Upper Perk athlete also means being a role model," Pierce added. "The face of the school, your actions in practice, in games and in the hallways matter."

            Pierce concluded by thanking the coaching staff for not only teaching skills but for teaching the "value of becoming a good person," and he thanked teachers, administrators, the training staff and parents.

            "We appreciate all the time and support you've given us over the years."