Contact: Dr. Marc R. Grosso 1349 Ayrault Road, #25 Niagara Track & Field Fairport, NY 14450-8909 Telephone: (585) 425-4925 Hall of Fame e-mail: [email protected] http://www.niagaratrackhof.org/ Press Release

Winners of the 2018 Annual Awards of the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame are announced

Rochester, NY: The Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame of Fame is proud to announce the winners of its 2018 Annual Awards. These awards recognize performances and accomplishments made during the 2017-2018 school year.

The three finalists for each of these awards were outstanding performers during the 2017-2018 school year. The very high quality of these finalists continues to be a hallmark of this awards program.

Tables showing the three placings of the finalists for each award are presented below the award overviews.

The 2018 Award Winners and Finalists:

Justyn Knight (Syracuse University) is the winner of the 2018 Donald J. Paige Award, leading a Syracuse University sweep of this award. Knight was the 2017 NCAA Division I Cross Country Champion and the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor 5,000m run Champion. He was the runner-up in the 5,000m run at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Knight was a finalist for this award in 2016 and 2017. All-American teammates Aidan Tooker and Colin Bennie finished second and third, respectively, in the voting for this award.

The 2018 Doriane Lambelet Award was won by Samantha Watson (Texas A&M University). Watson, who won the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Cynthia J. Wyatt Award (awarded to outstanding Female High School Athlete of the Year in the Niagara Association) while representing Rush-Henrietta Sperry HS, was the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor 800m run champion. She finished third in the 800m run at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. Paige Stoner (Syracuse University) a three time All-American during the 2017-2018 school year and a finalist for this award in 2017, finished second and Abbey Wheeler (Providence College) a finalist for the Cynthia J. Wyatt Award in 2015, finished third in the voting for this award.

For Immediate Release

more Page 2 Winners of the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual Awards

Isaac Garcia-Cassani (SUNY Geneseo), a four-time All-American and two-time NCAA Division III National Champion, won the 2018 James D. Ulrich Award. Garcia-Cassani was the 2018 NCAA Division III Outdoor 1,500m run Champion and anchored the 2018 NCAA Division III Indoor Distance Medley Relay team champions. He was a finalist for this award in 2017. Multiple time All-Americans and 2018 NCAA Division Champions Peter Girardi (400m Hurdles) and Mark Van Marter (indoor Long Jump), both of St. John Fisher College, finished second and third, respectively in the voting for this award. Girardi was a finalist for this award in 2016 and 2017.

The winner of the 2018 Jack Tupper Daniels Award for the third consecutive year (2016, 2017, and 2018) is Katherine Pitman (Ithaca College). Pitman won the Pole Vault at the 2018 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships with a NCAA Division III Championship record and NCAA Division III National Record (4.28m | 14-00.50). She set the NCAA Division III Outdoor Record in the Pole Vault (4.31m | 14-1.75). Pitman was undefeated during the 2017-2018 school year prior to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. Taryn Cordani (Ithaca College), a five-time All-American during the 2017-2018 school year and NCAA Division III Outdoor 10,000m run National Champion, finished second in the voting for this award. She was a finalist for this award in 2017. Victoire Kothor (Brockport State), NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor National Champion in Shot Put and three-time All-American, finished third in the voting for this award.

Jeremiah Willis (Cicero-North Syracuse HS), won the 2018 Trenton J. Jackson Award. Willis was a nationally ranked Indoor High School All-American in the long jump, was the 2018 New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Indoor Champion in the Long Jump and Triple Jump and the 2018 NYPSHAA Division 1 Outdoor Champion in the Long Jump and Triple Jump. Joe Weaver (Central Square HS), the 2018 NYPSHAA and NYS Federation Outdoor Champion in the Pole Vault, finished second and Jon Surdej (Lancaster HS), the 2018 NYSPHSAA Indoor Champion in the Shot Put and 2018 NYPSHSAA Division 1 and NYS Federation Outdoor Champion in the Shot Put, finished third in the voting for this award.

