EAST SYRACUSE MINOA CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT – The East Syracuse Minoa Central School District has inducted eight new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame.
The group of inductees added Oct. 12—all of whom were in attendance for the ceremony—included Rachael Aird Zabycz, a 2014 graduate who played field hockey and volleyball.
A member of the All-CNY field hockey team as well as a back-to-back Section III Class B champion and defensive most valuable player in varsity field hockey, Aird also set the district record for career kills in volleyball with 809, won a Class A volleyball championship, and was named ESM’s 2014 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Also part of the induction class was Dick Argus from the Class of 1965, who was a standout multi-sport athlete in wrestling, football and lacrosse. Argus was 2nd Team All-County Lacrosse and was declared the 1963-64 Wrestling MVP.
Argus was also first in Onondaga County in wrestling and came in fourth at the New York State tournament.
Joining him in the Hall of Fame is fellow 1965 grad George Bertrand, who was 1st Team All-County in both football and basketball in 1964 and 1965. Bertrand was additionally named ESM’s most athletic senior athlete in 1965.
Jim Gorney, who coached at ESM for 50 years, from 1974 to 2024, was also inducted. He was the head boys and girls coach for indoor and outdoor track for every one of those years but his first, and was head coach for both cross country teams from 1980 until 2013.
Gorney coached his athletes to numerous Section III titles and All-American status, altogether coaching ESM to 298 wins in cross country and 442 wins in track and field.
In his final year at ESM, he was named Track and Field Coach of the Year for Section III Division 1.
David Hunter, a 1998 graduate, was inducted for his accomplishments in lacrosse.
Hunter was co-captain of ESM’s varsity lacrosse team and was one of Upstate New York’s leading scorers. He also achieved First Team All-American honors in lacrosse his senior year and was a varsity letter winner.
The oldest of the inductees was Dick Kenyon, who graduated from ESM in 1952.
Kenyon excelled in basketball, baseball and football, having been the leading scorer on his basketball team in addition to notching a 9-1 pitching record, 87 strikeouts and only two earned runs his senior baseball season.
Another one of the eight inductees was 2003 graduate Mike McClusky, ESM’s all-time leading basketball scorer with 1,444 career points.
An All-CNY and All-League player, McClusky also holds the school records for most three pointers in a game with nine and most points in a game with 44.
Softball player Michelle Street, who graduated in 2005, was inducted as well.
A two-time All-CNY and Class AA All-Star, Street was ESM’s MVP in softball in 2004 and 2005 and she holds the records for lowest ERA (0.40) and wins-to-losses, posting a 40-13 record.
She also threw 565 strikeouts, 23 shutouts and eight no-hitters in her time at ESM.