Recent Riverside Brookfield High School graduate Ben Biskupic and several baseball teammates arrived at the school’s senior awards ceremony just in time.
“I hadn’t even sat down and I had to walk across the stage in my uniform,” Biskupic said.
He and Addie Vaia were the respective RBHS Male and Female Senior Athletes of the Year.
“I was a little shocked, surprised, but it was a nice honor. I was very appreciative of it,” said Biskupic, who luckily arrived from a home baseball game against South Elgin rather than away. “I knew something was up because (RBHS baseball coach Mark Ori) was like, ‘When do you need to get there?’ so I figured it was something bigger than the regular honors in science.”
Vaia, who had an even busier four years, also was somewhat taken aback by her recognition.
“I was surprised and very, very honored to be awarded that,” Vaia said. “I’ve put a lot of hard work and dedication into all the sports I did at RB, so I am grateful I was recognized for this award.”
Sofia Miller and Isaac Lee were the RBHS Female and Male Senior Scholar Athletes with the highest grade-point averages.
Vaia also joined Joselyn Hernandez, Kennedy Holakovsky, Mariella Hutar, Michael Kallas, Maggie Porter and Abby Weinert as seven seniors who played three sports all four years.
Vaia played basketball all four years. Fall sports consisted of volleyball her first two years, cross country her final three and both her sophomore season. More running came in the spring with track and field the final three years after playing softball as a freshman.
“It wasn’t necessarily a goal of mine since as a kid I was always involved in multiple sports and even multiple sports per season,” Vaia said. “As I got older, I narrowed my sports down and they happened to fall into separate consecutive seasons.”
Biskupic played four years of baseball and basketball, the final two on varsity in both sports. His varsity basketball teams achieved 20-win seasons, the baseball teams won 19 and then 20 games.
As a senior, he became a three-sport athlete by joining football and helping the Bulldogs to an 8-2 season record. That included the defensive end’s memorable strip and touchdown return in the 51-12 victory over Ridgewood.
The football newcomer was voted by his teammates to be a co-captain.
“(Football) was a lot of fun. The team was great. We played really well,” Biskupic said. “It was nice to be named a captain for my first year and that my teammates respected me and my work ethic. I wanted to go out and try my best for them.”
Vaia said one of her biggest challenges with multiple sports was constant physical exertion.
“My coaches always supported me, knowing that I played three sports back-to-back-to-back, and offered me breaks I just chose not to (take),” she said.
As a sophomore, Vaia competed cross country on weekends when that sport didn’t conflict with volleyball.
“It wasn’t challenging managing both sports because my coaches were very accommodating and I run on my own daily as a mental health thing,” she said. “However, racing versus running is completely different so adapting to a new, rigorous and specific type of running was not very easy at first.”
Vaia was an individual cross country sectional qualifier as a junior and part of the Bulldogs’ sectional-qualifying team in October. In basketball, she especially remembers her game-winning shot against Morton, her career high in points and the bonding with teammates this past season.
In May, Vaia qualified for her first state meet – the Class 3A girls track and field state meet – as part of the 4 x 800-meter relay.
Biskupic’s other memories are his double-double in the key basketball victory over Glenbard East this past season and two key three-pointers in last season’s victory over Lyons Township. Baseball also enjoyed a memorable victory over LTHS this spring.
He will attend Tulane (New Orleans) and major in biochemistry followed by medical or law school. He plans to play intramural basketball and soccer, a sport he played indoors with RBHS classmates this past winter.
“I benefitted a lot (from RBHS sports), primarily time management. I don’t show up late to things. I show up early,” Biskupic said. “It made me focus on studies enough to make sure I could play and instilled a work ethic when I got to practice I had to work hard so I work hard other places.”
Vaia is majoring in elementary education at Illinois. She hopes to someday come back to teach in Riverside.
“Overall, I am very grateful for my experiences and I wouldn’t have grown into the person I am today if it wasn’t for RB sports,” she said. “I’ve gained a great work ethic from being a multi-sport athlete. I’ve learned how to manage my time, I’ve become a leader and I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone for sports that I barely knew anyone at first.”