North Penn celebrates title run with ring ceremony
It was a little over seven weeks ago that North Penn raised the PIAA Class AAAA championship trophy at Penn State University.
Sunday afternoon saw the Knight players, coaches and other distinguished members with their championship rings. For players like second baseman Anthony Cameron and third baseman Jared Melone, it was their second in three seasons.
“It’s something we’ll remember forever,” Melone said. “Every morning I wake up and I think about that game and I’m still in shock.”
Melone was one of the most instrumental figures in North Penn’s title run. The senior hit over .450 and was the most dominant position player for the Knights. Melone was honored Sunday afternoon with the MVP award adding just one more accomplishment to one of the best and most decorated baseball player in school history.
“It was great,” Melone said. “(James) Witner had to win. I was hoping he would win too. It’s great to win that, but the rings really meant more to me and I’m sure it meant more to Witner too.”
Melone wasn’t the sole holder of the award however as coach Kevin Manero issued a co-MVP as pitcher Witner took the reigns this season as the staff ace and pitched in nearly every big game for the Knights.
“It’s hard to say that someone is most valuable because I think they are all valuable,” Manero said. “When you have a situation in which you have a dominating pitcher and you have a dominating position player, it’s really tough to say that one is more valuable than the other.”
Mike Christy and Zach Zeigler were awarded the “Remember That Moment” Award as Christie was recognized for his game-winning home run in the state semifinal while Zeigler received it for an amazing diving catch against Hatboro-Horsham at the end of the regular season. Zeigler’s catch quite possible changed the trajectory of the Knights’ season at the time.
“It was just an awesome feeling being able to catch that ball and save the game,” Zeigler said. “It’s an honor for Coach Manero to give me that award. It felt awesome and I felt very proud of it.”
Cameron, one of a few players to really play a prevalent role on both the 2013 and 2015 championship squads was awarded with the Pride in the Program. The senior second baseman was a sophomore call-up for the 2013 run where he switched his position from shortstop to second base due to need due to an injury. When Cameron filled that spot in the 2013 District 1-AAAA playoffs he never looked back.
“Everyone here could have gotten the award,” Cameron said. “The kids on this team they’re all good kids and we’re all great representatives of North Penn.”
Other awards given on the day included the Coaches’ Award, received by senior Mike Pulli. Senior Doug Apple was given the Heart and Hustle award and senior John Posavec was honored with the Knight of Virtue.
The 2015 season was historic for North Penn. The Knights have now established a very high bar for their program and will have a tough task ahead duplicating its success as the program graduates 15 seniors from a state championship team.
“We always talk about the process not the product,” Manero said. “We get back to work when we get back to school in the fall. It’s a matter of saying ‘hey, we saw what it takes to be very good’ and hopefully they trust us that we can guide them in the right direction.”
