Floyd's Caden Lesiewicz, St. Anthony's Samuel Cook named James Conrad Metzger Top Scholar Athlete
The 2024 Golden Eleven Award recipients pose for a group portrait during the National Football Foundation James C. Metzger Chapter's annual awards brunch at the Melville Marriott on Sunday. Front row, from left: Daniel Aiello of Bayport-Blue Point, Jordan Heyman of Half Hollow Hills East, Ethan Burgos of Ward Melville and Jackson Neugebauer of Sayville. Back row, from left: Rocco Carpinello of West Islip, Benjamin Ross of Glenn, Jeremy Weiss of Commack, Anthony DiMenna of Sachem North, Kaeden West of Comsewogue, Brayden Stahl of Smithtown West and Matthew McIntee of East Islip. Credit: James Escher
On-field success is just one aspect of what makes a great student-athlete.
For Floyd all-around star Caden Lesiewicz and St. Anthony’s middle linebacker Samuel Cook, excelling away from football — in the classroom and the community — is essential.
Lesiewicz and Cook were named the James Conrad Metzger Top Scholar Athlete on Sunday at the annual Scholar Athlete Awards Brunch of the National Football Foundation’s Suffolk County chapter at the Melville Marriott. Lesiewicz claimed Suffolk’s honor and Cook earned the Catholic league’s accolade.
“I think it just means everything that I’ve strived for this year and worked toward,” said Lesiewicz, a Cornell commit as a kicker. “Obviously I put in a ton of work on the football field, but I also take the classroom really seriously.”
“I’m honored, I’m humbled,” Cook said. “Just to be recognized for the achievements on and off the field, it really makes me feel validated for all the work I’ve put in.”
Alongside Lesiewicz and Cook, 11 scholar athletes were honored Sunday as part of the 2023 National Football Foundation Golden Eleven: Danny Aiello (Bayport-Blue Point), Ethan Burgos (Ward Melville), Rocco Carpinello (West Islip), Anthony DiMenna (Sachem North), Jordan Heyman (Half Hollow Hills East), Matt McIntee (East Islip), Jackson Neugebauer (Sayville), Benjamin Ross (Glenn), Brayden Stahl (Smithtown West), Jeremy Weiss (Commack) and Kaeden West (Comsewogue).
Scholar athletes from each Suffolk and Catholic team, and Long Island Lutheran were also honored.
Lesiewicz was a kicker, safety, running back, kick returner, punt returner and wide receiver during his three years as a varsity starter for the Colonials. He was a first-team All-Long Island selection in 2022 and a second-team selection in 2023 after missing time with a torn MCL. Lesiewicz, who owns an unweighted 97 GPA and earned a 1400 SAT score, is a member of the National Honor Society, student government and is a part of a community beach cleanup program.
Cook, who also played defensive end on the 2022 CHSFL Class AAA state championship-winning Friars, was a team captain in 2023. Holding an unweighted 99.81 GPA and a 1410 SAT score, Cook is a part of the National Honor Society, both the science and math National Honor Societies and the Friars varsity lacrosse team among other extracurriculars. He is “leaning toward” attending Purdue for engineering, but a college football path at RPI or Ithaca is “not 100% out of the question,” he said.
2024 NFF Calendar
The NFF will hold the Long Island boys and girls QB challenge — the third annual for the boys and second for the girls — on July 27 at Kings Park High School. Floyd and Longwood will open the 2024 season on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. at Stony Brook’s LaValle Stadium in the inaugural Kickoff Classic Game.
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
