by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
Steve Poliachik is receiving the Career Achievement Award for tonight’s induction ceremonies. Poliachik has had an outstanding sports career. At Bennett he was involved in coaching Girls softball for 24 years from 1979-1982 compiling 182 wins, Girls basketball for 24 years from 1979-2002 compiling 163 wins and Girls volleyball for 18 years from 1985-2002 compiling 108 wins. In all three sports his teams had multiple invitations to the sectional playoffs.
Poliachik played organized baseball for 45 years in elementary school, Mckinley High School, Jacksonville University and UB. At McKinley he starred in three sports – baseball, football and basketball where he was All High in baseball as a pitcher and in football as a quarterback.
In 1962 he played on the American Legion DelBello team which won the U.S. Championships in Bismarck, North Dakota. Another highlight of his career also occurred in 1962 when he was invited to try out for the New York Yankees. The team felt that he would benefit more by attending Jacksonville University on a baseball scholarship. Shortly after he transferred to UB where he also played baseball.
Other noteworthy feats were pitching batting practice, filming hitters and charting pitchers for the Buffalo Bisons, appearing in a bit part in the movie “The Natural” which was filmed in Buffalo,and pitching batting practice in Old-Timer Games to such players as Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio. He is also a member of the WNY Baseball Hall of Fame and Harvard Cup Football Hall of Fame.
Poliachik said, “I greatly appreciate the many awards and achievements that I have been honored with in my life. However, being inducted into the Bennett Sports Hall of Fame is a dream come true. Being involved in coaching at Bennett gave me the chance to be directly involved in coaching my two daughters, Kim and Kristen who are both members of the Bennett High School Sports Hall of Fame. The sacrifice of my wife will never be forgotten. She has always been there for me as I pursued the goals that I wished to attain.’
by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
Nicole D. Smith’s remarkable record in basketball at Bennett may never be broken. From 1998-2002 she was All High and All Western New York each year, scoring over 1.000 career points. As the old saying goes, “NOT TOO SHABBY!” Adding to her legacy, she also starred on the varsity softball and volleyball teams for all four years. To achieve 12 major letters is truly a legendary feat. In addition to her superlative athletic athletic ability she was team captain twice in basketball and volleyball in 2001 and 2002.
After graduating from Bennett she attended Daemen College and majored in Psychology. She also continued her basketball career at Daemen playing three years on the varsity attaining Honorable mention ALL League in 2003. Smith’s present profession is working as a New York State Corrections officer for the past ten years.
“When I received a phone call telling me that I was going to be inducted into the Bennett High School Sports Hall of Fame I was completely flabbergasted. Words cannot express how thrilled I am to receive this prestigious award,” Smith said.
by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
Even in 7th grade it was evident that Aaron Hayes was going to be an outstanding athlete. He was already playing AAU basketball and was recruited by many high school teams in Buffalo. However, from the start Bennett was going to be his first choice. His brother had starred at Bennett in sports and there was a great tradition at the school that appealed to Aaron. Hayes joined Bennett’s International Studies program and went on to a storied sports career at Bennet. His sports accomplishments were legendary, He was All High in basketball 3 straight years, All Western New York 2 times, and totaled over 1000 points and 1000 rebounds in his career.As great as his high school scoring records were Aaron was equally proud of the fact that he was named team captain for both his junior and senior years and was part of the Bennett team that defeated the legendary Niagara Falls High school basketball team. Aaron was extremely proud that he had joined the prestigious International Studies program at Bennett. He reiterated that going to Bennett was one of the best decisions of his life.
After attending Canisius College for a year and playing basketball he left Canisius and started raising a family. Aaron presently works as a Vendor Manager at Key Bank.
