by David Joiner
The KCC men and women outdoor track & field team had another tremendous year as the Wave advanced to all three championships: the CUNY, District, and National. Both the men’s and women’s teams did well in each championship.
The men’s outdoor team placed fourth overall and the women’s team placed seventh overall at the District Championship.
For the men’s team, Faisal Muhammad placed first in the Hammer throw and second place in the Shot-Put as Jamie Wilson placed first in the 200-Meter and 400-Meter Dash.
For the women’s team, Keisha Brown placed fourth in the 100-Meter, 200-Meter and 400-Meter Dash as Naomie Hilaire placed fourth in the hammer throw.
As for the National Championship, Faisal Muhammad placed first in the Hammer Throw with a distance of 49.06 meters, 160.91 feet, which earned him All-American honors. He also placed sixth in the Shot-Put. Another member of the men’s outdoor track & field that earned All-American honors was Jamie Wilson, who placed second in the 400-Meter Dash with a time of 48.21 and placed second in the 4x400 Meter Relay. He also came in fourth place in the 200 Meter Relay. The men’s team had a tremendous championship day even though they did not take first place.
Three other members of the men’s outdoor track & field team have received All-American honors. Yisrael Beriah placed in the 4x100 Meter Relay Team while placing eighth in the 100-Meter Dash and fourth in the 4x400 Meter Relay. Blake Prince, another All-American, placed second in the 4x400 Meter Relay, while placing fourth in the 4x100 Meter Relay. The last recipient to receive an All-American honor was Robert Mortel, who came in second in the 4x400 Meter Relay. Also, Warren Browne placed fourth in the 4x100 Meter Relay.
As for the women’s team, Keisha Brown placed fourth in the long jump with a distance of 5.05 meters, 16.56 feet. She also placed sixth in the 100 and 200-Meter Dash. Even though the women’s team did well, they ended up placing fifteenth overall.
Not only did the KCC track & field team do well, the KCC men’s tennis team also had an amazing year, finishing in second place behind Suffolk Community College with a record of six wins and one loss. With their amazing season, the men’s tennis team earned the second seed and secured it at the New York State Region 15 tournament, earning them a spot at the NJCAA National Tennis Tournament in Plano, Texas.
At the end of the first day, Kingsborough was tied for first place, winning seventeen of eighteen matches. Kingsborough’s top player, Haris Redzematovic was the first singles flight winner, beating Duchess’ top player 6-1,4-6,7-5.
Haris earned the MVP of the tournament. Not only did Haris do well, but KCC’s number two player, Max Vergazov, also won his flight despite injuring his knee. As for the team itself, number three player Chris Kim, number four player Roy Gutierrez, number five Andy Cao and number six Yelnar Nurseitov were all finalists winning their first two matches. Despite Cao and Nurseitov winning their first two matches, the number three doubles team lost to Suffolk County in the finals, and Kim and Gutierrez lost Duchess in a very close 4-6,4-6 second doubles match. At the end of the tournament, Kingsborough placed second with twenty points, three points behind Suffolk County, one of the closest tournaments in years.
Kingsborough will return to the nationals in Texas for first time since they won the Division III National Tournament in 1998. Coach Goldsmith was delighted that his team has accomplished their preseason goal, a return to the National in Texas. Coach Goldsmith also spoke some good words about his number one player Haris Redzematovic. “Haris Redzematovic played one of the finest sets that I have ever witnessed in 26 years of coaching.”
The Kingsborough Community College men’s tennis team participated in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division III Men’s Tennis Championships at Collins Community College. The Wave played their hearts out that day, coming in fourth place with a score of twenty points.
Despite coming in fourth place, the duo of Haris Redzematovic and Max Vergazov were both named All-Americans, after winning the number one doubles flight. The pair used a 7-6(7-5), 6-2 score to defeat Ross Armstrong and Farid Vatan of Montgomery-Rockville(Md.) in the finals. Vergazov won the number two singles flight, securing the title with a 6-3,7-6(7-5) victory over Dupage’s James Winkle, while Redzematovic advanced to the finals of the number one singles flight before finishing runner-up to Mercer’s Marc Nichols (6-2,6-1).
