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by Kathleen Pulek
Weve been praying for good weather
and we got it. Its perfect, said a pleased
Jeff Flynn, race director of the Scottish Rite
Freemasons 5K Run/Walk to Benet Chil-
dren With Dyslexia held in Newington Sat-
urday, July 26.
We try to make the Scottish Rite Free-
masons experience a fun, family experi-
ence, scheduling events and activities that
get families involved. This event is under
the wing of Family Life because we have
many families helping out as volunteers,
said Flynn, the organizations Family Life
chair. Some of our other Family Life ac-
tivities include going to the Goodspeed Op-
era House and attending Rock Cats baseball
and Hartford and UConn womens basket-
ball games.
We have our own charity, a learning
center called The Childrens Center for Dys-
lexia, so all of todays proceeds go to help
children with dyslexia, he added.
This is a pretty difcult course with
some killer hills thats USATF [USA Track
& Field] certied and professionally timed.
Because of our generous sponsors and our
more than 50 volunteers, our only costs
today are for T-shirts, trophies and timing.
Dale Cunningham organizes our volunteer
force. Hes also in charge of water stations
and road spotters, Flynn continued. Tony
Angelica is in charge of our online, mail and
walk-up registrations. Earl Evans picked up
the oranges and bananas that Fresh Point
donated, brought them here, cut them up
and then set up the tents and tables. He was
one of seven volunteers here at 6 a.m.
Robert Forsyth, a member of the Scot-
tish Rite Freemasons, and his daughter, Abi-
gail, arrived around 6:30 a.m. to help set up
and staff the refreshment tent.
I love volunteering and helping out,
said Abigail. This is great, working with
my dad and spending time with him. Its our
third time volunteering for this race, so its
become kind of a tradition. This is a great
event to benet children with dyslexia. I
like how this brings people together and its
a fun event.
First across the nish line was 13-year
-old Jason Beaver, from Agawam, Mass.,
with a time of 19:33. His dad, Spencer,
jogged some of the course with Jasons sis-
ter, Kimberly, who nished 38th (28:19).
This was my rst time running this
race, said Jason after he cooled down.
The course was hilly, but the race was
peaceful and I enjoyed it. I usually get in the
18s, like 18:30, so my time today was about
a minute slower.
According to Spencer, We try to run
a race every weekend. Since there werent
any in Western Massachusetts today, this
was the closest race to Agawam. We would
denitely come back. This was a nice race
with friendly people and it was for a good
cause.
Sydney, Samuel and Noah Nash,
13-year-old triplets from Eneld, and their
father, Dean, all posted strong showings.
Sydney secured the top female nish
and was fth overall with a time of 20:41.
Samuel was right on her heels, taking sev-
enth (21:26). Noah just edged out his dad
for 15th, (23:54), by 0.02.
The course had a lot of hills, and I dont
really like hills. I just nished JFK Middle
School and I ran cross country there, said
Sydney, who looked like she could easily
take another trip around the course.
Bob Kania, a dentist from Southington
and one of the races senior competitors,
nished 32nd in a time of 27:30. This is
the rst time Ive run this race. Its close to
my hometown so its convenient and Ive
enjoyed it.
Im glad they didnt start at 10 a.m.
Itd be 85-90 degrees by then. As for the
course, the downhills never make up for
the uphills. Thats my thought. If it was all
downhill, I might have won. Im trying to
get back into running. I used to be good and
now Im not. My time? I was rst in the old
dentist division, he said with a laugh.
Jessica Bennett let her boyfriend, Kevin
Roe, set their pace en route to nishing tied
for 45th (30:21).
I gured this would be a good training
run and some experience for Kevin. This is
his rst 5K. I was browsing the web, look-
ing for a race that was reasonably local and
supported a good cause, and I found this
one.
I was a high school wrestler and run-
ning cross-country helped me keep in shape.
I want to stay t and live a fairly active life-
style so now I train on my own, said Ben-
nett, 22, who calls Uncasville home.
Jessica got me interested in running,
added Roe. We run 5Ks on our own just
practicing, so I was kind of, sort of pre-
pared. This is a way to keep in shape and
an activity we can do together. Running is
something that has never been a forte of
mine, but maintaining tness is.
Lori Sakowski of Bristol turned 50 last
year. I joined the Win to Lose Program
in October and Ive been working out. My
daughter, Kayla [Sakowski], convinced me
to try doing a 5K, so this is my rst race. She
and Mike [Ouellette] are here from New
Hampshire. Kayla is a physical therapist
who runs to support causes, so we came out
to support children with dyslexia.
Kayla and Mike provided Lori with en-
couragement throughout the course, before
Lori (41:46) and Mike (41:47) followed
Kayla (41:45) across the nish line.
Cheryl Sharkis, Director/Trainer/Tutor
for The Childrens Dyslexia Center of Con-
necticut, established in Waterbury in 2002,
praised the organization and its charitable
endeavors.