The winner of the 2018 Cynthia J. Wyatt Award is Lanae-Tava Thomas (Rush-Henrietta Sperry HS). Thomas was nationally ranked and was two-time Indoor High School All-American (long jump, 200m dash) and the 2018 New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Indoor Champion in the Long Jump, 55m dash, and 300m dash. Outdoors she was the NYS Division 1 Champion in the 100m Dash, the 200m Dash, the anchor of the 4x100m Relay NYS Division 1 champions, and the anchor of the NYS Division 1 Champion in the 4x400m Relay. She was also the NYS Federation Champion in the 100m Dash, the 200m Dash, and the anchor of the NYS Federation Champion in the 4x100m Relay. Thomas was a finalist

more Page 3 Winners of the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual Awards

for this award in 2016 and 2017. Vanessa Watson (Spencerport HS), was US ranked #1 in the 600m run during the indoor season and US ranked #3 in the 400m Hurdles. She was the 2018 NYSPHAA Indoor Champion in the 600m dash, the NYS Division 1 Champion, NYS Federation Champion in the 400m Hurdles, and was fourth in the 400m Hurdles at the USATF Junior National Championships, finished second in the voting for this award. Finishing third in the voting for this award is Brooke Rauber (Tully HS), who was nationally ranked in multiple events for the indoor and outdoor seasons. She achieved All-American status in Cross Country and in the 2,000m Steeplechase during the outdoor season. Rauber set the NYS Freshman and National Freshman Record in the 2,000m Steeplechase (6:45.34).

Michelle Rauber, Head Girls Coach at Tully HS, is the winner of the 2018 Bob Ivory Award. Under her guidance, the Tully Girls team had a very successful year while winning the indoor and outdoor Sectional and League Team Championships. During the course of the year, the team members set sixteen school records, had twenty-two sectional champions, eleven state meet qualifiers, one state champion, and two All-American performances. Rauber’s daughter set the NYS Freshman and National Freshman Record in the 2,000m Steeplechase (6:45.34) and set the Freshman cross country course record at three courses, and the overall course record at a fourth course. Greg Broton, the Head Boys and Girls Cross Country, Head Boys and Girls Indoor Track and Field, and Head Boys and Girls Outdoor Track and Field Coach at Cicero-North Syracuse HS, finished second, and Tim Burlee, the Head Boys and Girls Cross Country, Head Boys and Girls Indoor Track and Field, and Head Boys and Girls Outdoor Track and Field Coach at Wayne HS, finished third in the voting for this award.

Coached by Jennifer Potter, the Ithaca College Women’s Indoor Track and Field Team, finished seventh at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships and had four athletes earn All-American status including one NCAA Division III National Indoor Champion. The team finished second at the All Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Championships, were Empire 8 conference champions, and set six school records in five events. Katherine Pitman was named USTFCCCA National Field Athlete of the Year, USTFCCCA Outstanding Field Performer of the Meet at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, and USTFCCCA Atlantic Field Athlete of the Year, Taryn Cordani was named USTFCCCA Atlantic Track Athlete of the Year, and seventeen athletes were named to the USTFCCCA All-Region Indoor Track and Field Team. The Ithaca College Women’s Indoor Track and Field Team, is the second repeat winner of the Charles H. Moore, Jr. Award). This team also won this award in 2017. The SUNY Geneseo Women’s Cross Country team, coached by Dan Moore, finished second, and the Ithaca College Women’s Outdoor Track and Field team, coached by Jennifer Potter, finished third in the voting for this award.

There has been at least one repeat winner since the second year of these awards (2013). Repeat winners are:

more Page 4 Winners of the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual Awards

 Sean Bernstein, SUNY Oneonta (James D. Ulrich Award) in won in 2012 and 2013  Amy Cymerman, Grand Valley State University and St. Lawrence University (Jack Tupper Daniels Award) won in 2015 and 2016  Jonathan W. Jones, University at Buffalo (Donald J. Paige Award) won in 2013 and 2015  Katherine Pitman, Ithaca College (Jack Tupper Daniels Award) won in 2016, 2017, and 2018  Joseph Postwaite, Lake Erie College (James D. Ulrich Award), won in 2015 and 2016  Rachel Sorna, Cornell University (Doriane Lambelet Award), won in 2013 and 2014  Samantha Watson, Rush Henrietta Sperry High School (Cynthia J. Wyatt Award), won in 2015, 2016, and 2017  Rudy Winker, Cornell University (Donald J. Paige Award), won in 2016 and 2017  Samuel R. Wray, Starpoint, High School (Trenton J. Jackson Award), won in 2015, and 2016  Men’s Cross Country Team, of Syracuse University (Charles H. Moore, Jr. Award), won in 2015 and 2016  Women’s Indoor Track and Field Team, of Ithaca College (Charles H. Moore, Jr. Award), won in 2017 and 2018

Every award except for the Bob Ivory Award, had at least one repeat winner.