Despite all of that, coaches of the men & women outdoor track & field and the men’s tennis team are proud of their teams for all of their hard work and dedication they gave this season. So lets watch out for these teams next year.
by Igor Derysh
With many differences between their two seasons there is one striking similarity between the Mets’ and Yankees’ seasons, they have both been disappointing.
As the baseball season nears its midpoint, both New York clubs are in third place (as of June 23) with the Mets four games back of first place and the Yankees 4.5 games behind the first place Boston Red Sox.
 The Mets have already fired their manager, Willie Randolph, and General Manager Omar Minaya, is in the hot seat. The Yankees have become more complacent and do not seem to be too eager to make any big moves. It does appear to be Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman’s last year with the Bombers, however, and depending on where they finish, it might be manager Joe Girardi’s first and final season as Yankee skipper as well.
The Mets’ record currently stands at 37-38 as the injury-riddled team has been hovering around .500 all season. Seven players are currently on the disabled list, including star outfielders Moises Alou and Ryan Church, and star pitcher Pedro Martinez spent most of the season there.
Certainly the Mets are not without some terrific accomplishments as well. First-year Met Johan Santana has not disappointed, posting a 2.93 ERA through 16 games and nearly a 4:1 strike out-walk ratio. Closer Billy Wagner has been nothing but stellar having saved 17 games while recording a 2.03 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Star third baseman David Wright is hitting .275 with 12 home runs and 56 runs batted in, in what looks to be another 100+ RBI season. The Mets biggest surprise however has been Ryan Church, who in a head injury plagued season is batting .300 and has hit 10 home runs and driven in 35 runs in just 50 games.
For every all-star effort, however, there is always an equally disappointing season. First baseman Carlos Delgado is en route to another underachieving year, he is hitting just .234 and has driven in just 35 runs. Luis Castillo, who was awarded a new four-year contract in the off-season is batting just .262 and has scored only 36 runs. The Mets’ one-two pitching combination of Oliver Perez and John Maine has also been a failure. Combined, the two have 12 wins and an ERA in the mid-fours.
As the All-Star break and trading deadline approach, the Mets should be one of the least active teams. The Mets came in to the season as one of the most complete teams in the league and as soon as Moises Alou, Ryan Church and pitcher Orlando Hernandez come off of the disabled list, most of the Mets’ problems will be fixed.
The Yankees record is currently at 41-35, though they are still behind the Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays. While the Mets’ problem is the massive amount of injuries, the Yankees do not have many excuses for being in third place.
Alex Rodriguez has been his usual self, batting .332, hitting 14 home runs and driving in 41 runs in an injury-riddled season. Bobby Abreu has been impressive driving in 44 runs while hitting 8 home runs. Jason Giambi has been equally as impressive blasting 17 home runs and driving in 42 runs. Closer Mariano Rivera also looks like he is back to his usual greatness having saved 21 games while recording an incredible 0.76 ERA and a 0.57 WHIP.
The Yankees’ biggest surprises have been aging starter Mike Mussina and reliever Edwar Ramirez. The 39-year-old Mussina has bounced back from a miserable 2007 season to record 10 wins and a 3.93 ERA in his first 16 games. The young Ramirez, meanwhile, has proven to be the Yankees’ most reliable middle reliever, posting a 2.74 ERA and a .190 batting average against.
The Yankees have had two big disappointments this year. Perennial All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano is batting a meager .227 and has driven in just 26 runs. The Yankees’ top two pitching prospects, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, have had an atrocious year. The two injured rookies have only started a combined 14 games and are both winless. Kennedy has recorded a 7.41 ERA while Hughes has an ERA of exactly 9.00.
It is unlikely that the Yankees will make any major moves at the trading deadline as the complacent front office are hoping that the $200+ million dollar team will fix itself.
|
