Category: Sports

McCormick & Company presents their annual McCormick Unsung Heroes where they honor high school athletes who have been models of sportsmanship and team. The 2020 McCormick Unsung Heroes Awards will take place in a virtual format on May 11. Every school in the region has a male and female athlete nominated for the award and Eastbaltco.com will profile each athlete from eastern Baltimore County over the next week.

Chesapeake
Girls soccer player and track athlete Eustacia Narcis and football and lacrosse player Lance Haley are the two nominees from Chesapeake High School in Essex.

Eustacia Narcis

Narcis was a four year Varsity Soccer Player at the school and she also partipicated in three years of indoor and outdoor track. In addition to sports, Eustacia was involved in NJROTC at the school. She was accepted by McDaniel College and Towson University.

Narcis was nominated by Chesapeake Athletic Director Shuan Downey, who described her as a good model for her teammates.

“I nominated Eustacia based on her leadership, determination and love for Chesapeake High School and soccer. She is a true leader on and off the field. She is a true student athlete and helped make her teammates and fellow classmates better.

Narcis recommends other students to play high school sports because it taught her leadership and responsibility. According to Narcis, she was more aware and open minded about the people around her. She said she has grown from freshmen year to my senior year.

“I am more confident with my choices and more sociable I came out of my shell, I guess. I demonstrated self-confidence, self-respect, and a boost of self-esteem; which I shown not just on the soccer field but in my classes too,” Narcis explained.

She added that sports in high school gave her access to multiple of opportunities and an opening to help reach and encourage others.

“I also have made lifelong friendships with my teammates. I am going to miss it when I go to college, but I will always have such great memories and friends,” Narcis said. “I owe it all to the game I love SOCCER!”

Lance Haley

Haley was a four year varsity football and lacrosse player at Chesapeake. He plans to attend Albright University for football and maybe walking on to the lacrosse team. His football coach Darryl Hunter said that Haley played on both the offensive and defensive lines. Those are not glory positions but Hunter said that Haley played selflessly to help his teammates excel.

“Lance is one of the best linemen Chesapeake High School has ever had. Lance is a true Iron man, he played both side of the ball as a left tackle and defensive end. He never wanted to come of the field,” Hunter said. “He protected the our quarterback at all times, selflessly leading the offensive line always taking on the other teams best player and always giving 100 percent. On defense, Lance was a nightmare for the opposing team. He would take on a double team every down but always made a difference.”

Haley’s lacrosse coach Tony DaChino explained that Haley showed those same characteristics on the lacrosse field too and he will be missed by coaches and teammates.

“Lance was our crease defender and vital to the success of our team. He used his athletic ability to help and always being there on the slide. He was a wall and built a fortress in front of the goalie,” DaChino said.

Haley said that playing high school sports have taught him to become a great time manager at school, work, meetings and his social life. He was also named football captain which taught him leadership and how to earn trust.

“I’ve always heard the saying ‘it takes a village’, I would like to thank my teachers, family members, teammates, friends and coaches for making up my village at Chesapeake. Participating in high school sports has taught me just that,” Haley said.

“I hope to continue to learn things in life through my continuation in education to eventually pass down my knowledge to others so they can understand the importance in education and athletics.”

McCormick & Company presents their annual McCormick Unsung Heroes where they honor high school athletes who have been models of sportsmanship and team. The 2020 McCormick Unsung Heroes Awards will take place in a virtual format on May 11. Every school in the region has a male and female athlete nominated for the award and Eastbaltco.com will profile each athlete from eastern Baltimore County over the next week.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel
The first school to be profiled are the athletes at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Essex. Girls soccer player Demetra Conner and Boys Soccer player Connor Naunton are the two nominees from the school.

Demetra Conner

Conner was recommended by her school for her work on and off the field. In the classroom, she has a GPA of 3.9 and has taken a college math course. She was described as a leader as she volunteered to come to school during the summer to mentor the freshmen during orientation.

Conner is an active member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society and is the President of the National Art Honor Society at Mount Carmel.

She is listed as a leader on the field too as she was voted team captain of the soccer team. Teammates said she is the type of player to give up the ball and let someone else score without second guessing herself or worrying about her own stats. Her coach also credited Connor as a team player who is willing to change positions to help the team.

Connor also plays indoor soccer and softball during the spring.

She applied to nine colleges and got accepted to all. According to Mount Carmel, Connor plans to major in either Psychology or Nursing.

Connor Naunton

Naunton soccer career came along way over his four years. His former coach Mark Concordia said that Naunton started his career as a freshman on the bench, but worked hard his four years.

“He was third off the bench. Connor was not the biggest, strongest, or fastest, but would step into any role and bring composure to the field.” Concordia said about Naunton as he coached him in his first three years “Connor’s soccer IQ helped him to overcome what he lacked athletically”.

Naunton had to make an adjustment in his senior as Jon Schneehagen took over as soccer coach from Concordia.

“Connor took me in; I have never worked with a young person with such humility and awareness. He knew that I was stepping into a difficult position,” Schneehagen said of Naunton.

He also had to make an adjustment on the field as the midfielder and forward was asked to play goalie.

“Without flinching, he recognized his team’s success required him to try his hand as goalie,” said a statement from the team. “From that moment on, he made it his task to be the best goalie possible, seeking advice and training from his brother, who played collegiately at McDaniel.”

Naunton is known for his contribution to the soccer team, but he has also been involved with his school and athletic department. During basketball season, he manages the clock at the scorers table. He was also a four-year starter on the baseball team.

According to the school, Naunton was a Student Government Class Representative, a member of the Spanish National Honor Society (Historian as Junior / Vice President as Senior) and a member of the National Art Honor Society. Naunton applied and was accepted to four colleges.