According to local historian Chuck Langerman, Cheltenham graduates David Tulsky and Tony Bonitatibus broke athletic records that still stand today, and Arcadia graduate Dave Allen is on his way to breaking some of his own.

David Tulsky, CHS Class of 1974 (pictured right)

David Tulsky, a 1974 graduate of Cheltenham High School, pulled off an incredible athletic feat that has never been duplicated since 1973.

As a junior, Tulsky was a first-team All-Suburban One League halfback on coach George Reim’s Panther soccer team. As a senior, he opted not to play soccer and decided instead to try out for the football team for the first time.

Tulsky became a starting middle linebacker on coach Stan Freedman’s 8-2 football team and was named to the All-Suburban First Team.  

The 101-year-old Suburban One League is one of the most competitive athletic conferences in the state of Pennsylvania. Tulsky is the first and only non-placekicker to make First Team All Suburban One in both soccer and football.

Tony Bonitatibus, CHS Class of 1974 (bottom left)

On August 1, 1974, Cheltenham High School quarterback Tony Bonitatibus completed 11-of-13 passes for two touchdowns to lead the South to a 23-7 victory over the North in the annual Montgomery County All-Star Football Game at Norristown’s Roosevelt Stadium.

For his career at Cheltenham High, Bonitatibus completed 299-of-548 passes (54.6%) for 3,450 yards. The 299 completions and 548 attempts are still school records, while the 3,450 yards is third all-time behind 1982 CHS graduate Gregg Caplan (4,027 yards) and 2020 grad Adonis Hunter (3,828 yards).

Bonitatibus favorite Panther receiving target was 1974 classmate Mark Vosbikian (pictured below). The “Alphabet Duo” connection of Bonitatibus and Vosbikian accounted for 105 career receptions and 1,563 receiving yards.

Dave Allen, Arcadia University (top left)

Arcadia University graduate Dave Allen is one of the best high school boys’ basketball coaches in the state of New Jersey. 

Allen is currently the head coach at Cherry Hill East High School, his alma mater, where he has accumulated 387 career wins at CHEHS and Eastern High in Voorhees, NJ. In 2014, he was the consensus South Jersey Coach of the Year when he led Cherry Hill East to their first state title berth.

At Arcadia, Allen earned his undergraduate degree in Communications and his graduate degree in Special Education. He graduated from Cherry Hill East High School in 1989.

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