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College Report
May 16, 2008
- It’s championship time, and the Island’s
top collegians are continuing to perform at a high level. MORE>
Carlin Close To Olympic Trial Qualifying
Staten Islander Jesse Carlin
is close to automatically qualifying for the USA Olympic Trials to
be held in Eugene Oregon, June 27-July 6, 2008. More>
The Arielle
Newman Scholaship Fund is holding a fundraiser on 5/31/08
Click
here for a flyer with more information.
Caitlin Tormey was feted by
SITRAC at a reception at the Greenbelt Recreation
facility on Thurs. May 1st. Tormey who shocked the US
marathon world with a startling  23rd
place finish in 2:40.29 at the Olympic Trials.
Tormey, running her 4th
marathon is the third Staten Islander to break the magical
3:00 mark. The other two are Hall of Fame member Jeanine
Radice and Kari Profitt.
The reception was part of the
SITRAC’s community outreach program. "it is important
to recognize the outstanding efforts of our athletes here on
Staten Island" said Bob Orazem.
Tormey stated that she plans on
resuming her training after a brief rest period and aim to
improve her performances with an eye toward the 2012 Olympic
Trials.
We wish her luck!
Staten Island HS Freshman Outdoor Track & Field Championship -
5/7/08
Click here
for results.
Staten Island High School Varsity Outdoor Track & Field
Championship - 5/4/08
Click
here for results.
College Report
April 11, 2008
- There was big action in the weekend before
the Penn Relays. The biggest news involved an ex-collegian, Caitlin
Tormey, who placed 23rd in the Olympic Trials marathon
held in Boston. Tormey ran 2:40:29, a personal best, and showed that
she has a real future on the roads. MORE>
College Report
April 11, 2008 - There was
plenty of action this past weekend, with Island collegians competing
in all corners of the country. MORE>
College Report
April 3, 2008 - The big story
of last week was Mother Nature, who reminded everyone that winter is
not quite over. Cold, damp, and windy weather made for slow times
and seemingly sub-par performances. MORE>
College Report
March 27, 2008 - There were only a few Island collegians competing
last weekend, as the majority of northeastern schools took a welcome
break after a long indoor campaign. MORE>
College Report
March 14, 2008 - The wait is over.Jesse Carlin is an All American.
Twice. MORE>
College Report
March 14, 2008 - Saidu Ezike of Cornell and Jesse Carlin of the
University of Pennsylvania are closing out brilliant collegiate
careers. MORE>
A Blast to Watch For - by Bill Welsh
March 12, 2008 - For now let’s skip over Abel Kiviat’s nine
world records, nine national championships and two Olympic medals,
and consider only the fact that he lived to age 99. To a certain
Buster Martin, Kiviat was just a kid who peaked too soon! MORE>
College Report
March 4, 2008 - There was plenty of action on the college scene this
past weekend. Championship action
took place at Boston University, where the Heptagonal Championships
were held. MORE>
A Blast From The Past - by Bill Welsh
March 3, 2008 - When
last we looked down the track at Abel Kiviat, he was on his way to a
sub- 2 minute half and a Jr. Met AAU Championship. MORE>
Spotlight on the St. Joseph Team - by Angela Liu
February 28, 2008 - Some
people are born with a natural hunger for competition; others have a
love for the sport. Whichever the case may be, the girls track
team of St. Joseph by the`Sea has both if not more. MORE>
College Report
February 26, 2008 - There was
plenty of action this week. Locally, the Duggan brothers (Monsignor
Farrell) competed at the Big East championships at the Armory in
Manhattan. Brian, nursing a sore shoulder, finished second with a
leap of 1509. He has done 16-7.5, but has had an inflammation in
this right shoulder for the better part of two months. MORE>
The SITRAC Fundraiser Made a
Statement
January 25, 2008 - The Staten Island running community is a chain
and a circle. The chain is lengthening and the circle is growing
wider every day. Soon the chain will have an anchor and the circle a
golden center. It can now finally be said that the idea of an indoor
track on SI is officially elevated from "dream" to
"dream coming true"..
On Thursday night (January 24th), more than
200 Staten Island runners and supporters of running assembled at the
SITRAC fundraiser at Moore High School. They emphatically spoke
approval with their presence and their pocketbooks. The money raised
that night gives STRAC, which had previously been working mostly
from donations of the Board of Directors, a freer, more aggressive
hand in future operations.
Specifically this means with financial
resources the directors will be able to pursue even more
energetically the execution of a building plan for the ages—and
all age groups! It was never in the minds of SITRAC to simply make a
track. We seek a world-class facility free of the
"glitches" which seem to accompany almost every new
project of this kind. Making this happen will require work,
attention and expertise, areas in which SITRAC has already proven
itself.
