Here’s how Bellefonte’s Leigha Schrader and J.D. Besch earned Snyder Award recognition
When Bellefonte’s John Daniel (J.D.) Besch and Leigha Schrader weren’t busy winning district football titles or leading the Raiders’ girls’ soccer program, they could be found sitting on student council, reading the morning announcements or counseling kids at camp.
For these reasons and more, the pair were named Bellefonte’s 2021 Snyder Award winners on Wednesday evening at the school’s senior awards ceremony.
“It’s a really great honor to be awarded with this award,” Schrader said. “I’ve put so much time and effort into sports, it’s just kind of rewarding to be able to win this award back.”
Added Besch, whose sister, Catharine, won in 2019: “We hold it very high in my family, and it means a lot to win it. It’s really nice to carry on the family tradition now.”
The James H. Snyder Awards are given in memory of Snyder, a former Centre Daily Times sports editor who was killed in an automobile crash in December of 1957. The awards have become an annual county staple celebrating the community’s young leaders — a pair of seniors from each of the county’s five public high schools plus Saint Joseph’s who embrace academics, athletics and community service.
Schrader played soccer and lacrosse for the Raiders, and was a member of the Unified bocce team, while Besch played football and was a thrower on the track and field team. Besch recently placed third in shot put at the District 6 Class 3A track and field championships.
When asked what athletic achievement she was most proud of, Schrader had a hard time choosing. She takes pride in both being chosen to lead the girls’ soccer team her senior season and in helping Bellefonte girls’ lacrosse win its first-ever game, when she was a sophomore.
While helping to build a new program can be hard work, Schrader said she enjoyed the time she got to spend with her teammates and friends, and seeing their efforts pay off made it all worth it.
“It was just amazing that all the hard work we put in for the four years before that, starting the program, then finally being able to be rewarded with that win,” she said. “Being able to know that I helped start a program is really rewarding.”
Besch didn’t have as much trouble identifying his proudest athletic achievement — winning two district titles in football (2017, 2019).
Family is a running theme for Besch, and that’s what made that feat so special to him.
“My dad was part of the first team ever to win a district championship at Bellefonte,” he said. “So, it felt great to continue to carry on the family tradition of winning at Bellefonte.”
Outside of sports, Schrader kept herself plenty busy during her time as a Raider. Of the activities she could remember off the top of her head, Schrader was involved in student council, the school’s safety committee, Raider Review (the morning announcements), Raider Nation and Mini-Thon.
But above all else, Schrader is most fond of the time she spent with the Unified bocce program. Unified bocce, co-sponsored by the PIAA and Special Olympics PA, pairs students with and without special needs together in a competitive team environment.
“It was always an honor to be able to go out with those kids and show them that anything is possible, that even though they’ve been faced with really hard challenges in life, that they can still do anything they set their mind to,” Schrader said. “And just being involved with that community of kids was awesome.”
Outside of football and track, Besch was involved in the Walker Township 4-H, was a camp counselor and played saxophone in band for his first two years of high school. He also worked as a farmhand at Pelicks Queens Three Farm.
It was from his work as a farmhand that Besch said he learned a valuable life lesson.
“No matter how hard and how much you don’t want to work, you just have to push through it to achieve what you want to achieve,” he said.
Schrader will continue her soccer career this fall at Gannon University in Erie, where she plans to study biochemistry. Having always excelled at math and science, Schrader was inspired to choose the major by her senior biology teacher, because of its broad applications.
And just like with Snyder Awards and district football titles, Besch wants to follow in the footsteps of his family members — his dad, mom and several grandparents — and pursue a career in education. He plans to attend Shippensburg this fall, where he’ll continue to play football and major in secondary social studies education.
“It’s just kind of the family business,” Besch said.
As their high school careers come to a close and they set their sights on what lies ahead, both Schrader and Besch took a moment to reflect on their time in the Bellefonte Area School District, and the support they’ve received in both athletics and education.
“The support that Bellefonte has toward all its athletics programs is just amazing,” Schrader said. “It doesn’t matter the sport, there’s always people there to support. And knowing that that support is behind everyone and everyone involved in athletics at Bellefonte is really fun and it’s really good to know we have all those amazing opportunities.”
Added Besch: “It means a lot. It’s great to have their support in school, athletics and in everything.”
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
