Hornell Sports Night: Meet the 2024 honorees, hear what advice the pros gave to athletes
After a hiatus in 2023, Hornell Sports Night was back and bigger than ever Saturday with a record seven local honorees and four guests from the world of professional sports.
Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Greg Rousseau, former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf, former New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, and WWE diva Kelly Kelly took centerstage as the 48th annual event in support of Special Olympics filled up The Main Place.
The pros shared the stage with some of the area’s top local talent as the Sports Night committee recognized its 2024 Athletes of the Year and the Achievement Award winners, plus its Sportsperson of the Year.
Here’s what you need to know about the night.
Pros offer advice for local athletes
Rousseau has been a key piece of Buffalo’s defensive line since being selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. “Believe in yourself” was Rousseau’s message for student-athletes.
“In high school you’re not who you’re going to be yet, but you’re building that foundation and paving the way for yourself to head in the right direction,” said Rousseau. “It’s a good time to see what works and what doesn’t. It’s an important time in anybody’s life, especially when you’re playing sports.”
Leaf was the second pick of the 1998 NFL draft headlined by Peyton Manning. After a four-year pro career, Leaf ran afoul of the law and spent time in prison. Leaf said he turned his life around after realizing he needed to put other people first, a lesson he imparted at Sports Night.
“Make a lot of people feel involved in your successes because you’re certainly not here because of only you,” Leaf advised. “Make it about your community. It certainly feels like that is what Hornell is like – a tight knit community here in Upstate New York that allows for something like this. That’s pretty special.”
2024 Sports Night Athletes of the Year
Sports Night often names a male and female Athlete of the Year. This year, though, the committee chose co-Athletes of the Year in both categories. Gennaro Picco and Beau Zeh were named co-Male Athletes of the Year, while Kadience Gollnitz and Lillian Mullen were named co-Female Athletes of the Year.
Picco smashed the Hornell basketball program’s all-time scoring record with 1,608 career points, leading the Red Raiders to the Section V finals this season among numerous other accolades. Picco is also a five-year varsity starter in soccer and a four-year varsity starter in baseball, with a pair of Section V soccer titles. Picco plans to play basketball at Alfred University and pursue a career in dentistry.
Zeh scored the game-winning touchdown last fall to hand Canisteo-Greenwood its first-ever Section V football title on his way to Section V Defensive Player of the Year honors. Zeh was also a standout wrestler with 206 high school wins, the school record for pins, and three trips to the state championships. Zeh will continue his wrestling career at Cortland State and major in conservation biology.
Gollnitz has been a member of Hornell’s basketball, volleyball, softball, track and field, soccer and swimming and diving programs. Gollnitz helped the basketball team claim back-to-back Section V titles, including the program’s first-ever championship. She was also a four-year starter for the volleyball program, debuted with the varsity softball program as a freshman and qualified for sectionals in diving when she joined the swimming program for the first time. Gollnitz plans to focus on pre-medicine in college.
Mullen was a sports standout at Canisteo-Greenwood who entered her senior season with 1,784 points before tearing her ACL in the first game. Mullen played varsity basketball for six years with multiple all-state honors. She also was the MVP of Canisteo-Greenwood’s historic flag football team, and was a Steuben County All-Star and team MVP for the soccer program. Mullen plans to play basketball and major in occupational therapy at Keuka College.
Achievement Awards
Conrad Meyer and Talan Schwartz received the Achievement Awards.
Meyer has been a Special Olympics champion during track and field events at Alfred State for years. He has also been part of the youth and school track team for the past seven years. Meyer has been a staple on the stage at Revolution Dance Studio since he was a young boy, and is a member of the Hornell Drumming Circle.
Schwartz is an Arkport Central School student who has participated in Special Olympics since third grade and excels in the race walk, which he won last year. Schwartz is also known as a supportive teammate. Schwartz interns at Tractor Supply and Arkport Shurfine. He has a passion for karaoke and would like to work in fashion after graduation.
Sportsman of the Year
Greg Connors was honored as Sportsperson of the Year. Connors is a Hornell and Alfred University grad, where he played football. He co-founded the Connors & Ferris law firm in 2001 with a mission to champion the cause of those in need of a voice. He is active with the Buffalo Bills and Section V. A profile of Connors’ journey will be published later this week.
This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Hornell Sports Night: Pro athletes offer advice, meet 2024's honorees