The Scottish Rite Masons have been
national leaders in the effort to overcome
the painful obstacles of dyslexia. The Chil-
drens Dyslexia Centers provide free tutor-
ing for children with dyslexia and train a
growing cadre of highly skilled and dedi-
cated tutors. The funds received from this
5K Run/Walk help to offset the estimated
tutoring cost of $5,000 per student. Each of
the ve Scottish Rite Valleys in the State of
Connecticut raise supporting funds by vari-
ous events throughout the year.
Dyslexia is an inherited neurological
disorder that challenges the way people
learn to read, speak and process things
mathematically. While there is no cure for
dyslexia, free treatment provided by the
more than 50 Scottish Rite Freemasons
Childrens Dyslexia Centers, located in 13
states, help children and their families meet
the challenges head on.
Children With Dyslexia 5K a Family Affair
Rocky, the New Britain Rock Cats mascot, poses with Lori Sakowski, Kayla Sakowski and Mike Ouellette before
the race. Photo: Dave Burnham.
The eld heads down Deming Street at the start of the sixth annual Scottish Rite Freemasons 5K Run/Walk.
Photo: Dave Burnham.
Jason Beaver of Agawam, MA, nished ahead of
the eld in a time of 19:33. Photo: Dave Burnham.
by Mark DiPaola
The days of basketballs Big
Three has come to an end with
Lebron James departure from
the Miami Heat, but the road
to crowning youth soccers Big
Three will continue in Wethers-
eld on August 2 and August 3.
The fth annual New Eng-
land Soccerpalooza, the regional
3 vs. 3 youth soccer tournament
held courtesy of KickIt and the
Connecticut Convention in Sports
Bureau, is coming to Mill Woods
Park, and the winners go to Dis-
ney World.
And no, thats not pulled
from a bad Super Bowl postgame
interview-between 10 and 15
percent of the nations estimated
7,000 3 vs. 3 teams will compete
in a national competition in Dis-
ney World on Martin Luther King
Day, according to KickIt Tourna-
ment Director Bryce Thornburg.
The New England regional
tournament is just 1 of 10 being
held throughout the country. It
started at the state level, with 75
competitions held to lter it down
to this stage, Thornburg said.
There arent very many of
those, [the regional tournaments]
so were lucky to have the New
England one here in Wethers-
eld, said Stathis Manousos,
President of the Wetherseld
George D. Ritchie Soccer Club.
Three vs. three sounds like
a new concept for a game that is
traditionally played 11 vs. 11-in-
cluding goalkeepers-but the elds
will be adjusted to t the numbers.
Players will compete in a space
that is 40 yards long and 30 yards
wide with no goalkeepers, Ma-
nousos said.
Its exciting for the kids be-
cause theres a lot of scoring and
they get to touch the ball a lot,
Manousos said. The more kids
get to touch the ball, the more fun
it is and the more goals they score,
and they say that development
wise its better.
Not that the experience is
reserved only for kids. While
the core group of participants
ranges from the 7-13 year old age
group, the tournament has been
known to have adult divisions,
Thornburg said.
I wish I could have played in
all the ones I went to, he said.
Teams can register to play at
www.kickit3v3.com. For more in-
formation about the tournament,
visit www.wetherseldsoccer.
com or call 860-250-4735.
Soccerpalooza Coming to Wetherseld
The 2014 Wetherseld Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Din-
ner will be held Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Pitkin Community Center, 30
Greeneld St. Doors open at 4 p.m., with the induction ceremony starting
promptly at 4:30 p.m. and reception to follow. This year we will be provid-
ing hors doeuvres and food stations in lieu of a sit-down dinner. This will
allow for more reunions and socializing.
2014 Honorees: Joseph Gaslow, 1934; Richard Marshall, 1950; Marc
Cottone, 1963; Dick Slade, 1961; Eric Giosa, 1976; Steve Damato, 1981;
Jay Heimgartner, 1996; Anne Bordieri, 2004; Kelly Magennis, 2006; Leah
Logiudice, 2006; John Fote, coach.
Teams: Boys basketball, 1951-1952; football, 1960; girls swimming,
1976; boys soccer, 1982; boys hockey, 1985-1986.
Hall of Fame Distinguished Citizen Award: John Miller.
Since 2001, more than 150 athletes, coaches and teams have been
honored by the Hall of Fame. Anyone interested in nominating an athlete,
coach or team for induction can nd the nomination form on the WHS
website. You may also contact the Hall of Fame at waahof@gmail.com.
The WAAHOF would like to thank everyone who has contributed to
our general fund over the years. Donating to the general fund helps defray
these costs. Donations go toward things such as providing complimentary
dinner tickets to honorees and the costs of honorariums.
If you are interested in placing an ad in our banquet program, please
email waahof@gmail.com.
Wetherseld Athletic Hall of Fame
14th Annual Induction Dinner