Queen City Striders,Cumberland,Md
Queen City Striders hold Annual Awards Banquet
By Dan DeWitt
FROSTBURG, MD - St. Paul's Lutheran Church, located on the corner of Main & Water Streets in Frostburg, MD, opened its doors on Sunday, January 31, 2010 to the Queen City Striders Sunday for the 2010 Queen City Striders (QCS) Annual Awards Banquet. Held annually to recognize and award area runners who compete at local running events, the Banquet consists of a dinner and program run by Striders' members. QCS Vice President Jaron Hawkins called the banquet to order with some opening remarks and Dan DeWitt gave the invocation. This year the Striders enjoyed a delicious dinner of stuffed shells, green beans, and vegetables prepared by Strider member Jane Rossi.
After dinner, Jaron Hawkins made his comments about QCS Running during the 2009 year. He looked forward to the 2010 running calendar, referring to the upcoming year as "the year of the comeback." Hawkins noted the end of a remarkable streak in area running. From 1993-2008, there has been either a high school cross-country state championship team or individual in West Virginia or Maryland. Over that time span, there have been 15 state championship teams and 22 individual state champions from our area. With that streak coming to an end in 2009, Hawkins urged Striders members and the high-schoolers present to "get after it in 2010. It's time to consider 2009 dead and buried and start a new streak in 2010."
Outgoing Club President George Nolan announced and conducted a vote on the incoming slate of club officers: Rob Smith as President, Jaron Hawkins as Vice President, Della Cook as Secretary, and Tommy Chandler as Treasurer.
Hawkins began the Awards portion of the banquet by awarding Achievement awards to Frostburg State University Runners Gwen Massey and Anne Patron, who both finished with the coveted All-Region distinction during the 2009 Cross-Country season. Such an accomplishment is rare, and these two runners worked together and pushed each other as teammates and as friends to realize their full potential. Massey graduates this year while Patron still has two seasons left to compete for the Bobcats. Congratulations to both runners!
DeWitt continued the program with the presentation of the Barney Langan All-AMAC (Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference) Awards, given to the top ten finishers at the AMAC Cross-Country Championships. This year’s event was held at Keyser High School in Keyser, WV. On the boys’ side, the top ten finishers were as follows (tenth to first): Taven Rohrbaugh of Keyser, Brad Miller of Frankfort, Robbie Taylor of Allegany, Chris Wilson of Hampshire, Darian Martz of Frankfort, Chuckie Upperman of Mountain Ridge, Tim Loughran of Hampshire, George Hansrote of Mountain Ridge, Nathan Whitacre of Hampshire, and Ian MacFawn of Allegany. On the girls’ side, the top ten finishers were as follows (tenth to first): Katie Gindlesberger of Southern, Kathleen Myers of Keyser, Lindsey Smith of Southern, Melanie Denton of Hampshire, Hannah Biser of Keyser, Sarah Burkett of Hampshire, Danielle Lewis of Hampshire, Carissa Guyer of Hampshire, Katie Jan of Frankfort, and Rebekah McBride of Frankfort. Congratulations to all these high school runners and best of luck with upcoming track seasons!
Norm and Patty DeRosa joined Hawkins at the podium to present the Katie DeRosa Award, given to an area runner who receives a majority of votes from area High School coaches. This year, the male recipient was Ian MacFawn of Allegany High School. The female recipient was Rebekah McBride of Frankfort High School. Norm DeRosa spoke briefly about the importance of organ donation awareness, citing a situation with a former local runner who is waiting on a liver transplant. He urged those present to be aware that organ donation or associated financial donations are important as so many people are dependent on others when it comes to transplant lists and donation situations. For more information on what you can do to help, please contact qcstriders@gmail.com.
Hawkins continued the Awards portion of the banquet with the Queen City Striders Club Circuit Age-Group Award Winners. In the 9 and under division, the male winner was Jeremy Joe and the female winner was Carina Falter.There was no winner for the female 10-12 age group; the male award was won by Brooks Mickey. For ages 13-15, Derek Joe was the winner and there was none for the female award. Kim Stephens and Colby Smith took home the female and male awards for those age 16-19. The age group of 20-29 had no female winner, while Tommy Chandler took the honors for the men. Shauna McQuade and Brent Simpson grabbed the awards as top female and male in the 30-39 division. The 40-49 age division saw Paula Bridges and Rob Smith earn female and male awards.The male winner for ages 50-59 was Tom Chappell, while Mary Moran was the top female. Age 60-69 had Ellie Thayer as the top woman and Fred Cook as top man. There was no winner for the female 70 and over age group, while on the men's side there was a tie between James Bell and Wayne McCaughey as they both took home awards.
Presented with the top award as the overall winner of the Queen City Striders Club Circuit were Jen Sober for the women and Tom Ruckert for the men. Jen finished fourth overall in the Circuit, while Tom won by the smallest margin in the history of the Circuit besting Rob Smith by a scant 7 points.
The Striders have eight races designated as “Club Scoring Races,” the first of which has been contested this past January 16th (Uno’s Snowflake Chase). Club Scoring Races are contested throughout the year and results are tabulated as the basis for the Awards presented at the Annual Banquet. To be eligible for an Age-Group or Overall Club Circuit Award, a runner must be a member of the Queen City Striders. The next Club Scoring Race will be held March 20 in Keyser, WV. This event, the Maple Festival 5k, will be run at Keyser High School, and directed by Joe Altobello. For more information on this race, and all future Club Scoring Races, please visit the Club Website http://www.qcstriders.org or email qcstriders@gmail.com.
Membership applications are currently being accepted for the 2010 Year. To download an application, please visit http://www.qcstriders.org. For more information on future Club Scoring Races or the Queen City Striders in general, please visit the website or email qcstriders@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you at the next Queen City Striders event!
