by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
Mary Evanco was a ground breaking athlete at Bennett H.S. who excelled in three sports during the pre-Title IX era of 1972 – 1976. This was quite an achievement for a time when there were no all girls interscholastic teams funded by the Board of Education in the Buffalo Public High Schools until her senior year.
Mary broke a barrier by becoming the first girl to make Bennett’s all male cross country team in her sophomore year. She was one of the top girl runners in the city and was the first and only girl to make All-High from Bennett in 1974 by finishing in 2nd place in the entire city among girls.
Mary also played two seasons of basketball. In her freshman year Mary was a contributing forward on an “unrecognized” team, with the only undefeated season in the school (12 – 0). In her senior year, she again played as a forward on the basketball team. This was part of the girls sports program, and she earned a varsity letter for basketball. This team went on to win the Buffalo City Championship against East H.S.
Mary also played volleyball for two seasons in the girls sports program. she led Bennett to an undefeated season and the League 1 championship for the City of Buffalo in December 1975. For that she earned another varsity letter and the Buffalo Evening News “Girl Athlete of the Week”. She began playing in junior high school at PS #22 and was on the winning team at several annual Erie County Tournaments, including years when Bennett had no team. She played on many “mens power teams” during high school with men who were at a collegiate or older level. Mary received a full academic/athletic scholarship to attend SUNY at Buffalo (the first year that SUNY schools offered women athletic scholarships). After college Mary continued to play and was a member of the bronze medal Western New York Empire State volleyball team in 1981 . Mary was awarded Bennett’s “Outstanding Female Athlete Award” in 1976.
Academically, Mary finished 11th in a class of over 500 students, and won numerous awards while at Bennett, including Bennett’s “Mathematics Award” at graduation. She was a member of the National Honor Society and a New York State Regents Scholarship winner.
After graduation from college, Mary continued long distance running, including road races and one full marathon.
by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
In a rare account of our Bennett Sports Hall Of Fame biographies, these two inductees will be included in one space, since their three year varsity basketball careers were so parallel.
Teammates on the varsity basketball squads of 1981 -’82, 1982-’83, 1983-’84, Vary and Junie both had All-High and AIIWNY careers. The 6’7″ Billups, and the 5’8″ Hemphill formed a perfect compliment to each others skills. In their sophomore year Bennett won the Section VI, Class B title. In their junior year Bennett won the Class B title again, and went on to win the N.Y. State Public High School Class B championship at Glens Falls, N.Y. , then lost to Bishop Laughlin H.S. of Brooklyn for the overall Federation (public-private school) title. That squad was led by All-American Curtis Aiken. In 1983 Aiken graduated, and the question lingered, “how will the Tigers fare without their All-American guard? Whereas Billups and Hemphill languished in teammate Aiken’s huge shadow for two years, they came to the fore on their own in their senior year. The Tigers won the “Yale Cup” in 1984, repeated as the N.Y.S. Public School Class “B” champions, and won the Federation, Class B, overall championship versus the private school champion. The bar was set high, and the Tigers led by this pair of stars gave a truly Hall Of Fame performance. The Tigers could not have accomplished this without both of their AII-WNY stars. Coach Larry Veronica recalls both players as stellar defensive players, as well as scorers. “The memory of Vary blocking shots with that impeccable timing that possessed, and Junie so often stealing the ball from anyone foolish enough to dribble against him, will live with me forever.” “Their leadership and work ethic were exemplary.”
Three year varsity career achievements;
Wins 65 – Losses 11
All-High, AII-WNY 1983 and 1984
Yale Cup champions, 1984
Section VI, Class “B” titles – 3
N.Y.S. Public School Championships – 2
N.Y.S. Federation (overall) Championships – 1
by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
Junie Hemphill went on to star in a highly successful NAIA basketball program at Cumberland (KY) College. He also became a Physical Education teacher and restauranteur in Memphis, TN.
Vory Billups, who also played two years of varsity tennis at Bennett, went on to St. Bonaventure U. on a basketball scholarship, after being named 8th team All New York State at the center position. Unfortunately, a medical condition stopped Vory’s college basketball career before it ever got started. After graduation from St. Bona., Vory became a college admissions recruiter, and is presently the Director of Admissions of Atlanta Tech College. Vory is also involved in charity work for young student athletes.
