Laura Whalen Slane

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Laura Whalen Slane is a 1996 Crestwood High School graduate. While at Crestwood, Laura participated and lettered in four sports; field hockey, basketball, soccer, and track & field. She was a three year starter in field hockey, basketball, and track. She also played club soccer year round. She was named to local All Star teams in all four sports. In field hockey, Laura was named team captain in her senior season. Crest wood was the 1994 and 1995 AAA District Champions and she made the 1995 All Conference first team and 2nd team All State. In soccer Laura was a NAS-CUP All Star and captain of Crestwood’s District 2 runner-up team. She was also captain of Crestwood’s basketball team, and won multiple district medals in track. Laura continued her athletic career at Rutgers University, where she won numerous field hockey awards including the 1998 Coaches Award. In 1999, Laura’s teammates awarded her with the Mission Statement Award. I his award is given to the athlete who best embodied the spirit of the team’s mission for the season. In 1999 Laura was named Rutgers Defensive Player of the Year, as well as the team MVP. That year, she earned Big Last Player of the Week on several occasions. In 2000 Laura was named Big East Academic All Star and Rutgers Player of the Year. She was on the Big East All Conference Team in 1999 & 2000, and earned honors as a Division I Regional All American. Laura set a Rutgers University school record for most defensive saves in a single season, while leading her team to six shutouts. After college, Laura has been teaching world history for the past 16 years for the Warren Hills Regional School District in Washington NJ, where she also spent 13 seasons coaching field hockey at different levels. Her teams lost only 5 games over those 13 years. In more recent years, Laura has continued competing by playing in soccer leagues in the Lehigh Valley. Her love for running has also continued and she trains for, and participate in, many 5k’s and half marathons in the Lehigh Valley region. Laura was raised in Mountain Top by her parents Ray and Maureen Whalen. She currently resides in Stewartsville, New Jersey with her husband Roger and her son Andrew.