But enough about us. The SITRAC directors
would like to spotlight some of those among our "general
membership" who were with us on Thursday.
Where better to begin than with guest of honor
Bill Jankunis and his family? Bill’s presentation, which was a
history lesson with sources, helped us relive with him his journey
from high school to Olympics. It was a great ride.
Bill’s keynote presentation however wasn’t
his only function that night. He generously made himself accessible
to friends and strangers alike the entire evening. Credit has to go
to sons William and John and wife Mary Ellen for stoically sharing
Bill with waves of admirers (including the autograph-seeking kind).
Among the first to take his turn at Bill’s
unofficial reception line was Dr. Shawn Williams. It was the SI road
running champion dynamo’s first meet-up with Bill. Shawn and his
wife Yarissa seemed to positively relish the moment.
A family that is fast becoming a fixture in
the running community, the Brancales were on hand in force, as
expected. Well maybe not full force. Father and sons yes but
where was Lorraine? Forgiven. It was an important upcoming French
test, which kept her away.
Marissa Olivieri, ex Notre Dame star and
current Port Richmond girls coach used the occasion to further the
track and field education of her parents Rick and Holly on the
nuances of the sport. "We’re here because of Marissa",
explained Rick, casting an approving glance Marissa’s way.
Marty Gray, and his "date", daughter
Fiona made a handsome pair. Marty is a hurdler from bygone days at
St. Peters. Fiona, Marty’s modern-day incarnation, is currently
engaged in the same event on the Curtis high school track team.
Mary Popandrea, long time coach at St Clare’s
was happy to reminisce with friends about past athletes. She was
especially enthusiastic about a certain two, her daughters, Dawn and
Dana.
One member of the prolific Jankunis clan may
have gone unnoted had one not been aware that Bill’s married
sister Veronica now goes by the name Petersen. She and husband John
are parents to a bevy of kids, (8) most of whom ran and excelled in
track during their careers at Tottenville high school. This includes
Katie Petersen, who was present and is well remembered as Staten
Island’s only female Millrose Mile race winner.
Steve Corrigan, coach of the up-and-coming
Susan Wagner track made it to the affair early "to help in any
way I can." He led a small contingent of runners and coaches
from the Sea View School. One of his ex-athletes, Lisa Marie Lamanna
made it to Moore in the company of St. Francis College runner Tommy
McTiernan. Lisa Marie is now running for the budding track program
at CSI.
Tom and Jill Mahoney enjoyed their night out,
sans offspring. Their daughters Shannon and Patty, who ran for Port
Richmond high school, were absent. College required both to be
elsewhere.
Another set of parents was out and about and
also missing a well-known offspring. Kathryn and Dennis Hansen
explained that daughter Katrina, one of the borough’s very few
40-footers in the shot put was home working on a masters degree
assignment. Dennis of course has completed his schooling but not so
his throwing. He stands today as one of the best masters throwers in
the metropolitan area.
Mike Marotta, ex-principal and coach from
Tottenville HS was one of the early arrivals. Beaming one of his
ever-present smiles, he explained, " You think I’d miss
this"? Mike’s three sons, Tommy, Michael and Joey, all high
school running stars at THS will be getting a full report from Dad.
While the night belonged to Jankunis, another
of Bill Welsh’s athletes, Charlie Marsala, seemed to purposely
keep a low profile in deference to Billy. The jig was up however
when he was forced to make himself public when he collected a raffle
prize late in the evening. Charlie remains SI’s only sub 4-minute
miler and his best mile time is as low in reverse proportion to the
height of Billy’s best jump.
Moore coach Jim Hughes had positioned a set
high jump standards at the reception room entry, with the bar set at
7-5 ¾, Billy’s best jump. Everyone was obviously impressed but
one person probably understood the significance of that height best.
During his high school days, high jumper Tony Lordo (Farrell)
frequently operated in the rarefied seven-foot altitude. It wasn’t
planned but speaking of high jumping, SI’s all-time best and
probably second-best were together in the same building last night.
Accomplished coaches could be found at every
turn at the fundraiser. Two of the most recent trophy grabbers, Joe
Sicilian (Curtis) and Mike Profitt (Villa) could be seen from time
to time humbly accepting congratulations for borough championships
their teams garnered this year.
Never did politicians appear more
statesman-like than two attendees named Mike: Councilman Mike
McMahon and Assemblyman Mike Cusick. These guys seemed to be there
simply to do the people’s work, right along side the people
themselves. No more, no less and especially no agendas.
Judge Michael Brennan opened the evening
presentations with a pledge to the flag. He set an immediate tone of
dignity to what followed. Less than an hour later when SITRAC
president Lorraine Lettieri delivered closing remarks brimming with
enthusiasm and optimism, one had the tingling sense that
irresistible forces had been in motion that night.
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