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RCC Looks Strong in Golf; Spartan Runners Show Endurance

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  • The 'College Sports Notebook' is published each Friday. Please send items of interest—including local athletes competing at out-of-town colleges—to marcmaturo@aol.com.

The coach was himself a member of a national championship team in college as a player, and now he’s looking a couple of steps ahead to possibly completing a rare double.

Powered by freshman sensation Colby Lewis, who leads all competitors in the Mid-Hudson Conference, and helped by Albertus Magnus grad Terrence Michalak, the Rockland Community College men’s golf team leads the standings in the six-team conference.

“We’re already looking ahead to regionals, and I think we have a shot at winning and going to nationals,” said sixth-year coach Tom “T-bone” Craffey of Garnerville.

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Craffey’s Hawks will host a Mid-Hudson Conference tournament on Monday at 1 p.m. at Spook Rock Golf Course in Suffern, but the team is already pointing towards May 12-13 when the regional tournament is scheduled at Rotella Golf Course in Thiells. The winner there advances to the national championship the first week in June in upstate Jamestown, at the Southern tip of Chautauqua Lake.

“Before the season I told my whole squad that I wanted to be coach of the year, and that they had to help me,” explained Craffey, a gregarious 50-year-old standout amateur golfer who helped Ramapo College win the NCAA Division III national title in 1982.

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Craffey, who tried his hand as a professional for about 18 months in the mid-90s and now doubles as a caddie at Edgewood Country Club in River Vale, NJ, is high on his team.

“It’s my sixth year, and this is the best bunch of kids I’ve had by far,” said Craffey, noting that Lewis, a graduate of Monroe-Woodbury, fell into his lap.

“His uncle—Ted Gunther—worked at Ridgewood (CC), and told me his nephew was pretty good, and would I take a look at him,” Craffey recalls. “I said ‘I’d love to.’ I got a super star fall right into my lap. He’s a great kid. The other day at Wiltwick (Golf Club) in Ulster County he had two triple bogies and still had a 77.”

Lewis’ effort helped RCC beat seven-time national champion Nassau CC for the second time in three weeks.

“We had never beaten them,” said Craffey, spreading the plaudits around to team captain Craig Zamolkany of Pomona; John Borean, a Clarkstown South graduate; Stony Point’s Dan Gizzi; and Andrew Lunau of Monroe.

Speaking of Zamolkany, the only returnee from last season, Craffey said “For a kid who couldn’t break 85, he had a low of 77 in our first mach at St. George’s (CC) in Setauket, Long Island.”

The Hawks’ coaching staff includes another well-regarded senior advisor in longtime (1972-97) RCC athletic director Howie Pierson of Nyack, who also coached golf and baseball, and who is a charter member of the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame.

“We’re thinking big,” Craffey concludes, although he has yet to make reservations in Jamestown anywhere near Chautauqua CC, where the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championships are scheduled.

Spartans show fortitude, look to Penn Relays

The track and field team at St. Thomas Aquinas College overcame horrendous weather and the opposition at the West Point Open on Saturday, and is now enjoying the fruits of its labors before sending two men’s relay teams to Franklin Field in Philadelphia for the gigantic and prestigious Penn Relays April 29-30.

“It was cold and windy at the start, then pouring rain,” noted head coach Lou Maturo of Tappan. “It was pretty rough; teams were scratching out of events because it was so bad.”

Through it all, many of STAC’s competitors turned it outstanding performances, led by freshman star Keeley Bateman of Pearl River.

Bateman came in second in the 800 meters to a veteran junior representing Army. Bateman clocked 2:23.81 to the winning time of 2:23.76.

“She could have gone out harder, hesitated a bit, and it turns out she lost by a fraction of a second,” Maturo enthused. “She ran a very good race. I can’t complain; she was very, very good. She’s kicking it, a phenomenal runner. With more confidence she will see huge gains. She’s young, and came in second by a fraction of a second to an experienced runner; she must be doing something right.”

Tappan Zee graduate Kyle Curran, a freshman, placed 20th running his first 1,500 meters, with a solid time of 4:28.38.

“He will improve significantly as he goes on,” predicts Maturo, also lauding sophomore Garvenchy Nicolas, 7th in the 800 in 2:04.14; freshman Matt Buell, 6th overall with  4:13.97 in a different heat of the 1,500; Mike Galonski, 4th in the 3,000 steeplechase with 10:06.80; and George Erazo, 4th in the 400-meter hurdles with 59.80.

On the women’s side, freshman Caroline Bjorkman of Goshen was 13th in the 400 meters in 1:04.84; junior Chelsea Klinger won her heat in the 1,500 with a time of 5:09.17, close to her personal best; and Poughkeepsie’s Sarah Callagy shattered her PR with a third-place finish in the 5,000, clocking 18:43.27.

