Lessons for Life: Sports in Geneva
March 26, 2019, 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
In conjunction with the current exhibit Panthers & Saints: High School Sports in Geneva, the Geneva Historical Society is hosting a panel discussion, "Lessons for Life: Sports in Geneva." Planned panelists for the program are Nan DeMuth, Mike Hanna, Steve Muzzi, Carl Wenzel, and Aliceann Wilbur. The panel members will discuss their experience with sports and organized athletics in Geneva's past, as well as take questions from the audience.
A physical education teacher at Geneva and DeSales High Schools, Nan DeMuth was a pioneer in women's sports. She founded the AAU-affiliated Finger Lakes Track and Field Club, which gave girls the chance to compete in track events before Title IX required equal athletic opportunities through schools. Mike Hanna played football and lacrosse for the Hobart Statesmen and retired in 2017 after serving as Director of Athletics at the Colleges from 1981. Steve Muzzi played football at DeSales High School and went on to teach and coach basketball and cross country at both DeSales and Geneva High School until his retirement from Geneva High School in 2018. He also serves as the secretary on the Geneva Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors. Carl Wenzel coached basketball at Geneva High School from 1980 to 2001, winning three Finger Lakes East titles and two Section V championships. He also coached the school's baseball and boys tennis teams. Aliceann Wilbur grew up in Penn Yan and has been soccer coach for the William Smith Herons since the team's start in 1980. She is the first woman in collegiate soccer history to earn 400 career wins, and her 555 wins put her in first place on the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer all-time list.
This lecture is supported in part by the Samuel B. Williams fund for programs in the Humanities and is free and open to the public. For more information about the program, call the Geneva Historical Society office at 315-789-5151.
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