Three athletes at Briarcliff High School signed a National Letter of Intent this afternoon at the high school gymnasium.
Luca Meola will play Men’s Lacrosse at Providence College. His coach is Al Meola (he is also his father).
Dylan O’Malley will play Baseball at William and Mary University. His coach is John Schrader.
Dylan Zednik will play Women’s Soccer at Bucknell University. Her coaches are David Villalobos (head coach) and Lauren Pesce (assistant coach).
“We are so proud of our student-athletes who have committed to continue their playing careers at Division 1 schools. Outstanding accomplishment! Great day to be a Bear!” said Briarcliff Director of Athletics Chris Drosopoulos.
Luca Meola
Providence College – Men’s Lacrosse
The latest in a lengthy line of standout defensemen from Briarcliff in the past 5 years is Team Captain Luca Meola. Luca is a terrific cover guy who will happily turn any matchup into a street fight. A very physical, aggressive defenseman who’s well-put together at 6-1, 190 pounds. Luca loves to seek out the opponent’s biggest offensive threat and relishes the challenge. Luca also takes face offs and is a huge threat as well with the ball in his stick jumping in on the offensive side of the field. He can dish it but is more than willing to unload his heavy shot. Luca was also a captain for the Bear’s football team. His leadership and tenacity on and off the field is unmatched. Beloved by all his teammates, coaching staff, peers, and community. His most recent accolades have been:
- All-League 2021
- All-Section 2022
- First Team All -New York (small schools) 2022
- All Star at the Prestigious Maverik Showtime Showcase 2022
- Prime Time 2023 Class
Committed to Providence College. Where he will play for the Friars-Under the tutelage of Coach Bobby Benson and Casey Broderson.
Dylan O’Malley
William & Mary University – Men’s Baseball
Dylan is a student-athlete playing for the Varsity Baseball team. He is a left-handed pitcher and first baseman playing his third year on the team this spring. In 2022, Dylan was selected as the starting pitcher for Team New York in the 2nd Annual Leiderman Cup, Perfect Game Preseason Underclassman All American honorable mention (northeast region) and All League Honorable Mention. In addition to playing for the Bears, he also plays for Dirtbags New York, and the nationally ranked Dirtbags Scout
Team based out of North Carolina. A national and state ranked player in Perfect Game (class of 2023), he is ranked in the top 500 players nationally and 50th in New York. He is the 189th nationally ranked and 7th New York ranked left-handed pitcher. He was named to the PG All-Tournament team seven times (2019-2022). Dylan will be playing for the William & Mary Tribe Men’s baseball team (Division I, CAA Conference) in the Fall of 2023.
- Varsity Boys Baseball #27 (LHP & First Base), Dirtbags NY/NC (LHP)~Class 2023:
- 2022- All League Honorable Mention
- 2022- 2nd Annual Leiderman Cup
- 2022 – Perfect Game Preseason Underclassman All American honorable mention (northeast region)
- Perfect Game (2023) Top 500 national player rank
- Perfect Game (2023) 50th ranked player in New York
- Perfect Game (2023) 189th national LHP rank
- Perfect Game (2023) 7th ranked LHP in New York
- 2019-2022 Perfect Game seven-time All-Tournament team
Dylan Zednik
Bucknell University – Women’s Soccer
Dylan has had her foot on a soccer ball from the time she could walk. She first developed a love for the game as a Butterfly in the Tarrytown Youth Soccer Organization. As her skills and her desire to play more competitively grew, she moved to the Pleasantville Road Runners. With this team, she began focusing more on goalkeeping and decided that this was the position best suited for her.
As a 7th grader, she joined NYSC, playing one year in the NPL League and then transitioning to the Development Academy. Under an amazing coach, she continued her rigorous training and forged some incredible relationships with her teammates. In the three years with this team, the girls were the NY State Champions and were also invited to England to play against some of the most competitive local teams in their age group. By the end of her third year with NYSC, the team was ranked as one of the top twenty teams in the nation. She simultaneously played modified soccer through school, and her Pocantico team had amazing success with two undefeated seasons.
In 2020, Dylan and many of her teammates joined Connecticut FC. In their inaugural year, they became the Connecticut State Champions, winning a very difficult final match which ended in penalty kicks and with Dylan scoring the deciding goal. Time with this team has been extremely beneficial to Dylan and a special thank you goes out to Mike and Todd, her CFC coaches, who were instrumental in Dylan’s recruiting process.
Some of Dylan’s fondest memories have been experienced on the field, not only in club soccer but also playing with Briarcliff’s VGS team. The last three years with her fellow Bears have been some of the most enjoyable and rewarding; having received two All-Section Honors. In addition to soccer, Dylan also has a love for basketball and has been on the Briarcliff varsity team for the past three years. Despite being sidelined from basketball last year, and most of this year’s soccer season with an ACL injury, Dylan was still elected captain of both teams and continued to work with the coaches and players in every way possible.
Looking ahead to the fall, Dylan is excited to be joining her new Bucknell family and to be working with a fantastic group of people and program. She is grateful for her family and to all of her coaches and teammates for the amazing support and guidance she has received.
Go Bison! | Once a Bear Always a Bear.