By Dylan Butler
The accolades continue to rain down on Christ the King grad Craig “Speedy” Claxton. For the second time in his collegiate career, the Hofstra senior point guard was named America East Player of the Year. Claxton won the award as a sophomore in 1998.
Claxton, who leads the America East and ranks No. 4 in the nation with 23.2 points per game, led the Flying Dutchmen to their first America East regular-season title since joining the conference in 1994.
The 5-foot-11 play maker also leads the conference and ranks sixth in the nation with 3.3 steals per game and second in the America East with six assists per game.
Claxton showed why the honor was no fluke Sunday afternoon, when he scored 21 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds to lead Hofstra to a 69-51 win over Drexel in the America East semifinals at the University of Delaware. The top-seeded Flying Dutchmen host No. 3 Delaware Saturday at 11:30 a.m. for the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which Hofstra hasn't made since 1977.
SJU Fencing takes second at IFA Championships
The St. John's men's and women's fencing teams combined to finish in second place overall at the Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championships, held at Yale University last weekend.
The IFA champion is crowned after combining the team's scores from both the men's and women's events. Princeton repeated as champions, edging out the Red Storm, with Yale, Penn and Columbia rounding out the top five.
On the men's side, St. John's won both the sabre and epee, while finishing third in the foil to capture the men's title. The women's team won the sabre, finished second in the epee and ninth in the foil for a third place finish behind Princeton and Yale.
St. John's sophomore Emese Takacs from Budapest won the women's epee, capturing seven matches and edging out freshman teammate Arlene Stevens.
Freshman Marisa Mustilli finished in second place in the women's sabre, winning six matches and tying with MIT's Caroline Purcell. Purcell won the championship in a barrage, 5-4.
In the men's epee, sophomore Doron Levit and freshman Anton Gurevich paced the Red Storm, taking second and third receptively. Levit and Gurevich won five bouts apiece, finishing behind individual champion Yevgeni Niyzov or Rutgers.
In the men's sabre, freshman Ivan Lee finished second overall, winning six bouts, one behind Penn's Mike Golia, a Douglaston native. Freshman Joe Fisher finished in third place in the foil, winning seven bouts.
Locals garner NEC honors
Antawn Dobie and Justin Wilson, two guards who played their high school ball in the Catholic High School League, were named to the Northeast Conference's All-Rookie team.
Dobie, a Corona native from Monsignor McClancy, finished the season averaging 13.4 points, 4.3 assists and 2.2 steals to lead Long Island University in all three categories. A four-time NEC Rookie of the Week selection, he became the first Blackbird sophomore to lead the team in scoring in eight years.
Wilson, a Brooklyn native from Molloy, was a three-time NEC Rookie of the Week honoree who averaged 9.3 points and 4.3 assists in his first year on the team.
SJU Volleyball sign two
The St. John's volleyball team announced the signing of two student-athletes from Hawaii. Roslyn Dang (Punahou High School) is a 5-foot-11 right side hitter from Honolulu who brings both size and power to next year's roster.
Also committed to play for head coach Joanne Persico-Smith next season is Robyn Kurasaki (Maryknoll High School), a very versatile player who will spend time as a both outside hitter and setter. Kurasaki hails from Millani.
Brown and Cook named to McDonald's All-American team
St. John's Prep senior point guard Taliek Brown (UConn) and Christ the King senior point guard Omar Cook (St. John's) have both been named to the prestigious McDonald's All-American team. The game will be played at Fleet Center in Boston, Mass. on March 29.
Andre Barrett (Seton Hall) from Rice, who along with Brown and Cook, are considered three of the top guards in the country, will also play in the game. The West roster will feature St. John's signee Darius Miles from East St. Louis Senior High School in Illinois.
Two from St. John's win Big East Scholar-Athlete Award
Pablo Budna, a member of the St. John's men's soccer team, and Kristine Knobel from the volleyball team, were each named to the 1999-2000 Big East Scholar-Athlete Award. Each will receive a $2,000 scholarship to be applied to their graduate studies.
Budna, a sports management major, was a two-year letterwinner for the Red Storm. The Argentine finished his soccer career with 15 goals and 10 assists, while participating in two NCAA tournaments and was part of the 1998 Big East championship team.
Knobel, also a sports management major, was the captain of the volleyball team and will leave St. John's as the all-time leader in digs (1,720) and kills (1,255).
Each Big East school selects a men's and women's Big East Scholar-Athlete. The recipients are then nominated for the respective Men's or Women's Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. The nominees must be graduating seniors intending to pursue graduate or professional studies.
Beauzile, the record breaker
St. Francis Prep grad Marcie Beauzile broke the Bentley College record in the 300 meters. In the tri-meet with Harvard and Toronto, the sophomore from South Ozone Park finished third with a time of 43.10. Beauzile, a member of the ECAC Track Honor Roll, broke the existing standard of 44.6 set by Julie Clarke in 1991.
