Congratulations to the Rampart Class of 2001! by Blaise Goswami ‘01 Inside This Issue WWII Veterans Visit Prep.......Pg.5 Memorial Bench At Prep........Pg.3 Pan Asian Day Review............Pg.2 Fordham Preparatory School Naclerio Hurls His Way Into National Spotlight It’s official: Steve Naclerio is a track star. It’s difficult to overstate Steve’s athletic accomplishments in the past year. The Journal News sent a reporter to the Penn Relays to interview the local hero. His classmates follow his results like a loyal band of groupies. Even the usually even-tempered track coach, Mr. Febles, is excited by the surprising new superstar on Fordham Prep’s team, declaring, “He’s the closest thing to a lock that we have at the City Championships.” Don’t look for Steve running the anchor leg of the 4 x 100 relay. No, instead Steve has made a name for himself by throwing the javelin, and has become one of the best field competitors in Fordham Prep’s history. All this in just one wild year. Steve first picked up the javelin as a junior last spring. Before then, he had enjoyed two-anda-half years of success as a pitcher on the Prep’s baseball team. Brendan Carty, current captain of varsity baseball, remembered Steve’s playing days fondly. “We ran him out to the mound nearly every day,” Carty marveled, “he may have set a single season record for innings pitched!” This strong and durable arm served Steve well when he switched sports. It didn’t take him long to get the hang of the javelin, although it is nothing like throwing a fastball. “Mostly he had to work on his technique. The talent and strength were always there,” explains Coach Febles. It didn’t take Steve long to master the technique. In his first throw competition at Van Cortlandt Park in the Fordham Prep Development Meet, he tossed 140.7 feet. That was the beginning of the spring season. A few of months later, in the summer, Naclerio won the Empire State Games with a throw of 177 feet. That day he beat the nearest competitor by an unheard of 27 feet. Since then, he’s only found success. Steve is ranked number one in the state and remains undefeated in New York this year. At the Farrell Invitational, he got his name in the school record books with a throw of 184.9 feet—an all-time best in Fordham Prep track and field history. Steve’s brief, but dazzling high school career came to a climax in the last weekend of April when he reached the finals and eventually placed fifth at the prestigious Penn Relays, with a throw of 184.4 ft. The national competition was the first time Steve admitted to feeling a little “nervous,” but he came through to win the first field medal ever for the Prep at Penn. The success isn’t over yet, though. Next year Steve will no doubt turn heads when he throws for Boston College’s track and field team. Not everyone—perhaps not anyone—can do what Steve has done in just a year. Few can throw a curveball and throw a javelin 180 feet. Steve is a rare case, and Fordham Prep has witnessed a gifted athlete make the most of tremendous natural talent. Perhaps Steve’s “top secret” training methods (one can only wonder) have also helped in catapulting him to national recognition. His fearlessness in competition is no doubt another one of his strengths. But what is the one major key to Steve’s success? Coach Febles smiles. “Being crazy enough to pick up the javelin in the first place.” Prep Experiences Real Life Drama on MetroDay by Craig Wood, ‘01 June 2001 Number 7 Volume 61 61* Review Page 5 On this year’s Metropolitan Day, junior Cormac O’Brien ran into a road. Forget any kind of bump, this prepster accidentally skateboarded into a pot hole. His immediate worry of being rebuked by his trip leader, Mr. Traendly, was soon replaced by the need to handle another force he butted heads with, the pavement. Cormac was passing St. Margaret’s Church, on his way to Wave Hill, when the accident occurred, throwing him five feet into the street. At first, landing on his head and left shoulder did not worry him as much as lying in the middle of a busy street. Ignoring how badly he was hurt, Cormac grabbed his board and ran to the sidewalk where a kind old lady told him to sit down and gave him some napkins for his bleeding head. As she went into St. Margaret’s Rectory to call an ambulance, a mailman who saw the accident occur asked Cormac where he lived. The mailman then went to his house to inform Cormac’s family. While sitting on the curb— alone and bleeding—Cormac heard a familiar voice. After realizing the man had called him by his name, Cormac recognized Mr. Otis, Music Director at Fordham Prep. Mr. Otis, who stayed with him, kept him on the ground, and made sure he stayed motionless until the ambulance came. Mr. Otis was obviously concerned about any internal injuries he may have sustained. Cormac, being the concerned student that he was, was worried about not making his trip. Cormac was assured that everything would be taken care of with the school. Mr. Otis waited with Cormac until the police and ambulance showed up. Cormac was taken to the Emergency Room at St. Joeseph’s Hospital in Yonkers. His misadventure on Riverdale Avenue left him with a concussion, nine stitches in his head, a broken collarbone, and a dislocated left shoulder. After his meeting with the asphalt, Cormac is glad that he didn’t have a confrontation with any moving objects.