by Alyssa Gurkas
Westfield hosted the Blue Devil Classic, which included over 30 teams from all over New Jersey, last Saturday.
According to boys track and field Coach Christopher Tafelski, this is the twenty-fifth year that Westfield Track has coordinated this event.
Said President of Friends of Westfield Track Thom Hornish, “The relay emerged in the early 1980s in response to a need for such an event, as a fundraiser for the track and field program, and to show off our new facility, which, at the time, was one of the few new surfaces.”
According to Tafelski, since this event raises much of the money that is necessary to fund the team, they asked parents to help by bringing in food for the concession stands.
“We need to fund all the bus rides, costs of going to the meets, and even the emergency things like new poles for Peter [Fagan] since it’s so rare to have someone that can jump that high,” said Tafelski.
According to Hornish, this is the first year that Westfield has designed an official t-shirt. There will be a $1 donation for the first responders in Boston for every shirt sold. Hornish said they anticipated a donation of $400-500 for the victims. Along with the donation, spectators and runners wore green ribbons and signed cards of support.
Before the event, girls track and field Coach Jen Buccino anticipated that the opportunity to display the team’s work in front of a home crowd would be the ultimate test.
Said Hornish: “The event has grown significantly since our first relays. The meet is well supported and has an excellent reputation due to the efforts of our first meet director, Greg Gorski, and the current director Chris Tafelski.”
Said President of Friends of Westfield Track Thom Hornish, “The relay emerged in the early 1980s in response to a need for such an event, as a fundraiser for the track and field program, and to show off our new facility, which, at the time, was one of the few new surfaces.”
According to Tafelski, since this event raises much of the money that is necessary to fund the team, they asked parents to help by bringing in food for the concession stands.
“We need to fund all the bus rides, costs of going to the meets, and even the emergency things like new poles for Peter [Fagan] since it’s so rare to have someone that can jump that high,” said Tafelski.
According to Hornish, this is the first year that Westfield has designed an official t-shirt. There will be a $1 donation for the first responders in Boston for every shirt sold. Hornish said they anticipated a donation of $400-500 for the victims. Along with the donation, spectators and runners wore green ribbons and signed cards of support.
Before the event, girls track and field Coach Jen Buccino anticipated that the opportunity to display the team’s work in front of a home crowd would be the ultimate test.
Said Hornish: “The event has grown significantly since our first relays. The meet is well supported and has an excellent reputation due to the efforts of our first meet director, Greg Gorski, and the current director Chris Tafelski.”