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A LOOK AT THE 2011 WASMER GAMES.

By Eddie Dwyer, 05/11/11, 12:00AM EDT

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They came, they ran, they tossed, they jumped and they mingled.

More than 900 young student/athletes representing 31 grade schools in Greater Cleveland gathered on the campus of Saint Ignatius High School on Sunday afternoon for the annual Wasmer Games.

Competing on the Wildcats' Dale Gabor Track, kids in grades 5 through 8 put their skills to the test in numerous track and field events. And they did it with the enthusiastic, yet sportsmanlike encouragement of their coaches, their families and their friends.

“It's been going on so long and it's great to be part of the CYO community,” said Saint Ignatius Athletic Director Rory Fitzpatrick '88. “To be able to do this for everybody and bring this many kids down here and run a nice event for them, that's what I think means the most. Because I think these parents appreciate when an event goes off well and their kids get to compete in something special.”

Helping make sure it was a special day was former Saint Ignatius Athletic Director Dale Gabor '66, who in 2004 was selected as Ohio's Administrator of the Year by the state's Interscholastic Administrators Association. Dale is also a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association's Northeast District Athletic Administrators Hall of Fame and oversees the sports of cross country and track and field for the OHSAA.

Dale served as a starter for the Wasmer Games and his wife, Linda, put in numerous hours compiling results and organizing the awards for the winners of each event. Linda Gabor is a member of Saint Ignatius' College Counseling Department.

The corner would also like to give a big tip of the cap to Tom Beach, who is a member of the English Department staff at Saint Ignatius and an assistant track coach for the Wildcats, for the outstanding job he did announcing each event and to Saint Ignatius Student Sports Information Department President Mike Watts '11, who was again on top of his game in presenting a live SIBN broadcast of the Wasmer Games.

As part of his broadcast, Mike, who is bound for Fordham University in August, interviewed several Saint Ignatius student/athletes and got a unique perspective on their various varsity sports.

Of course, an event as large as the Wasmer Games would never come off so well if it wasn't for the tireless efforts of Rory Fitzpatrick, Wildcats Associate Athletic Director Sean O'Toole '87 and veteran Head Athletic Trainer Hank Gaughan, A.T.C., and the more than 75 volunteers who gave up their Sunday afternoon "for the kids."

“There are some really old records and names that everybody knows about,” Rory said. “To be able to compete in something that has that kind of storied history and to be able to maintain that over a long period of time is obviously a huge credit to Coach (Chuck) Kyle '69 and Mr. Gabor.”