The Spartans, who won their heat in the challenging 4x400 relay at the Penn Relays a year ago, hope to repeat with a different crew when they toe the line on Friday, April 29 at 4:50 p.m.

Mike Abelard, out of Ramapo HS, and Vinny Modaferri, out of Clarkstown South, are returning to Franklin Field, and will be joined in the event by freshmen Erazo and Frankie Colon.

The Spartans’ sprint medley relay team competes at 6:25 p.m. on April 29 for their first venture in this event at the Penn Relays. Abelard and Pearl River’s Rich Ricca will run the 200 legs, Modaferri will man the 800 leg, and Erazo will handle the 400 leg.

“We’re hoping for the best,” adds veteran assistant coach Lorne Marcus. “We think both relays will do well, they will provide good races, and maybe advance to Saturday’s championship races. If they do that we’ll be in a super state. You’ll never see someone that far off the ground if we qualify for nationals; we’re going to be in California without an airport!”

Abelard, a state champion sprinter as a schoolboy, said he can’t remember the last time he competed in a sprint medley relay.

“It will test our abilities, all four of us,” Abelard said. “It should be fun. I’m real excited about it.”

Last year, Abelard kept STAC in the lead in the 4x400.

“Vinny ran real well, too,” he said. “The Penn Relays are amazing, there are so many teams there, so many people from high school to world-class athletes. The atmosphere really gets you going, the atmosphere will carry you, especially once you hit the track.”

The only help Abelard is looking for is from the weather, particularly in light of the conditions at West Point.

“Oh, yes, it was brutal, real cold. With the wind chill it had everyone just wanting to be safe. We were drenched.”

Seniors saluted

Suffern’s Jessie Mitchell and Kristen LeGeyt of Stony Point were among four members of the senior class honored on a night the Mount Saint Vincent women’s lacrosse team closed its Skyline Conference schedule with an 18-1 trouncing of Bard.

Mitchell, a midfielder, matched the program record for points in a game with 11, including the 200th of her career.

LeGeyt had four goals and two assists at the attack position for the Dolphins, scheduled to return to action on Tuesday in the first round of the league tournament. The time and opponent have yet to be determined.

The other seniors contributing in the Bard victory were Lauren Perla of Holbrook, with two goals and four ground balls; and Erin Woerner of Kings Park, who added one goal, a ground ball, and a draw control.

 Mortarboard musings

  • Shortstop Amanda Babcock of Haverstraw is batting .231 with 7 RBI in 28 games, and sports a .958 fielding percentage for the Manhattan College women’s softball team. Megan Weaver of Congers is 2-for-4 in 12 games for the Lady Jaspers (17-19), who visit Monmouth (15-18)  on Tuesday for a scheduled doubleheader at 3 p.m.
  • Scott McClennan of Suffern pitched a five-hitter to even his record at 1-1 as the Manhattan College baseball team completed a sweep of visiting local rival Columbia. The Jaspers host Canisius today at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx at 9:30 a.m., and at 3:30 p.m. McClennan’s solid effort--two walks, two strikeouts while going the distance--sparked a 6-0 victory in which Chad Salem of Rye drove in four runs. Manhattan won the opener, 7-2, as freshman hurler Jared Hirschberg of Katonah earned his third win.
  • Tayla Gardner of Orangeburg, who starred at Tappan Zee HS, is 6-8 with a nifty 3.33 ERA as a freshman pitcher on the Mercy College softball team. Gardner, who plays second base when not in the circle, is also batting .267 with three RBI. Gardner’s won-loss record appears to be compromised by unusual wildness, with 49 walks as against 79 strikeouts. Coach Bob Greiner’s Mavericks host C.W. Post on Saturday for a doubleheader at 2 p.m. Mercy will also be home on Tuesday and Thursday against Bridgeport (3 p.m.) and Pace (2:30), respectively.
  • Mike Shea of Congers and his teammates on the men’s lacrosse team at the College of Mount Saint Vincent were held in check in a 19-3 loss to Farmingdale State. Shea, a senior attack, had one goal as the Dolphins closed their Skyline Conference schedule to finish at 6-7 overall, 1-5 in the conference. The Dolphins close out the regular season on Wednesday when they visit Centenary in Hackettstown, NJ, at 4 p.m.
  • St. Thomas Aquinas College women’s softball standout Maura Power of Pearl River was named the East Coast Conference (ECC) pitcher of the week. Power, a graduate of Albertus Magnus, posted back to back shutouts giving up five hits in 15 innings and striking out 10. Power also added the game-winning RBI double to lift STAC to a 1-0 win over Mercy. The Lady Spartans host Queens on Saturday in a noon doubleheader, entertain Felician on Monday at 2 p.m., and greet Molloy on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
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