By John Schiano
MaxPreps.com
Some 899 games later, Jack Curran found himself right back where it all began.
Curran, in his 51st season of coaching boys basketball at Archbishop Molloy High in Queens, took his usual place on the sideline Friday despite battling a cold. When the evening was over, Curran had earned career victory No. 900 in the form of a 93-53 victory against Monsignor Scanlan – the Stanners’ same opponent when he won his first game more than half a century ago.
Ernest Rouse scored 26 points to lead the way for Molloy (2-0) as Curran extended his huge lead in victories by New York coaches. Ed Petrie of East Hampton began the year with 723 victories and Chuck Granby of Campus Magnet started at 651. Rounding out the top five are retired coaches Jack Halloran from Whitney Point (630) and Dudley Maxim of Trinity School (619). Curran’s nearest CHSAA competitor is Christ the King’s Bob Oliva, who is on medical leave and stands at 549.
Typically, Curran did not want to make a big deal of his latest milestone victory. There was no acknowledgement of the accomplishment other than a brief post-game public-address announcement from alongside the court named in honor of the 77-year-old coach inside the gymnasium that is also named for him.
Curran has been named national coach of the year (1990), decade (1980s) and of the century by Scholastic Coach Magazine. He’s also been a national coach of the year in baseball. He picked up career baseball victory No. 1,600 last spring, extending his state record in that sport.
As former St. John’s University coaching legend Lou Carnesecca told the New York Times last spring, “He’s won everything except World War III.”
Curran was a salesman and CYO coach in Massachusetts when he heard Carnesecca had left St. Ann’s to become a St. John’s assistant. He called Long Island University’s Clair Bee, who suggested he apply for the job.
Curran was hired to teach for $4,000 a year and to coach his two sports for another $500 apiece, and the rest has been history.
F-M’s Streak at Three . . . and Running
The Fayetteville-Manlius girls cross country team won its third straight Nike Team Nationals championship Saturday in Portland, Ore.
F-M scored 66 points and easily outdistanced Saugus, Calif., at 135. Saratoga (193), Queensbury (204) and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (251) finished fourth, fifth and eighth, respectively.
Queensbury's Danielle Winslow led all New Yorkers with a fourth-place finish on the five-kilometer course in 17:48.4, about 21.5 seconds behind winner Chelsey Sweinsson of Texas. Sophomore Courtney Chapman led F-M with a seventh-place showing in 17:53, and teammates Meaghan Anklin (19th), Hannah Luber (21st) and Mackenzie Carter (24th) all cracked the top 25. Molly Malone, running despite illness, finished 63rd or else the winning score might have been in the low 50s.
New York teams have won the girls race all five year’s of the meet’s existence. Saratoga placed first in 2004 followed by Hilton in 2005.
In the boys race, North Central High from Spokane, Wash., captured the championship with 134 points, ahead of York, Ill., Elmhurst at 151. Shenendehowa was seventh at 222 and Fayetteville-Manlius 16th at 314. Individually, Alex Hatz of F-M was sixth in 15:26.4.
Tragedy at Marathon
First-year Marathon girls basketball coach Keith Mosier died unexpectedly on Tuesday morning, school officials told the Ithaca Journal. He was 48.
Marathon's basketball games Tuesday and Friday were postponed because of the death according to AD Todd James, who said Mosier went to a hospital Monday complaining of back pains and a blood clot was discovered.
Mosier was to make his varsity debut in a home game against Dryden. He had previously coached JV baseball and modified boys basketball.
More Boys Basketball
In a game that might just preview next March’s NYSPHSAA Class AA quarterfinals, Niagara Falls (2-0) was in postseason form against Rush-Henrietta over the weekend in the finale of the Cataract Classic.
Kelvin Agee made four 3-pointers and scored 28 points to highlight a 76-66 victory.
Mike Crumpton scored eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to help break open a 53-48 game, and Niagara Falls went 11-for-12 on free throws down the stretch.
Rutgers-bound Dane Miller scored 21 in a losing effort for the Royal Comets.
Greenport senior Ryan Creighton scored 14 points Friday in a 61-52 loss to East Hampton to give him the school's career scoring mark with 2,122 points. Creighton broke the record held by Al Edwards, who now coaches Greenport.
He has a shot at the NYSPHSAA career record of 2,613 set by Ken Wood in 1989, and could also challenge the overall mark of PSAL legend Sebastian Telfair for Abraham Lincoln in 2004. Former Archbishop Molloy great Kenny Anderson is No. 2 on the overall scoring list at 2,621.
Wrestling Championships Staying in Albany
The Times Union Center in Albany will serve as the venue for the NYSPHSAA wrestling tournament for at least the next four years, the organization announced.
The 2009 championships are scheduled for Feb. 27-28.
The event attracted 15,000 spectators over two days in Albany in 2007 and was held in Rochester last season.
John Schiano, who has written about high school sports in western and central New York for more than 25 years, covers New York for MaxPreps. He may be reached at johnschianosports@gmail.com.
