Meet the Class of 2018

A three-sport varsity athlete at Blair, Mr. Scott served as co-captain of the basketball and baseball teams as a junior and captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams as a senior. He earned all-state accolades in basketball (second team) and baseball (first team) during his junior year and was named to the first team in all three sports as a senior, one of only three athletes in New Jersey to receive that distinction in 1967-1968. Mr. Scott lettered in golf at Cornell University and continues to play the links at a high level to the present day. A 2011 Lehigh Valley Golf Hall of Fame inductee, he has qualified for six career United States Golf Association (USGA) national championships and made two trips to the U.S. Senior Amateur. Among his many tournament wins are the 2004 Golf Association of Philadelphia Senior Amateur and the 2013 and 2014 Lehigh Valley Senior Inter-Club championships. Mr. Scott has remained connected to his alma mater as a parent volunteer during his children’s (Corey ’00, Lindsey ’04 and Lucas ’06) Blair years, as a class of 1968 reunion committee member, as a Blair-Wellington Golf Exchange volunteer and as a participant in the Alumni Weekend Blair Cup Golf Scramble, which his foursome has won several times.

Mr. Waddell earned 10 varsity letters during his Blair athletic career, four each in football and baseball, and two in basketball. A leader on the athletic fields, he co-captained the School’s undefeated 1972 football squad and was named to the first team all-state; he also served as captain of the baseball team. Mr. Waddell continued to play football and baseball at Bucknell University, earning a total of seven varsity letters. As a freshman, he led Bucknell’s baseball team in hitting with a .354 average, and he became the first African-American in school history to earn four varsity letters in the sport.

Winner of 12 varsity letters and a starter in each season, Mrs. Spring played soccer, basketball and softball as a Buccaneer. Recipient of post-season honors in 11 of those seasons, she co-captained the soccer and softball teams as a senior and was a member of two prep “B” championship teams, including the School’s only girls’ soccer state title in 1993 and a girls’ basketball state title the following winter. Her Blair athletic awards include the Stowell Softball Prize, the Blair Soccer Prize and the William Zester Memorial Award, presented annually to the senior girl who has best represented Blair in athletic competition. A Blair Bogle Brothers Scholar, Mrs. Spring was also recognized for her many contributions to the School community with the David Avery-Jones Freshman Prize, the John Kinch Leach Merit Award and the Lee Rose Memorial Trophy. She matriculated at Middlebury College, where she earned six varsity letters (three in soccer, one in basketball and two in softball). Mrs. Spring and her club softball teammates, with the support of Title IX and the school’s administration, formed Middlebury’s first-ever varsity softball team in spring 1998, and she was a co-captain during the program’s first two years. From 2002 to 2013, Mrs. Spring served on Blair’s faculty as an English and history teacher as well as a head varsity soccer coach and assistant varsity softball coach. She was recognized for exemplary teaching with the 2012 John C. and Eve S. Bogle Teaching Prize.

Captain of Blair’s girls’ soccer, basketball and lacrosse teams, Mrs. Weston was a force to be reckoned with in each of these sports. She was the leading scorer on the soccer team (1995, 1996 and 1997), the basketball team (1998), and the lacrosse team (1997 and 1998), and she received all-state honors in soccer and lacrosse as a junior and senior and in basketball as a senior. Having earned 12 Blair varsity letters, Mrs. Weston was awarded the Brooks Basketball Prize, the Blair Lacrosse Prize and the William Zester Memorial Award, presented to the senior female athlete who has best represented Blair in competition. She continued her athletic career at Barnard College, where she played soccer for the Columbia University Lions.

A standout wrestler at Blair, Mr. Giacche was the first Buc to win four national prep championships (1995 at 103 lbs., 1996 at 112 lbs., 1997 at 119 lbs. and 1998 at 125 lbs.) and the third four-time winner in national prep tournament history. He also claimed the 1997 Ironman title (125 lbs.) and competed as a freestyle wrestler at junior nationals, placing fifth in 1997 (123 lbs.) and fourth in 1998 (132 lbs.). He was awarded the Franklin Prize as a senior, an honor accorded to the student in the senior class who has shown the greatest development and improvement throughout the course. Mr. Giacche continued to achieve success as a four-year varsity wrestler and starter at Northwestern University. In 2002, he was an NCAA Division I national qualifier, and he placed first in freestyle wrestling at university nationals (66 kg.). He also received three Northwestern University accolades that year: the Lupton Award for net takedowns, the Jack Riley Award for total falls and the Stuteville Award for season points leader. The university honored Mr. Giacche in 2003 with a Billy McKinney Award, given to the male athlete “who has exhibited exemplary leadership qualities, constant (110-percent) effort and a positive attitude, that, in his coach’s estimation, make him a ‘coach’s dream.’” In addition, he earned multiple academic all-Big Ten honors during his college career. 

An NBA player with an illustrious professional basketball career, Mr. Villanueva was a varsity-letter winner in basketball and track at Blair and co-captain of the basketball team his senior year. In 2003, he was named a McDonald’s and Parade magazine All-American, and he received Blair’s Haskins Basketball Prize. A highly sought-after college recruit, Mr. Villanueva continued to play basketball at the University of Connecticut, where he earned Big East All-Rookie team honors as a freshman in 2004 playing for the national champion Huskies. As a sophomore, he led the team in scoring, was named most valuable player and made the second team all-Big East. Declaring for the NBA draft at the conclusion of his sophomore year, Mr. Villanueva began his professional basketball career in 2005 with the Toronto Raptors as the seventh overall draft pick. He has since played for the Milwaukee Bucks (2006-2009), Detroit Pistons (2009-2014) and Dallas Mavericks (2014-2016). Mr. Villanueva is a spokesperson for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, and he was recognized with two Raptors Community MVP Awards and the February 2006 NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his work with children who have this autoimmune disease. His Blair jersey (number 31) was retired during a 2009 Alumni Weekend ceremony, along with those of fellow Blair NBA players Luol Deng ’03 and Royal Ivey ’00.