WASHINGTON (A.W.)–On Sunday morning, after the golf, tennis, swimming, and softball competitions, the AYF Olympics had already turned into a two chapter race. Providence had 79 points and had a five point lead over Philadelphia. The next closest chapters were Greater Boston with 27 points, Montreal with 22, and Detroit at 20. New Jersey, Chicago, and Worcester each had 14 points. Providence and Philadelphia were poised to battle it out in Track and Field which took place at the beautiful facilities at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington.
The Philadelphia team
It was an incredibly hot and humid day. The temperature was in the 90s and the humidity was in the 80s. The spectators and families did not last long in the stands. Many stayed in the shade and by mid-afternoon most had left for the hotel. The athletes and officials persevered. All participants gave it their all and thankfully there were no heat related incidents.
Providence and Philadelphia were well matched. Providence stayed ahead for most of the day. Only with the finish of the pentathlons and the relays did Philadelphia pull ahead. The real difference ended up being the Men’s Pentathlon in which Providence did not have a participant and Philadelphia took second place. The final standings were:
- Philadelphia
- Providence
- Greater Boston
- Detroit
- New Jersey
- Granite City
Montreal
- Chicago
Worcester
- Washington
A more detailed article on Track and Field will follow in the Weekly’s Olympic Issue.
The winners of the Ernest Nahigian Sportsmanship Award went to two crowd favorites:
- Sevan Donoian – Providence
- Ara Sarajian – New Jersey
The Stanley Maligian Memorial Trophy, a revived award, was presented to Aram Nercession –Detroit who took the gold in shot-put. Washington DC was the most improved chapter.
Three records were broken
- Michelle Hagopian – Granite City, broke her own golf record
- Matt Khatchadourian – Montreal broke two swimming records the 50 Breast Stroke and the 50 Butterfly. The 50 Breast Stroke record also earned Matt an Outstanding Record Award.
There were four women High Scorers
- Molly Mamourian – Philadelphia
- Alyssa Soorikian – Philadelphia
- Angela Soorikian – Philadelphia
- Taleen Sharigian – Detroit
There were three men’s High Scorers
- Matt Khatchadourian – Montreal
- Stephen Tutunjian – Providence
- Andrew Hintlian – Providence
Congratulations to all the participants, all the award winners, for providing an exciting Olympics that was not decided until the final events.