The winners of the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual awards are:

Award Name School Hometown Event Donald J. Paige Justyn Knight Syracuse University. Vaughan, ON / St. Distance Award Syracuse, NY Michael's HS Doriane Samantha Watson Texas A&M Henrietta, NY / Rush- Mid- Lambelet University, College Henrietta Sperry HS Distance Award Station, TX James D. Ulrich Isaac Garcia- SUNY Geneseo, Holbrook, NY / Distance Award Cassani Geneseo, NY Sachem North HS Jack Tupper Katherine Pitman Ithaca College, Ithaca, Swampscott, MA / Pole Vault Daniels Award NY Swampscott HS Trenton J. Jeremiah Willis Cicero-North Cicero, NY Horizontal Jackson Award Syracuse HS, Cicero, Jumps NY Cynthia J. Lanae-Tava Rush-Henrietta Sperry Henrietta, NY Sprints / Wyatt Award Thomas HS, Henrietta, NY Jumps Bob Ivory Michelle Rauber Tully HS, Tully, NY Spafford, NY Award Charles H. Women's Indoor Ithaca College, Ithaca, Moore Jr. Track and Field NY Award Team

more Page 5 Winners of the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual Awards

Historical Award Winners: Donald J. Paige Award Trenton J. Jackson Award 2012 Jarrett A. Eaton, Syracuse University 2012 Za’Von Watkins, Liverpool HS 2013 Jonathan W. Jones, University at Buffalo 2013 Desmond Mobley, Greece Olympia HS 2014 Stephen Mozia, Cornell University 2014 Devon Patterson, Williamsville South HS 2015 Jonathan W. Jones. University at Buffalo 2015 Samuel R. Wray, Starpoint, HS 2016 Rudy Winkler, Cornell University 2016 Samuel R. Wray, Starpoint, HS 2017 Rudy Winkler, Cornell University 2017 Kevin Moshier, Corning HS 2018 Justyn Knight, Syracuse University. 2018 Jeremiah Willis, Cicero-North Syracuse HS Syracuse, NY Cynthia J. Wyatt Award Doriane Lambelet Award 2012 Stephanie Izard, Sweet Home HS 2012 Melissa Kurzdorfer, Penn State University 2013 Katie Lembo, Penfield HS 2013 Rachel Sorna, Cornell University 2014 Jaskiran Dhaliwall, Grand Island HS 2014 Rachel Sorna, Cornell University 2015 Samantha Watson, Rush Henrietta Sperry HS 2015 Margo Malone Syracuse University 2016 Samantha Watson, Rush Henrietta Sperry HS 2016 Shaina Harrison, Syracuse University 2017 Samantha Watson, Rush Henrietta Sperry HS 2017 Madeline Kopp, Duke University 2018 Lanae-Tava Thomas, Rush Henrietta Sperry 2018 Samantha Watson, Texas A&M University HS

James D. Ulrich Award Bob Ivory Award 2012 Sean Bernstein, SUNY Oneonta 2012 William J. Aris, Fayetteville-Manlius HS 2013 Sean Bernstein, SUNY Oneonta 2013 Walter McLaughlin, East Aurora HS 2014 Joseph Postwaite, Lake Erie College, 2014 Raymond Lawson, Corning High School Painesville, OH 2015 Michael De May, Rush Henrietta Sperry HS 2015 Joseph Postwaite, Lake Erie College, 2016 Not awarded Painesville, OH 2017 Andrew Cartwright, Corning HS 2016 Luis Rivera, Nazareth College 2018 Michelle Rauber, Tully HS 2017 Jack Flood, SUNY Cortland 2018 Isaac Garcia-Cassani, SUNY Geneseo Charles H. Moore Jr. Award 2012 Fayetteville-Manlius High School Girls Jack Tupper Daniels Award Cross Country Team 2012 Emma Dewart, Ithaca College 2013 East Aurora High School Girls Cross 2013 Sasha Henry, Buffalo State College Country Team 2014 Amy Cymerman, St. Lawrence University 2014 Cornell University Men’s Indoor Track and 2015 Amy Cymerman, Grand Valley State Field Team University, Allendale, MI 2015 Syracuse University Men’s Cross Country 2016 Katherine Pitman, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY Team 2017 Katherine Pitman, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 2016 Syracuse University Men’s Cross Country 2018 Katherine Pitman, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY Team 2017 Ithaca College Women's Indoor Track and Field Team 2018 Ithaca College Women's Indoor Track and Field Team

To see the historical placings for the three finalists for these awards, view the Award Winners web page at http://www.niagaratrackhof.org/watch_lists/AwardWinners/award_winners.php and click on the name of each award.

