(Courtesy of YABA) This year’s YABA dinner will take place next Thursday night, May 23, at Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood, at 6:45 p.m. The list of honorees includes many former yeshiva greats, the JEC championship teams of 1974 and 1979, and Mark Hoenig.

As a freshman, Mark “Witzy” Hoenig (MTA ’74) led his JV team to a championship. He joined and started on varsity as a sophomore and anchored the MTA varsity in each of his last three high school years. Some would say beating Flatbush with six seconds remaining and sinking two foul shots was his defining moment; others would disagree. He was very strong inside, deceptively quick, a smart player and could handle any position (inside or out). He was an outstanding scorer and ultimate team player, always remaining cool and modeling sportsmanship. He had a great relationship with players across the entire league. He was the guy the other teams worried about and focused on stopping. Witzy was named to the all-league teams in each of his junior and senior years.