Steven Stuto has followed in the family footsteps throughout his golf career.
His older brothers Joe and Allen both played the sport at Petrides and St. Francis College, the same school Steven will attend on a full scholarship in the fall. He does have a few career a achievements he is proud to have over his siblings. Stuto won the PSAL Wingate Award, given to the league’s most outstanding senior in each sport, which he accepted at St. Francis on Monday night.
“First for everything,” Stuto said. “I have a championship over them too.”
He and Petrides won the 2009 PSAL boys golf city title, but not without some adversity. Stuto, who is also a member of the bowling team, tore his ACL and meniscus playing soccer for the Staten Island school that fall. After eight months he returned and played through pain wearing a brace. He won 8 of his 10 matches that season, 12 of 14 as a senior and 35-of-39 for his career
“There was no doubt in my mind I was playing,” Stuto said. “Golf is my favorite sport in the world.”
Tate takes cross country Wingate: Cross country season was supposed to be a warm up for Alaine Tate. The Bayside senior was hoping to get more colleges interested and prepare herself for the upcoming indoor season.
“Cross country, it’s not really my season,” she said. “I am an outdoor, indoor runner. My coaches told me that cross country was going to get me ready for indoor and outdoor.”
Instead, with a renewed work ethic, the fall turned out to be one of her finest showings. Tate placed first at the Mayors Cup, second at the Queens borough championshisp and third in the city championship race. Her best 5K time was 20:21. Tate also won the city championship indoors in the 1000 meters and 1500 and won the 800 outdoors. It all helped her earn a full scholarship to run track and Hampton University in Virginia.
“The school is really beautiful,” Tate said. “They also have a good academic program. I felt at home when I went on my visit. I didn’t feel far from home.”
Curtis cleans up: Five athletes from Curtis – Dominique Easley (football), Jason Stapleton (cross country), Lia Carlson (girls tennis), James Holden (wrestling) and Ashley Gottlieb (bowling) – received Wingate Awards in their respective sports Monday. It was the most out of any school.
“It’s a testament to everybody involved – the coaches, the administration, the athletes themselves,” Warriors athletic director Eric Ritzer said. … “They’re wonderful kids. We’re very proud of them. We’re very excited for them.”
Jones gives back: Dequan Jones doesn’t want to be another one of those basketball players that forgets where he came from. The Pacific senior, who won the Wingate Award for alternative school boys basketball, works as a tutor at Antioch Baptist Church in Brooklyn and is an active participant in collecting donations to the community, such as canned goods and coats.
“I like helping people,” Jones said. “It’s something I do instead of just wasting my time.”
The 6-foot-4 guard will play next year at upstate Erie Community College and hopes to one day land at a four-year Division I school. If not, he plans on studying sports medicine – it’s yet another outlet to help people.
Notes: McKee/Staten Island Tech boys swimmer Joseph Zarrella was named the Outstanding Male Student-Athlete of the year and Curtis girls tennis player Lia Carlson, who scored a 1490 out of 1600 on the SAT, took home the same award for females. … PSAL wrestling commissioner Larry Cantor was recently inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. Cantor has been involved with wrestling on various levels of the sport since 1964. PSAL wrestling has reached uncharted heights under his direction. When he started in 2003, there were 19 schools competing; now there is 65. No other sport has had as much of a rise.
AWARD WINNERS
Fall
Girls bowling: Ashley Gottlieb, Curtis
Boys bowling: Richard King, Lincoln
Girls cross country: Alaine Tate, Bayside
Boys cross country: Jason Stapleton, Curtis
Boys fencing: Christopher Quach, Townsend Harris
Football: Dominique Easley, Curtis
Girls golf: Alice Choi and Han Rin Lee, Bayside
Girls soccer: Alexandra Bushman, Bronx Science
Boys soccer: Pascal Louis, Beacon
Girls swimming: Sara Giberson, Tottenville
Girls volleyball: Alicja Pawelec, Francis Lewis
Winter
Girls basketball: Doris Ortega, Murry Bergtraum
Boys basketball: Brent Jones, Bedford Academy
Girls gymnastics: Brittanie De Meno, Tottenville
Boys gymnastics: Ramon Echevestre, DeWitt Clinton
Girls indoor track: Imani Oliver, Midwood
Boys indoor track: Donald Williams, Midwood
Boys swimming: Joseph Zarrella, McKee/Staten Island Tech
Wrestling: James Holden, Curtis
Alternative boys basketball: Dequan Jones, Pacific
Spring
Baseball: Mike Antonio, George Washington
Girls fencing: Stephanie Gales, Brooklyn Tech
Boys golf: Steven Stuto, Petrides
Girls handball: Marian Chen, Midwood
Boys handball: Frank Mai, Midwood
Girls lacrosse: Cynithia Smalls, Beach Channel
Boys lacrosse: Billy Nguyen, Columbus
Girls outdoor track: Whitney Fountain, Columbus
Boys outdoor track: John Thomas, Sheepshead Bay
Double dutch: Laa’neisha Jones, Thomas Edison
Softball: Nelyssa Rosario, Riverdale/Kingsbridge
Girls tennis: Lia Carlson, Curtis
Boys tennis: Jonathan Raude, Cardozo
Boys volleyball: Jonah Park, Brooklyn Tech
Cricket: Kavishwar Bridgepaul, Richmond Hill
Alternative girls basketball: Di Monekwa Miller, Marcy Avenue Campus
Alternative co-ed softball: Sean Harris, University Heights
Alternative co-ed bowling: Huan Huan Tang, Liberty
