Local athletes staying home for Empire State Games

Local athletes staying home for Empire State Games

Rochester is playing host to the Empire State Games for the third time in the 29-year history of the event and the first time since 1998. 6,000 athletes and coaches will participate in 63 sports at the scholastic, open and master's levels during the five-day event beginning with the Opening Ceremony on Wednesday, July 26 at PAETEC Park.

The Western team dominated the 2005 competition with 103 gold medals and 252 medals overall - 95 more than second place Hudson Valley.

Starting the Empire State Games began in 1978 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, "more than 40 states around the country have instituted state games programs attracting nearly a half-million participants each year. New York's Empire State Games are not only the first program of its kind in the nation but is often considered to be the most successful, setting a standard for multi-sport amateur athletic programs and offering opportunities to all of New York's athletes," according to the Games website.

Several sports are being held locally at either Roberts Wesleyan College or SUNY Brockport. Masters Track will be held at Roberts Wesleyan July 28 and 29, Masters Volleyball July 30 with Open and Scholastic Volleyball and Weightlifting the first three days of competition.

SUNY Brockport is host to four sports: Boxing, Fencing and Wrestling July 27 through 29 and Masters Swimming July 29 through 30. Specific times and locations are on the website at www.empirestategames.org/summer.

Among local athletes competing for the Western Team are:

Archery - Rick Tollis - North Chili

Hammer - Jesse Doty - Holley

Track - Justin Niebel - Spencerport

Pole Vault - Amanda Westcott - Brockport

Track - Matthew Cain - Brockport

Shot Put - David Gross - Brockport

Baseball - Jeff Allen - Hilton

Baseball - Jon Schwind - Hilton

Fencing - Robert MacClaren - Holley

Fencing - Kirstin Rose - Hilton

Soccer - Jaclyn Burch - Hilton

Soccer - Paula Starwald - Hilton

Soccer - Tres Heffron - North Chili

Volleyball - Ricky Albano - Spencerport

Volleyball - James Clar - Churchville

Volleyball - Eric Palumbo - Churchville

Volleyball - Cal Palumbo - Churchville

Volleyball - Alyssa D'Errico - Byron

Wrestling - Andrew Grillo - Holley

Wrestling - Omi Ortiz - Hamlin

Wrestling - Eric Piedmont - Spencerport

Wrestling - Ron Ryan - Holley

Wrestling - John Cannon - Brockport

Wrestling - Key McPherson - Holley

Wrestling - Demetri Mendes - Holley

Wrestling - Johnny Velieri - Hilton