We’re looking to identify a short list of generational talents who competed over the last quarter of a century for high schools in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam and piled up accolades before graduating to the next level.
Many of these GOATs eventually got paid to play.
There will be loads of talent on the proverbial cutting room floor. And we did not include locals who competed outside the area. There have been some good ones who played outside the Lower Hudson Valley – Joe Giles-Harris (NFL), Donovan Mitchell (NBA), Josephine Pucci (Olympics) and Cameron Young (PGA).
Please take a moment to review the list below and do some research if you need more details. Vote for up to 10 athletes you believe to be deserving of this list. We’ll leave the poll, presented by White Plains Hospital, open until noon on Aug. 20 and then post your top 10 vote getters in order in an upcoming reveal that will include top 10 lists from our own staff members.
The best high school athletes of the 21st century so far …
Shannon Becker, Mahopac/Notre Dame (softball)
Rai Benjamin, Mount Vernon/UCLA/USC/Olympics (track and field)
Casey Bocklet, John Jay/Northwestern/Virginia/WPLL (lacrosse)
Chris Bocklet, John Jay/Virginia/PLL (lacrosse, football)
Matt Bocklet, John Jay/Fairfield/Johns Hopkins/PLL (lacrosse, football)
Emma Bozek, Lakeland/North Carolina (field hockey)
Yvette Burcescu, Walter Panas/Tulane (volleyball)
Mary Cain, Bronxville/Oregon/IAAF (track)
Cori Chambers, Ursuline/Georgia/WNBA (basketball)
Saniya Chong, Ossining/UConn/WNBA (basketball)
Sonia Citron, Ursuline/Notre Dame/WNBA (basketball)
Joe Clarke, New Rochelle/Dean College/Eastern New Mexico (football, basketball)
Sam Coffey, Masters/Boston College/Penn State/NWSL/Olympics (soccer)
Ajani Cornelius, Stepinac/Rhode Island/Oregon/NFL (football)
Crew Davis, Iona Prep/North Carolina* (football, lacrosse)
Henry Davis, Fox Lane/Louisville/MLB (baseball)
R.J. Davis, Stepinac/North Carolina/NBA (basketball)
John Denis, Lakeland/Columbia/MLSNext (soccer)
Daniel D’Ippolito, Somers/Fordham (soccer)
Kate Douglass, Pelham/Virginia/Olympics (swimming)
Hannon Eberts, Somers/Vanderbilt (soccer)
Eric Favors, North Rockland/South Carolina/Olympics (track and field)
Boogie Fland, Stepinac/Arkansas/Florida (basketball)
Bryce Ford, John Jay/Fairfield/Maryland/PLL (lacrosse, football)
Nick Gargiulo, Somers/Yale/South Carolina/NFL (football)
Melissa Gonzalez, Lakeland/UConn/Olympics (field hockey)
Josiah Gray, New Rochelle/LeMoyne/MLB (baseball)
Courtney Green, New Rochelle/Rutgers/NFL (football)
A.J. Griffin, Ossining/Stepinac/Duke/NBA (basketball)
Aubrey Griffin, Ossining/UConn/PLL (basketball)
Jabari Hinds, Mount Vernon/West Virginia/UMass/EuroLeague (basketball)
Miguel Iglesias, Somers/Notre Dame (lacrosse, football)
Ty Jerome, Iona Prep/Virginia/NBA (basketball)
Malcolm Koonce, Stepinac/Buffalo/NFL (football)
George Kirby, Rye/Elon/MLB (baseball)
Matt Landis, Pelham/Notre Dame/PLL (lacrosse, hockey, football)
Joe La Sorsa, Iona Prep/St. John’s/MLB (baseball)
Jamie Loeb, Ossining/North Carolina/WTA (tennis)
Jordan Lucas, New Rochelle/Penn State/NFL/CFL (football)
Brett Makar, Yorktown/Maryland/PLL (lacrosse, football)
JoJo Marasco, Somers/Syracuse/PLL (lacrosse, football)
Ali Marpet, Hastings/Hobart/NFL (football)
Zoe Maxwell, Irvington/Brown (soccer, track)
Matt Miller, Harrison/Cortland (football, wrestling, baseball)
Colin Moran, Iona Prep/North Carolina/MLB (baseball)
Jack Near, Bronxville/Notre Dame/PLL (lacrosse, football)
Erin Nicholas, Scarsdale/Middlebury (lacrosse, field hockey)
James Nicholas, Scarsdale/Yale (golf, football, hockey)
Katie O’Flynn, Pearl River/Oneonta (softball)
Eric Paschall, Dobbs Ferry/Fordham/Villanova/NBA (basketball)
Brett Pesce, Irvington/New Hampshire/NHL (hockey)
Daniel Picart, Pleasantville/Richmond (lacrosse, football)
Matt Pires, Somers/Rhode Island (football, baseball)
Griff Powell, Suffern/Illinois (wrestling)
John Ranagan, Yorktown/Johns Hopkins/NLL/PLL (lacrosse)
Brian Realbuto, Somers/Cornell (wrestling)
Ray Rice, New Rochelle/Rutgers/NFL (football, basketball)
Steven Santini, Kennedy Catholic/Boston College/NHL (hockey)
Shannon Scavelli, Lakeland/Michigan (field hockey)
Ajani Sheppard, Iona Prep/Rutgers/Washington State (football)
Brian ‘Cobi’ Span, North Salem/Virginia/MLS (soccer)
Sammy Jo Tracy, Fox Lane/North Carolina/WLL (lacrosse)
Lindsay Toppe, Fox Lane/Cornell (lacrosse)
Obi Toppin, Ossining/Dayton/NBA (basketball)
Katelyn Tuohy, North Rockland/North Carolina State (track and field)
Trill Williams, Stepinac/Syracuse/NFL/WWE (football)
Matt Willows, Clarkstown North/New Hampshire/ECHL/AHL (hockey)
Trevor Zegras, Fox Lane/Boston University/NHL (hockey)
*Davis is a high school senior who is committed to play football and lacrosse at UNC
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Who are your top 10 lohud high school athletes of the past 25 years?
Reporting by Mike Dougherty, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
