Wishing the very best to our Section XI student-athletes who are graduating this week and ending this chapter of their lives.

To those who are playing sports in college, enjoy the experience and keep making Suffolk County proud.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) has announced the inductees for its Class of 2019 Hall of Fame.

Dick Cerone (Administrator, Section V), Anthony Famiglietti (Athlete, Section XI), Cathy Stanilka (Coach, Section 2), Ken Strube (Coach, Section 2), Eileen Troy (Administrator/Coach, Section 2), and Jim Wolfe (Administrator, Section IX) were chosen through a two-level selection process involving a screening committee and a selection committee.

Nominations were endorsed by each inductee’s member section of the Association—a preliminary requirement in the nomination process—before going on to the NYSPHSAA Screening Committee for consideration first, then finally to the Selection Committee.

The NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame is modeled after the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) program which recognizes individuals in the categories of athlete, coach, official, administrator and related contributor.

The 2019 NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame Class will be inducted on Wednesday, July 31 at 6 pm at Turning Stone Resort in Verona, N.Y. Tickets for the Hall of Fame banquet are on sale to the public and may be purchased by calling Sandy Schanck at the NYSPHSAA Office, 518-690-0771, or by emailing sschanck@nysphsaa.org. Deadline to purchase tickets is Wednesday, July 17^th.

Famiglietti was a top tier track athlete at Patchogue-Medford High School in the 1990’s.  A 1996 graduate, he flourished as a distance runner capturing the NYSPHSAA 3200 meter state championship as well as numerous Section XI Championships, the Loucks Invitational and several other in-season invitationals in that event catapulting him to the top each year.

Famiglietti was also part of the 4 x 800 meter relay team that won the NYSPHSAA State Championship his senior year. He continued his athletic career at Appalachian State where he immediately experienced success winning Southern Conference Freshman of the Year in cross country as a freshman and was Southern Conference Cross Country Runner Up Runner of the Year as a sophomore. After his sophomore season, he transferred to the University of Tennessee demonstrating consistency and success the final two years of his collegiate career that led to a spot on the United States team at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Famiglietti ran a season’s best 3200 in the opening round at the Olympic Games, which also was a personal best and fastest time by an American clocking in at 8:17.34. Along with being a two-time Olympian, he came in first place at the Reebok Grand Prix for the 3200-meter steeplechase and is a six-time US Champion.

In addition to being a talented athlete, Famiglietti is known for his work off the track.  He’s devoted himself to community by speaking to high school student-athletes across the country promoting a healthy lifestyle, which is the theme of a self-produced DVD he created called “Run Reckless.”  He is internationally known as one of the best distance runners in the world and continues to run today, just recently announcing his attempt to become the fourth master’s division runner to break the four-minute mile barrier.

Rudy is coming to Suffolk County. Yes, that Rudy.

For a special Section XI rate you can meet Rudy and listen to him talk about his storied life and career.

Rudy will be at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Sunday, June 16 at 4 p.m.

A discounted ticket rate of $33 is available for all friends of Section XI. CLICK HERE for tickets. 

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is proud to announce its spring 2019 Scholar-Athlete teams and individuals. This is the 27^th year the NYSPHSAA has conducted the Scholar-Athlete program, which is sponsored by Pupil Benefits Plan, Inc.

This spring, NYSPHSAA recognized 2,511 Scholar-Athlete teams and 39,909 individuals. The number of Scholar-Athlete teams increased by 156 (6.62%) compared to spring 2018. The number of individuals increased by 1,875 (4.93%) from the spring of 2018. A total of 578 schools across the state participated in the Scholar-Athlete program.

“Congratulations to our NYSPHSAA student-athletes and member schools,” said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “To see the number of teams and individuals recognized as scholar-athletes increase shows how hard our student-athletes in New York state are working in the classroom. We continue to see what hard working and dedicated student-athletes we have in New York each season and this shows how much NYSPHSAA student-athletes are committed to their education.”

For the 2018-19 school year there were a total of 8,571 scholar-athlete teams awarded and 119,733 individuals. The number of teams awarded increased by 507 (6.29%) and the number of scholar-athlete individuals increased by 4,147 (3.59%) as compared to the 2017-18 school year. School of Excellence and School of Distinction honors will be awarded this summer, schools must apply to be recognized. Deadline to apply is June 30^th.

The full list of Scholar-Athlete teams for the spring 2019 season can be found here

The full list of Scholar-Athlete individuals for the spring 2019 season can be found here