FROM KEITH GROLLER
Last Wednesday night was my first Dieruff High School Kiska Banquet in more than 20 years (I attended four as a student and probably about 10 of them as a reporter when we used to cover high school banquets routinely back in the 1980s).
And obviously it was a special night for me and my family. I've been honored before by several organizations and they're all great, but this one was very special and I want to thank everyone who came over to me and offered congrats on going into the school's Hall of Fame.
My guess is that they do it every year for every Hall of Fame inductee, but when I got to the stage and looked back and saw a standing ovation, I was shocked.
People standing up when I speak is nothing new. My wife does it all the time. But usually, my wife and others head to the door as quickly as possibly when I am talking.
In this case, they stood and applauded. What a pleasant surprise. 
(That's me with fellow Hall of Fame inductee Colleen Dymond and her son, David Dymond, a Kiska Award winner, in the middle).
But the night was about the Dieruff student-athletes, who in my opinion have been a big part of a revitalization at the school. It may not be reflected in championship banners and win-loss records, but there are a lot of good things happening at Dieruff and I believe better times are coming all the way around.
At left is a photo of femae Kiska Award winner Kayla Lee with Dieruff principal Sue Bocian. She's going to Temple while male Kiska winner David Dymond is going to Slippery Rock.
Here's this year's awards winners and down below you'll see a shot of Tyshyn Harmon, one of the football award winners, with football coach Kyle Beller. Tyshyn is going to East Stroudsburg University.
| Sport | Award | |
| Cross Country | Girls -- Willow Childs | |
| Cross Country | Boys -- Daron Williams | |
| Field Hockey | Offense -- McKeyla Rivera | |
| Field Hockey | Defense --Chailyn Humphrey | |
| Football | Offensive Player -- Shakur Lester | |
| Football | Defensive Player -- Jovon Reyes | |
| Football | Best All-Around -- Tyshyn Harmon | |
| Golf | David Dymond | |
| Boys Soccer | Most Outstanding -- Karim Yunez | |
| Boys Soccer | Most Improved -- Jonny Hernandez | |
| Girls Soccer | Most Outstanding -- Jessica Dopsovic | |
| Girls Soccer | Most Outstanding -- Maria Gonzalez | |
| Girls’ Tennis | Most Outstanding -- Sianlee Vazquez | |
| Girls’ Tennis | Improved -- Yoconda Melendez Montes | |
| Girls’ Volleyball | Co-MVP -- Rachel Wingfield | |
| Girls’ Volleyball | Co-MVP -- Sirena Saleet | |
| Boys’ Basketball | Darien Wauchope | |
| Boys’ Basketball | Miguel Dryden | |
| Girls’ Basketball | Alexis Anderson | |
| Girls’ Basketball | Vanessa Slater | |
| Cheerleading | Meghan Hoffman | |
| Cheerleading | Lanaija Rodway | |
| Boys’ Swimming | Nicolas Melendez | |
| Boys’ Swimming | Aaron Williams | |
| Girls’ Swimming | Willow Childs | |
| Girls’ Swimming | Colleen Graney | |
| Wrestling | Jovon Reyes | |
| Wrestling | Dennis Rivas | |
| Baseball | Shane Seiberg | |
| Baseball | Jose Berrios | |
| Girls’ Softball | McKeyla Rivera | |
| Girls’ Softball | Damelia Tayburn | |
| Boys’ Tennis | Eric Garcia | |
| Boys’ Tennis | Reinaldo Lugo | |
| Boys’ Track | Shakur Lester | |
| Boys’ Track | Matthew Zaiter | |
| Girls’ Track | Mahendra McWhite | |
| Girls’ Track | Cyndee Smith | |
| Boys’ Volleyball | Richard Birch | |
| Boys’ Volleyball | Eyad Younes | |
| Bruce A. Clymer Award | Girls -- Meghan Hoffman | |
| Boys -- Jeremy Allen | ||
| Henry J. Weidner Award | Girls -- Nicolas Melendez | |
| Boys -- Maria Gonzalez | ||
| Joseph A. Barret Award | Girls -- Rachel Wingfield, Jessica Dopsovic | |
| Boys -- Dennis Rivas | ||
| Michael P. Melinger Award | Girls -- McKeyla Rivera | |
| Boys -- Jovon Reyes | ||
| KISKA AWARD | Girls -- Kayla Lee | |
| Boys -- David Dymond | ||
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