Greyhounds select Guzzie, Holmes
Natalia Holmes is one of Monessen's winter sports selections in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Maddie Guzzie is one of Monessen's winter sports selections in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Though they have both made a name for themselves on Monessen’s program record-breaking softball team, both Natalia Holmes and Madison “Maddie” Guzzie are multifaceted student-athletes and for their academic prowess and athletic skill, the duo have been named Monessen’s winter selections for the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar-Athlete program.
Both of them shared their appreciative and humbled responses on being selected by the district.
“It means a lot because I work real hard in school and I love sports,” said Holmes, the daughter of Dianna Tart and Steven Holmes. “To be recognized is great and I appreciate it.”
“When I found out, it made me feel really good about myself, my grades and how I play in (softball and cheerleading),” said Guzzie, the daughter of Bobby and Tracy Guzzie. “It makes me proud of all of my hard work.”
Holmes, who has a 4.11 GPA, has not picked a college yet but plans to major in sports medicine while Guzzie, who has a 4.33 GPA, is headed to Duquesne to be a major practitioner.
Guzzie, who is a cheerleader during the fall and winter sports seasons, chose the Monessen softball team making the WPIAL Class A finals as her most memorable sports moment so far.
“It was really good being in the WPIAL championship,” she said. “Our team was looking forward to it and even though we lost, it was still a big accomplishment to get there.”
For Holmes, it was a goal she scored earlier this year in a defeat to Geibel Catholic in soccer as the team would have made the playoffs with a win, and almost pulled it out.
“We were losing and playing kind of flat but when I scored that goal, everyone was pumped,” she said. “It gave us a chance even though we ended up losing and missing the playoffs.”
When asked who their respective favorite professional athletes were, both gave answers for athletes in sports that neither plays as Holmes chose New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. and Guzzie chose Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Shawn Johnson.
“He works really hard at football, loves his sport and always gets hurt,” said Holmes. “I always get hurt too, and he works hard to get back and it pushes me.”
“She is a really strong female competitor,” said Guzzie of Johnson. “And she never gives up.”
When asked who has had the greatest influence on their respective playing careers, both answered with members of the Monessen coaching family as Guzzie chose softball coach Bo Teets while Holmes picked current athletic director and former girls basketball head coach Gina Naccarato as well as girls soccer assistant coach Tom Gigliotti.
“He always coaches me to do my best and never lets me get down on myself,” said Guzzie of Teets. “He challenges me to do my best and is really motivational.”
“Since I was a freshman Ms. Nacc encouraged me to play and was willing to work with me one-on-one, would play with us and really helped us realize life is like a sport,” Holmes said. “(Gigliotti) was so willing to stay after practice and help me.
“He pulled me to the side and show me things, talked to me about things and when I would get frustrated, he would calm me down.”