Neither Nate Sletvold nor Jocelyn Morgan knew what they were walking into earlier this week.
Sletvold thought he was going to a pizza party after one last meeting with his Freedom boys basketball team.
Morgan, an Easton field hockey and lacrosse standout, thought she was having her photo taken for the school’s signing day, which was scheduled for the following day.
Instead, both were walking into ceremonies honoring them as the Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute male and female athletes of the year for the 2023-24 school year. Each received a facsimile of a $10,000 check to be used for their college education.
Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute’s Athlete of the Year is the region’s largest scholarship program for student-athletes with more than $400,000 in scholarships being awarded since it began in 2013.
The awards ceremony marked the culmination of the Athlete of the Week program, sponsored by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, and presented by The Morning Call. Each week during the school year, the public votes from nominees — all seniors — for a boys and girls winner. Each weekly winner, 66 in all, receives a $500 scholarship.
While there were many great athletic performances throughout the 2023-24 school year and some student-athletes are still competing in PIAA playoffs, few had a greater impact on their school communities than Sletvold and Morgan.
Typical of the maturity, composure and poise they have displayed throughout their athletic careers, Sletvold and Morgan weren’t thrown off by the surprise ceremonies and graciously smiled and accepted congratulations.
Sletvold was not only the captain of the basketball team but the drum major in the Freedom marching band and president of the National Honor Society. He had a 4.74 GPA. He earned straight A’s for all four years of his Freedom career and also participated in numerous extracurricular activities. He was the Lehigh Valley All-Star Classic scholar-athlete winner.
In addition to basketball and the band, Sletvold was involved with the concert band, the jazz band, the musical theater pit orchestra, church youth group, the EPC student-athlete character council. He was also a camp counselor in the environmental science program.
David Garrett/Special to The Morning Call
Nate Sletvold of Freedom
He averaged 12.4 points per game for the Patriots who had a lot of young players in what turned out to be a 6-16 season.
“It’s truly an honor to be recognized like this,” he said. “I’m super grateful.”
One of the things he is most appreciative of is the opportunity to play basketball and still pursue his musical interests at Freedom.
Basketball trainer Sammy Barona calls Sletvold a true “Renaissance Man.”
“I’ve been training Nate for two years and from Day 1 it has been an awesome experience,” Barona said, who has worked with numerous local products through his training organization known as the Basketball Lab. “The first thing I noticed was his intelligence. I nicknamed him ‘the Renaissance Man’ because of all the things he has done musically. I have come to appreciate his desire to learn the details of the game and just to get better every time he stepped on the court.”
His ability to balance everything going on in his life amazed Barona.
“His work ethic is unparalleled,” Barona said. “He had a desire to learn everything I was teaching and not only did he want to learn, but he also wanted to perfect it. He was very inquisitive and asked a lot of questions and from my experience it’s the players who have that curiosity who want to excel the most.”
Veteran Freedom coach Joe Stellato said Sletvold’s impact on the school as a whole and not just the basketball program has been immense.
“I’m just so glad that LVHN takes a look at the whole person and the entire impact,” Stellato said. “His impact on the entire school has been immense. There are so many people who love him for the person he is and the work-ethic he has.”
Stellato is also happy Sletvold is going to continue to play basketball at the next level. He will play at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry near Syracuse.
“The way I kept him in my office so they could set up the ceremony was that we talked about playing college basketball and how he needs to reset his goals, focus on what he has to do to prepare for the next level and he’s excited about doing that,” Stellato said. “He’s set and ready to go and he’ll put in the work and that’s what got him to this point.”
Sletvold’s advice to the students who will be entering Freedom in a few months: “I would just say to be open-minded and get out of your comfort zone and get involved. Work as hard as you can for the things that you want. It has been amazing for me to be involved in band and sports and everything in between. My experience at Freedom was truly amazing.”
Morgan is headed to Kutztown University where she will play both field hockey and lacrosse.
“This is super exciting,” she said of the LVHN honors. “I was really shocked because obviously there are a lot of really good competitors and really talented people.”
But Morgan is exceptionally talented herself.
April Gamiz/The Morning Call
Easton’s Jocelyn Morgan, right, intends to play both field hockey and lacrosse at Kutztown University. (Morning Call file photo)
She broke school field hockey records for most goals and most points with 38 goals and 14 assists last season.
She also had a GPA 99.13 and was a member of the National Honor Society, the Student-Athlete Character Council and was the EPC scholar-athlete selection for both field hockey and girls lacrosse. She also received an all-state academic GPA award and was in the top eight percent of her class at Easton. She still found time to be a Key Club member, a Varsity E Lacrosse camp counselor and Special Olympics volunteer and chipped in to numerous other organizations.
Easton field hockey coach Casey Eck said the school and her program will miss Morgan.
“She is so hard-working, such a great leader and a wonderful teammate,” Eck said. “It has been my honor to be able to coach her because she leads by example and communicates so well with her teammates. She wants her to be the best players they can be. She tries to lift the whole team up.”
Eck, who has coached for 18 seasons, said Morgan is one of the program’s all-time best.
“She is our career and season all-time leader in goals, which is amazing because in 2020, her freshman year, we were still dealing with COVID and only played 11 games,” Eck said. “We’re going to miss her and our entire senior class because they were such good friends on and off the field. They complement each other and that starts with [Morgan’s] leadership. We had a great year making it to the league finals and the district semifinals. We’re definitely going to miss Jocelyn.”
Morgan, who is undecided about what she’ll major in, said she loves field hockey and lacrosse equally and that’s why she’s going to play both at Kutztown.
“It’s going to be tough, but I think I can do it,” she said.
Asked what advice she’d give future Red Rovers, Morgan said: “Don’t stress. I know I stressed a lot, but they’re going to be fine they’re going to be in good hands here.”