Former FMHS standout Temenak finishes 1st year in NYC

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BY CHUCK VANDENBERG

PCC EDITOR

QUEENS - Former Southeast Conference Player of the Year, Johnathan Temenak just finished his junior year at Queens College on a hot streak and is excited for what the future holds.

Temenak, a red-shirt junior at the New York City college, finished his junior year leading the Knights in hitting at a .310 clip (11th in the conference) with a .420 on-base percentage which puts him in the top 10 in the conference.

According to the Knights website, Temenak also finished the season with the highest defensive percentage of any conference infielder and he was second on the team in on-base percentage and runs batted in.

The Fort Madison native said it was an exciting year from a baseball perspective because he finished the season swinging the bat well.

"I hit a hot streak at the end of the season but we ended up losing and missing the conference playoffs by one game," Temenak said. "I had a little bit of an adjustment period where I didn't feel comfortable at the plate, but I came out of it and did pretty well towards the second half of the season. It makes me that more excited for my senior season."

The former first-team all-district and all-conference player at FMHS, also was named to the East Coast Conference Honor Roll for a performance this year where he hit .389 on a weekend stretch.

Last year at Muscatine Community College, Temenak was named "Defensive Player of the Year" and was also named to the honorable mention all-conference.

He said his performance next year will determine what his future holds. And baseball is something he would like to extend.

"I'm always open to continuing my baseball career, so if I have a a really good year next year it might be a possibility to continue playing."

The philosophy of the game has changed the higher Temenak goes with his playing career, and he credits his coaches and teammates for helping prepare each time he gets to the plate.

"I definitely have a higher baseball IQ than I did at my previous schools. Baseball is a lot of mental planning and I pride myself for always being mentally prepared for each pitch, at bat, etc.," he said. I also have had good coaching in college and great teammates along the way that have made me who I am as a player. I've put a lot of time in the weight room, too, which has helped me succeed."

He said New York City is a completely different culture than anything he encountered in the Midwest.

"It's definitely different than Iowa," he said. "There's a lot of diversity and interesting things going on everyday. It's pretty amazing to look out of my window and see the skyline of Manhattan whenever I want. You get a lot of publicity here baseball-wise and academically-wise and there's a lot of great job opportunities after college that I'm excited about in NYC."

Working on a major in sociology and data analysis, and a minor in urban studies, Temenak said the job prospects are pretty good in New York City, but he's not sure where he will land when he's done with baseball. But he said a master's degree is not out of the question, but where he pursues it still is a bit of an unknown.

"I'm not really sure it's just one of those things that I'll figure out when the time comes," he said.

athletics, baseball, bloodhounds, fmhs, Fort Madison High School, sports

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