On January 13th, Manhattan’s famous Armory hosted another remarkable Stanner Games track and field meet. 3,178 athletes competed in 3,506 events, including 2,604 individual events and 1,679 relay events. The meet featured 137 teams in total. Running the show and keeping tabs on thousands of numbers were 61 Molloy officials, including 20 student volunteers and 41 alumni volunteers. (Alumni officials by decade: 60’s: 10 | 70’s: 5 | 80’s: 10 | 90’s: 8 | 2000’s: 11)
The Stanner Games Most Outstanding Athletes were Emily Philippides from Greenwich High School in Connecticut, and CJ Licata from Gill St. Bernard’s School in Chester Township, New Jersey. Emily won the varsity girls 1000M in 2:55.11, placing #4 in the nation. CJ won the invitational boys shot put with a throw of 64’ 5.5”, placing #1 in the nation. These events/awards were both renamed as of this year’s Stanner Games in memory of two late alumni gone too soon: Karina Vetrano ’04 and Andrew Harvey ’98. Establishing these awards keeps Karina and Andrew in the hearts and minds of our Molloy community as well as the track and field community at large. Engraved plaques were presented to each outstanding athlete by members of the Harvey family and Phil Vetrano ’74 (pictured above).
“Another stellar performance by the best crew in the nation. Your spirit, dedication, flexibility, and kindness continue to shine,” said Coach AJ Power ’84 in a thank you letter to volunteers. “You were referred to, and I quote Coach Marty Brown of Kellenberg, as ‘the best high school track alumni in the country!’ Stanners from the Class of 1962 all the way to the Class of 2021 worked in concert to run a first-class event. I am honored to work with all of you.”
The Stanner Alumni Center and track & field coaching staff would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the generous sponsors that selflessly donated to the 2018 Stanner Games. Your contributions make it possible for Molloy to continue to offer an exceptional track & field experience to its talented student-athletes.
To view photos from the event, go to the Beehive here.