Mercer County Community College (MCCC) invites friends and supporters of Mercer Athletics to hit the links on Monday, Oct. 3 for the 31^st Annual Golf Classic for Scholarships. Co-hosted by the MCCC Foundation and the Athletics Department, the tournament will be held at Trenton Country Club in West Trenton, NJ. As in recent past tournaments, Haldeman Auto Group is the event’s lead sponsor.

“We seek to give our student-athletes every opportunity to succeed both in the classroom and in athletic competition. With generous community support, this single event goes a long way to helping us recruit talented athletes and enhance their academic success,” said Joseph Claffey, executive director of the MCCC Foundation. “We are grateful to our loyal friends and supporters and look forward to another great tournament this year.”

Registration and breakfast begin at 9 a.m., with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. Golf is followed by an awards lunch at 2:30 p.m.

The event’s long-standing chairs, Brian Bennett, Dave Fraytak, and Allen Silk, have passed the torch to MCCC alumni Kevin Karins (Smires & Associates Real Estate) and Michael Procaccini (Rivertan Risk Management). Kerins was both a player and head coach for MCCC Vikings baseball. Procaccini also played baseball for Mercer and is now a member of the MCCC Foundation Board. Other community members to serve on the committee are Brian Bennett (Haldeman Lexus); Elisa Camillone; Lori Danko (DanMor Mechanical Inc.); Tom DeStefano, Jr. (Sterling Title Agency); Dave Fraytak; Tom Onder (Stark & Stark); Tom Perrino (Spiezle Architectural Group); Allen Silk (Stark & Stark); and Anthony Verderese.

They are joined on the committee by members of the MCCC Athletics staff: Athletics Director John Simone, along with Fred Carella, Widmarc Dalce, Elyse Diamond, Howard Levy, Keir Livingston, Reginald Murray, Robert Siris, Russell Stupienski, Marc Vecchiolla, and Ryan Zegarski.

Simone observes that the tournament is all about boosting student success. “Our student-athletes learn important life skills including teamwork and time management. They consistently perform well in the classroom. The Golf Classic helps make this experience possible and lets students know that we believe in them and are investing in their futures,” he said.

The MCCC Vikings have a long history of success in National Junior College Athletic Association’s Region 19 and national tournaments. The college’s storied sports legacy includes 14 national titles; close to 250 student-athletes have earned All-American honors. A number of professional athletes have launched their professional careers at MCCC with the help of a Foundation scholarship.

To date, sponsors for the tournament include: Haldeman Auto Group (Tournament Sponsor); Homasote (Front Nine Sponsor); Bank of Princeton and Spiezle Architectural Group (Back Nine Sponsors); CBIZ Borden Perlman, Clarke Caton Hintz, Dave Fraytak, Rivertan Risk Management, and Stark & Stark (Hole Sponsors); Herring Properties and Princeton Air (Viking Sponsors); Primo Hoagies and Aamir A. Rehman and Hina Z. Ghory Charitable Fund (Beverage Cart Sponsors).

More information is available at www.mccc.edu/golf.