Sports
Sachem Athletes Ready to Run All Over Empires
Biggest amateur athletic competition in the nation kicks off this week.
This week marks the return of the Empire State Games after a one-year hiatus due to problems with the New York State budget last year. Wednesday will kick off a week of high intensity amateur athletic competition that forges the best athletes in the country against each other.
It's the biggest amateur athletic tournament in the country and thousands of athletes from Long Island will take the trip to Buffalo, N.Y. Athletes compete in three divisions during the summer games: open, scholastic, and masters. The scholastic division is for athletes that are 17 years old or younger as of August 31, open is for people 18 or older and masters requirements vary per sport.
The first Empire Games took place in 1978 and were held in Syracuse. Long Island has only hosted the games once (1999), and this is the fifth time Buffalo was chosen as the host city.
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Among the many notable athletes to have represented Long Island at the games – winter and summer – are Chris Higgins (NHL), George Hincapie (pro cyclist), Jerrod Laventure (pro soccer), Tracey Fuchs (field hockey Olympian), Sue Bird (WNBA), and Wally Szczerbiak (NBA).
Here's a look at the athletes from Sachem competing this year ...
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Name, event, town
Michael Andreassi, scholastic men's lacrosse, Holbrook
Mike Brunoforte, scholastic men's track & field, Holtsville
Jim Byrne, open men's cycling, Sachem teacher/coach
Jake Cabble, scholastic men's lacrosse, Holbrook
Dylan Caruso, scholastic baseball, Holtsville
Jessica Caruana, scholastic field hockey, Holbrook
Kayla Cataldo, scholastic women's track & field
Amanda Catherall, scholastic women's track & field, Farmingville
Brittany Christansen, scholastic women's track & field, Holtsville
Greg Coleman, scholastic men's track & field, Lake Ronkonkoma
Caitlin Connelly, open women's volleyball, Holbrook
Matt Distefano, open men's volleyball coach, Sachem teacher/coach
Conor Dolan, scholastic men's track & field, Lake Ronkonkoma
James Donleavy, scholastic men's swimming, Lake Grove
Jenna Duggan, scholastic women's ice hockey, Farmingville
Frank Fezza, open men's track & field, Lake Ronkonkoma
Colleen Gallagher, open scholastic women's diving, Holbrook
Alex Harris, scholastic men's lacrosse, Holbrook
Meghan Laffin, scholastic women's volleyball, Holbrook
Justin Lewis, scholastic men's track & field, Farmingville
Miles Lewis, scholastic men's track & field, Farmingville
Jay Mauro, scholastic men's lacrosse coach, Sachem teacher/coach
Pedro Media, open men's volleyball, Lake Grove
Melissa McKeveny, scholastic field hockey, Holbrook
Frank Merante, open men's wrestling, Holtsville
Tyler Monsees, scholastic men's wrestling, Holtsville
Christine Marrone, open women's basketball, Holbrook
Ryan Murphy, open men's soccer, Farmingville
Steven O'Reilly, scholastic men's archery, Farmingville
Marielle Pavek, scholastic women's track & field, Lake Ronkonkoma
Chris Pentek, scholastic men's swimming, Holbrook
Stephen Pentek, scholastic men's swimming, Holbrook
Lino Pereira, open men's soccer, Farmingville
Andrew Power, master's men's rugby, Holtsville
Matt Power, open men's gymnastics, Holtsville
Dylan Quintana, scholastic men's tennis, Holtsville
Jason Quintana, scholastic men's tennis, Holtsville
Chris Schulz, scholastic men's wrestling, Lake Ronkonkoma
Anthony Stefanelli, scholastic men's gymnastics, Holbrook
Lindsey Spatola, scholastic women's ice hockey, Holbrook
Tim Wilson, scholastic men's swimming, Farmingville
Valerie Zeffiro, scholastic women's swimming, Farmingville
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