ESG torchbearer part of Blue Devil contingent
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Empire State Games
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Former Fredonia State women’s basketball player Clare Crowley, '04, left, was chosen to carry the torch during Empire State Games opening ceremonies Wednesday at the University at Buffalo.
Crowley, a Williamsville, N.Y. resident, and Dan Gonzalez of New York City shared in the honor following a parade into the U.B. Stadium by athletes and team officials from the six New York regions. The Olympic-style event will run through Sunday at several venues throughout the Buffalo area.
A member of the Western Region open women’s basketball team, Crowley is the girls’ head basketball coach at Williamsville North High School. She attended media day last week in Buffalo where she met several of the regional directors -- including Western Region and 2010 ESG Director Don Ames, who asked Crowley if she'd be interested in lighting the cauldron to start the games.
"I immediately said 'yes,' " Crowley related Friday before taking the court with her Western Region teammates. "I mean, what an honor!"
“(Crowley is)," Ames said of his choice, "a very classy, good lady who represented our Region with class. I couldn’t have picked a better person.”
Ames felt Crowley's story embodied the spirit of the games, which are making a return after a one-year hiatus, because she stayed connected with her sport as a player and a coach. In addition, four of Crowley's Williamsville North players are competing at Empires, all in sports other than basketball.
Buffalo News sports columnist Jerry Sullivan wrote: “It was a fitting choice. Watching Crowley ignite the cauldron, you were reminded that the spark of competition still burns within our local athletes, long after their high school or college days are behind them. It's why the Games are worth preserving.”
Crowley attended Mount Mercy Academy before enrolling at Fredonia State in 2000. She played four consecutive seasons for Blue Devils and was chosen All SUNYAC Second Team after her junior year, and All SUNYAC Honorable Mention as a senior. She is ranked fifth in points (1,133) and sixth in rebounds (574) on Fredonia State’s all-time list.
She graduated in May 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. But just as importantly, she left with a yearning to become a high school or college coach -- a spark ignited by former Blue Devil women's coach Dina White-Henry. White-Henry, assisted by her husband Jeremiah, guided the Blue Devils for Crowley's first three seasons.
"(Dina) instilled in me the idea that there wasn't anything I couldn't do, which made me want to become a coach," Crowley said. "She was the first person I called when I found out I made the (Western Region) team."
While summer teaching jobs kept her from trying out for the Western Region team before this year, Crowley has remained active in Buffalo-area women's leagues, and occasionally scrimmages with her Williamsville North players. Nonetheless, she said she had to work hard to get into shape in order to compete against younger women at Empires. Her Western teammates include three NCAA Division I players, two Division IIs, and the rest Division IIIs or former college players.
"It's kind of funny but I'm in the best shape of my life," she said. "This is the best team I've ever played on in terms of talent, chemistry, and love of the game. The beauty of an event like this is that everyone is here for the same reasons. No one is making them play, they are here because they want to be here."
At least four current Blue Devils and two recent team members are also competing in Buffalo this week. The current athletes are Spencer Lefort (Java Center), Mike Hite (Hamburg), Andrew Charsky (Castleton), and Michael Kelley (Geneseo). All are competing in open men’s track and field – Lefort in the decathlon, Hite in the javelin, and Charsky and Kelley in the triple jump. Charsky is representing the Adirondack Region, while the others are members of the Western Region team.
Two 2010 seniors, Christian Torres (Dunkirk) and Jacquelyn Majka (Cheektowaga), are also Western Region open division participants. Torres is entered in men’s 3-meter springboard diving, and men’s and women’s synchronized diving. Majka is competing in the women’s long jump.
The list of former Blue Devils entered in masters men’s track and field include Sean Kibrick (Buffalo) in the 300/400 intermediate hurdles, John Katalinas (Tonawanda) in the hammer throw, and Dan Mlodzeniec (Depew) and Louis Paganello (Batavia) in the shot put.
For all Empire State Games results, CLICK HERE.
(Note from the Sports Information Director: The above list of participants was compiled using rosters at www.empirestategames.org, and should not be considered all-inclusive. We welcome additions and corrections via e-mail: reilly@fredonia.edu).