The Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association recently honored its top senior student-athletes for each high school. Minisink Valley High School selected Ella Michelitch and Robert LaBarbera.
Here are their profiles:
Ella Michelitch
Class rank: 22
Varsity sports: Girls basketball; girls diving; indoor and outdoor track and field
Athletic honors: Track and field – two-time national high jump champ; four-time all-American; four-time state champ (three times in high jump, once in pentathlon); 10-time Section 9 champ; state record holder in the pentathlon
Academic honors, extracurricular activities: National Honor Society; yearbook editor in chief; Varsity Club; high honor roll
Community service: Minisink track camp counselor; algebra tutor; soccer ball girl; Feeding Minisink table volunteer
Future plans: University of Oklahoma, majoring in psychology, minoring in health and exercise sciences; compete in track and field
Robert LaBarbera
Class rank: 50
Varsity sports: Football; track and field
Athletic honors: Football – team captain; two-time all-state quarterback; 2025 Class A back of the year; track and field – three-time all-American, four-time state champ, seven-time medalist; seven-time Section 9 champ
Academic honors, extracurricular activities: National Honor Society; Future Business Leaders of America; high honor roll
Community service: Counselor for Minisink youth football and track camps; veterans dinners server; volunteer for Minisink Heritage museum cleanup, elementary field days
Future plans: University of Rhode Island, majoring in physical education; compete in track and field
Recent Minisink Valley scholar-athletes
2025 – Riley Boice; Chris Rickard
2024 – Madison Boyce; Dylan Williams
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Above and beyond – Here are Minisink Valley’s scholar athletes for 2025-26
Reporting by Ken McMillan, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ken McMillan, Middletown Times Herald- Record | USA TODAY Network
