Cronin Captures Gold at Winter Games
John Cronin won a gold medal in the snowshoe 50m dash and a bronze medal in the 100m as the Huntington High School junior paced the Blue Devil team in the Special Olympics Winter State Games in Rochester last weekend.
Junior Liam Mrotzek won the silver medal in the 100m and the bronze in the 50m to cap an impressive display by the Blue Devil athletes. Cronin and Mrotzek were also members of Huntington's silver medal winning 4x100m relay team, which included alums German Alvarez and Brendan Cribbin.
"We were shocked that our team did so well given our lack of snow [for much of the winter] and our 'secret' practice location of Fleets Cove Beach in Centerport," said Linda Costello-Roth, who helps coach the Huntington squad. "They also did not expect much from us since we were competing at this level for the first time."
Alums Alvarez and Cribbin also medaled in individual events in their age brackets. Alvarez took the gold in the 200m and the silver in the 100m. Cribbin won a silver medal in the 50m and finished fourth in the 100m.
The winter games drew over 650 athletes and coaches from across the state. The opening ceremonies were held Friday night at the Rochester Convention Center. Competition was held on Saturday throughout the day at various venues. The snowshoeing events were contested at Swain Mountain.
Mrotzek isn't the only one in his family that enjoys winter physical activities. His brother, Aidan, a Woodhull Intermediate School fifth grader will be participating in the Polar Plunge on Saturday at noon at North Hempstead Beach Park in Port Washington. It is a Special Olympics fundraiser that drew more than 600 "plungers" last year. Those who would like to support the youngster should contact Costello-Roth at lroth@hufsd.edu.
For more information about the Polar Plunge contact the Special Olympics at (631) 254-1465 extension 10 or send an e-mail to kaquilone@nyso.org.