By Dan DeWitt
FROSTBURG, MD - St. Paul's Lutheran Church, located on the corner of Main & Water Streets in Frostburg, MD, opened its doors on Sunday, January 31, 2010 to the Queen City Striders Sunday for the 2010 Queen City Striders (QCS) Annual Awards Banquet. Held annually to recognize and award area runners who compete at local running events, the Banquet consists of a dinner and program run by Striders' members. QCS Vice President Jaron Hawkins called the banquet to order with some opening remarks and Dan DeWitt gave the invocation. This year the Striders enjoyed a delicious dinner of stuffed shells, green beans, and vegetables prepared by Strider member Jane Rossi.
After dinner, Jaron Hawkins made his comments about QCS Running during the 2009 year. He looked forward to the 2010 running calendar, referring to the upcoming year as "the year of the comeback." Hawkins noted the end of a remarkable streak in area running. From 1993-2008, there has been either a high school cross-country state championship team or individual in West Virginia or Maryland. Over that time span, there have been 15 state championship teams and 22 individual state champions from our area. With that streak coming to an end in 2009, Hawkins urged Striders members and the high-schoolers present to "get after it in 2010. It's time to consider 2009 dead and buried and start a new streak in 2010."
Outgoing Club President George Nolan announced and conducted a vote on the incoming slate of club officers: Rob Smith as President, Jaron Hawkins as Vice President, Della Cook as Secretary, and Tommy Chandler as Treasurer.
Hawkins began the Awards portion of the banquet by awarding Achievement awards to Frostburg State University Runners Gwen Massey and Anne Patron, who both finished with the coveted All-Region distinction during the 2009 Cross-Country season. Such an accomplishment is rare, and these two runners worked together and pushed each other as teammates and as friends to realize their full potential. Massey graduates this year while Patron still has two seasons left to compete for the Bobcats. Congratulations to both runners!
DeWitt continued the program with the presentation of the Barney Langan All-AMAC (Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference) Awards, given to the top ten finishers at the AMAC Cross-Country Championships. This year’s event was held at Keyser High School in Keyser, WV. On the boys’ side, the top ten finishers were as follows (tenth to first): Taven Rohrbaugh of Keyser, Brad Miller of Frankfort, Robbie Taylor of Allegany, Chris Wilson of Hampshire, Darian Martz of Frankfort, Chuckie Upperman of Mountain Ridge, Tim Loughran of Hampshire, George Hansrote of Mountain Ridge, Nathan Whitacre of Hampshire, and Ian MacFawn of Allegany. On the girls’ side, the top ten finishers were as follows (tenth to first): Katie Gindlesberger of Southern, Kathleen Myers of Keyser, Lindsey Smith of Southern, Melanie Denton of Hampshire, Hannah Biser of Keyser, Sarah Burkett of Hampshire, Danielle Lewis of Hampshire, Carissa Guyer of Hampshire, Katie Jan of Frankfort, and Rebekah McBride of Frankfort. Congratulations to all these high school runners and best of luck with upcoming track seasons!
Norm and Patty DeRosa joined Hawkins at the podium to present the Katie DeRosa Award, given to an area runner who receives a majority of votes from area High School coaches. This year, the male recipient was Ian MacFawn of Allegany High School. The female recipient was Rebekah McBride of Frankfort High School. Norm DeRosa spoke briefly about the importance of organ donation awareness, citing a situation with a former local runner who is waiting on a liver transplant. He urged those present to be aware that organ donation or associated financial donations are important as so many people are dependent on others when it comes to transplant lists and donation situations. For more information on what you can do to help, please contact qcstriders@gmail.com.
Hawkins continued the Awards portion of the banquet with the Queen City Striders Club Circuit Age-Group Award Winners. In the 9 and under division, the male winner was Jeremy Joe and the female winner was Carina Falter.There was no winner for the female 10-12 age group; the male award was won by Brooks Mickey. For ages 13-15, Derek Joe was the winner and there was none for the female award. Kim Stephens and Colby Smith took home the female and male awards for those age 16-19. The age group of 20-29 had no female winner, while Tommy Chandler took the honors for the men. Shauna McQuade and Brent Simpson grabbed the awards as top female and male in the 30-39 division. The 40-49 age division saw Paula Bridges and Rob Smith earn female and male awards.The male winner for ages 50-59 was Tom Chappell, while Mary Moran was the top female. Age 60-69 had Ellie Thayer as the top woman and Fred Cook as top man. There was no winner for the female 70 and over age group, while on the men's side there was a tie between James Bell and Wayne McCaughey as they both took home awards.
Presented with the top award as the overall winner of the Queen City Striders Club Circuit were Jen Sober for the women and Tom Ruckert for the men. Jen finished fourth overall in the Circuit, while Tom won by the smallest margin in the history of the Circuit besting Rob Smith by a scant 7 points.
The Striders have eight races designated as “Club Scoring Races,” the first of which has been contested this past January 16th (Uno’s Snowflake Chase). Club Scoring Races are contested throughout the year and results are tabulated as the basis for the Awards presented at the Annual Banquet. To be eligible for an Age-Group or Overall Club Circuit Award, a runner must be a member of the Queen City Striders. The next Club Scoring Race will be held March 20 in Keyser, WV. This event, the Maple Festival 5k, will be run at Keyser High School, and directed by Joe Altobello. For more information on this race, and all future Club Scoring Races, please visit the Club Website http://www.qcstriders.org or email qcstriders@gmail.com.
Membership applications are currently being accepted for the 2010 Year. To download an application, please visit http://www.qcstriders.org. For more information on future Club Scoring Races or the Queen City Striders in general, please visit the website or email qcstriders@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you at the next Queen City Striders event!