more Page 6 Winners of the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual Awards

Runners-up

The runners-up for the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual awards are:

Award Name School Hometown Event Donald J. Paige Aidan Tooker Syracuse University. Saratoga Springs, NY / 3000m Award Syracuse, NY Saratoga Springs HS Steeplechase Doriane Paige Stoner Syracuse University, Pottsville, PA / 3000m Lambelet Syracuse, NY Lipscomb HS Steeplechase Award James D. Ulrich Peter Girardi St. John Fisher College, Cicero, NY / Cicero- 400m Hurdles Award Pittsford, NY North Syracuse HS Jack Tupper Taryn Cordani Ithaca College, Douglas, MA / Douglas Distance Daniels Award Ithaca, NY HS Trenton J. Joe Weaver Central Square HS, Central Square, NY Pole Vault Jackson Award Central Square, NY Cynthia J. Vanessa Watson Spencerport HS, Spencerport, NY 400m Hurdles Wyatt Award Spencerport, NY Bob Ivory Greg Broton Cicero-North Syracuse North Syracuse, NY Award HS, Cicero, NY Charles H. Women's Cross SUNY Geneseo, Moore Jr. Country Team Geneseo, NY Award

Second Runners-up

The second runners-up for the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual awards are:

Award Name School Hometown Event Donald J. Paige Colin Bennie Syracuse University. Princeton, MA / Distance Award Syracuse, NY Wachusett HS Doriane Abbey Wheeler Providence College, Pine City, NY / Distance Lambelet Providence, RI Elmira HS Award James D. Ulrich Mark Van Marter St. John Fisher Liverpool, NY / Long Jump / Award College, Pittsford, NY Liverpool Triple Jump Jack Tupper Victoire Kothor Brockport State, Greece, NY / Greece Throws Daniels Award Brockport, NY Odyssey Academy Trenton J. Jon Surdej Lancaster HS, Lancaster, NY Shot Put Jackson Award Lancaster, NY Cynthia J. Brooke Rauber Tully HS, Tully, Spafford, NY Distance Wyatt Award NY Bob Ivory Tim Burlee Wayne HS, Ontario, Ontario, NY Award NY Charles H. Women's Outdoor Ithaca College, Moore Jr. Track and Field Ithaca, NY Award Team

more Page 7 Winners of the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual Awards

The Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame congratulates winners of our 2018 annual awards. These award winners continue set the standard against which excellence in Athletics is measured in this region. The eight 2018 award winners have indeed achieved at a very high standard.

Nominations for next year’s annual awards are being accepted now. Any member of the public may submit a nomination. Self-nominations are welcome.

About the eight annual awards:  Donald J. Paige Award: Presented annually by the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame to the outstanding NCAA Division 1 Male Athlete of the Year in or from the Niagara Association.  Doriane Lambelet Award: Presented annually by the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame to the outstanding NCAA Division 1 Female Athlete of the Year in or from the Niagara Association.  James D. Ulrich Award: Presented annually by the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame to the outstanding Male College Athlete of the Year from other than NCAA Division I Colleges in or from the Niagara Association.  Jack Tupper Daniels Award: Presented annually by the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame to the outstanding Female College Athlete of the Year from other than NCAA Division I Colleges in or from the Niagara Association.  Trenton J. Jackson Award: Presented annually by the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame to the outstanding Male High School Athlete of the Year in the Niagara Association.  Cynthia J. Wyatt Award: Presented annually by the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame to the outstanding Female High School Athlete of the Year in the Niagara Association.  Bob Ivory Award: Presented annually by the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame to the outstanding High School Coach of the Year in the Niagara Association.  Charles H. Moore, Jr.: Award: Presented annually by the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame to the outstanding Cross Country Running, Indoor Track and Field, or Outdoor Track and Field High School or College Team of the Year in the Niagara Association. For more information About the Hall of Fame members for whom the awards are named see: Annual Awards Announcement Press Release. About the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame: Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame is provisionally chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York. The purpose of the Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame is to recognize those individuals who made significant and outstanding contributions to the Sport of Athletics (including Track & Field, Long Distance

more Page 8 Winners of the 2018 Niagara Track & Field Hall of Fame Annual Awards

Running, Race Walking, and Cross Country Running) while living within the geographic boundaries (New York State West of and including the counties of Oswego, Onondaga, Cortland, and Broome) of the Niagara Association as athletes (including Masters), coaches, and/or administrators (including Competition Officials).

-End-