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.

Find out what's happening in Sachemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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 ...

Find out what's happening in Sachemwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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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