Denisha Scott Reid resides in Virginia these days, working as a mental health counselor to the youth of her community.
With at least 50 of her family members by her side, Scott Reid had a homecoming last Monday night.
“This is my home,” Scott Reid told the 300 or so people in attendance for the annual Hudson County Track Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame and Awards ceremony at The Chandelier in Bayonne. “I’m so glad to be here.”
Before she was a married woman and headed to Norfolk State for college, she was simply Denisha Scott, but she was far from anything ordinary.
Scott was a sprinting whirlwind at the now-defunct St. Mary’s High School and along with teammate Mia Campo, the two achieved the unthinkable and captured the NJSIAA Group I state indoor track championship on their own.
That’s right, just Scott and Campo went to Jadwin Gym representing St. Mary’s in 1998 and the two accumulated 32 points, which was good enough for the overall state Group I state crown. That has not happened since and probably won’t happen ever again.
Scott went on to Norfolk State, where she got the chance to compete against some of the greatest collegiate runners in the Colgate Games at the 168th Street Armory.
“It was a very memorable time,” said Scott Reid, who was one of four legendary track and field athletes inducted into the HCTCA Hall of Fame.
The HCTCA is the only organization representing a sport that honors its top competitors with an awards presentation at the year’s end. Track and field is the only local sport that allows its athletes to get an opportunity to be awarded for their hard work and efforts.
And there is the added thrill of the evening when the HCTCA honors worthy recipients as Hall of Famers.
This year, the HCTCA honored Scott, along with former Dickinson and St. Peter’s College standout Aaron Prather, shot put king Kevin DiGiorgio of Bayonne and St. Peter’s Prep and sprinting standout Yvette Morris of Ferris and Seton Hall.
It was an extremely formidable group.
And incredibly, all four dedicate their lives today with the betterment of youth as coaches and mentors. It’s their way of giving back. It’s quite remarkable that all four are currently working with kids.
Scott had the largest family contingent at the dinner, with more than 50 family members in attendance.
Her cousin, Steven Scott, presented her. Her uncle is Shelton Gibbs, the former Snyder and St. Peter’s College basketball standout who is currently the head coach at Snyder. Her cousin is Shyquan Gibbs who was a key member of the undefeated St. Anthony team that won the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions and is headed to NJIT on a basketball scholarship.
Needless to say, Denisha Scott has a big family and a good chunk of that family was there with her last Monday night.
“This would have been my grandmother and grandfather’s 66th wedding anniversary,” Scott Reid told the audience.
Scott Reid also told everyone about the torn ACL and meniscus in her knee that ended her running career and turned her toward helping others.
Prather, who came within a hair of making the United States Olympic team, recalled his troubled youth in Jersey City.
“My whole family is in prison,” Prather said. “I didn’t run to have fun. I ran to get out of the ghetto. As long as I put God first, then I knew I was in good hands. The older you get, you realize the awards you receive are that much more important.”
Prather also gave a word of wisdom to the athletes in attendance.
“Never give up on your dream,” Prather said. “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.”
Prather is now a coach in Tampa and works with the Wings of Eagles mentoring program there.
“I spend my life helping kids and mentoring,” Prather said. “I encourage you to never give up on your dream.”
DiGiorgio, who set the state shot put record when he was in high school, was a stocky kid who followed the lead of his father and became a shot put hero, eventually winning a national champion in 1998 when he was a senior at Bayonne High. His training exploits were once featured in the New York Times. He currently teaches at Bayonne and works with the track team there.
Morris had a sensational career at Ferris, then Seton Hall, running the sprints and the hurdles. She was All-Hudson County four years in both hurdles races and became the county’s best sprinter in the 55-meter dash indoors and the 100-meter dash outdoors her senior year in 1983.
Morris still holds some of the hurdles records at Seton Hall.
She returned to her native Jersey City to become a coach and teacher and eventually became the athletic director at both Dickinson and Snyder. She was the first female athletic director in Hudson County history.
“I came from a very competitive family,” Morris said. “We didn’t like to lose.”
Morris had three older sisters that were also track standouts in high school.
“I would not be here today if I wasn’t around all these positive people in my life,” Morris said. “I tell you, don’t ever allow someone tell you what you can’t do. If I allowed anyone to tell me differently, I wouldn’t be here. I had a lot of positive role models in my own family and I wanted to be a good role model for others. So don’t ever place limits on yourself and not allow yourself the chance to be all you can be.”
It was a tremendous evening, capped by the current high school athletes receiving awards and scholarships for their efforts. There were scholarships presented in the memory of legendary track and field figures like the late Al Bundies and late sportswriter Mike Rowan, as well as sportswriter Ed Grant and athlete Thornton Smith. Grant has been an active sportswriter for more than 70 years and will turn 90 later this year.
All four of the scholarship presenters are also members of the HCTCA Hall of Fame.
Some of the current athletes that were honored included St. Dominic Academy distance sensation Camille Bertholon, who earned All-County honors in seven different events. Hudson Catholic’s Tomatse Ogedegbe was honored for his six different events. McNair Academic’s Haig Rickerby and St. Peter’s Prep’s Brendan Parrado were also honored for multiple events.
All in all, it was a great evening – once again. The rest of the sports in the county should make a note at what the HCTCA does and try to do a similar event for their athletes as well. It’s well worth the effort. The kids deserve it.
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.