Milk. It does a body good.

In Chris Sighinolfi’s case, milk has been good for more than just his body.

“Yeah, it’s been good for the pocketbook as well,” the recent Brewer High School graduate said with a chuckle.

Sighinolfi, one of 25 nationwide winners of a Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) scholarship award, received a $7,500 check as part of his free trip to Orlando, Fla., last weekend for the awards ceremony.

Sighinolfi and his parents, Paul and Vickie, were flown to Orlando last weekend to visit Disney World’s Wide World of Sports Complex and the Milk House, where all the winners were honored at a ceremony. Winners mingled with celebrities like NBA star Shane Battier and ice skater Tara Lipinski.

“They had all the winners on the wall and they had a terrific awards ceremony with clips of us and interviews,” Sighinolfi explained. “We had an interview with USA Today and the Milk Council. I’m not sure if they’re going to turn it into a commercial or what they’re going to do.”

The scholarship awards are presented for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. All 25 outstanding scholar athletes will receive a spot in a special milk mustache ad that will run in USA Today, Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine.

Sighinolfi was selected after filling out an on-line application on the Milk Council’s Web site. He found out about the opportunity through Brewer athletic director Dennis Kiah, who offered to sponsor his application.

“I put in my academic and athletic statistics plus a short essay on my involvement with milk and a few weeks later, I was notified that I was one of 500 finalists,” explained Sighinolfi, who competed on Brewer’s cross country, swimming, outdoor track and field, and indoor track teams.

That required more information from Sighinolfi, who had to furnish a letter from a coach plus high school transcripts to verify the information he had provided.

“The I got a letter saying I was a winner and I told Mr. Kiah,” Sighinolfi said. “He was delighted because he’d had kids do this before but none of them had ever won anything.”

The money will come in handy for the University of Pennsylvania-bound Sighinolfi.

“Yeah, I’m going from a Witch to a Quaker. One funny hat to another, I guess,” he said with a laugh. “I’m thinking I’m going to pursue a career in business or finance, but at this point, I’m not sure.”

This is the fifth year of the Milk Council’s SAMMY campaign, which is broken up into 25 geographical areas, of which Maine is one.

“What they want to do with this is the Milk people are very concerned with the downward trend in milk drinking by teens,” Sighinolfi said. “That’s not the case in my house, but I guess among teens, it’s incredible about the statistics of osteoporosis later in life and I think they’re using the program to reach these kids and have us speak about how milk benefits us and our lives.”

Bangor opens up hockey position

As early as a week and a half ago, Bill Schwarz thought he’d be back for his seventh season as Bangor High’s varsity hockey coach, but now he’s a man with no position.

“As far as I know, I talked to [athletic director] Steve [Vanidestine] a week and a half ago and he told he recommended me highly, and [principal] Norris Nickerson passed it along, but the superintendent decided to open the position up for applications. It came as a complete shock to me.”

Attempts to reach Bangor superintendent Sandy Ervin Tuesday and Wednesday were unsuccessful and Vanidestine declined to comment on the situation.

So where does that leave Schwarz?

“It leaves me out at Beech Hill Pond enjoying the summer, I guess,” said Schwarz, who coached eight seasons at Brewer and two at Foxcroft Academy prior to joining the Rams. “I’m not going to re-apply for the job.”

Schwarz, an education technician at Fairmount School, was unable to offer any theory about why his recommendation wasn’t forwarded on to the school committee by Ervin.

Schwarz’s Rams have been to the playoffs each of their last five seasons, won a school-record 17 games during the 2000-2001 season, and won the Maine Principals’ Association sportsmanship award last season after advancing into the second round of the playoffs.

“I don’t know how we could have done any better,” Schwarz said. “We made the playoffs every year except the first one. I’m disappointed and confused.”

Schwarz says he doesn’t know what the future holds, but he would like to continue to coach.

“If another position opens up, I’ll be interested,” he said. “I’m not closing the door on any opportunities, including Bangor, but as far as Bangor goes, why would I re-apply when I’ve already done that and been recommended to boot?”

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or ANeff@bangordailynews.net