Scholastic Roundup: St. Joe’s tabs Tyler Bay

July 7, 2023 Andy Furman

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Tyler Bay is the new men’s and women’s cross-country head coach at St. Joseph’s University (Brooklyn).

“He is the perfect for our men’s and women’s cross-country program and we look forward to the future under Tyler’s leadership,” Margaret Alaimo, Director of Athletics and Recreation said in a prepared statement.

A four-year cross-country and track and field student-athlete at Queens College, Bay was a member of the 2013 and 2014 East Coast Conference (ECC) Outdoor Track and Field Championship-winning teams; claiming individual titles in the 5,000-10,000-meter events in 2013. Hew also earned ECC first-team praise in each of the two aforementioned outdoor seasons as well as in the 2014 indoor season in the 3,000-and 5,000-meter disciplines.

The Woodhaven, New York resident was enrolled in the prestigious Macaulay Honors Program – and was a two-time ECC Outdoor Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, earning the distinction in 2014 and 2015. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Studies, graduating summa cum laude.

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Alan Balkan, the New Utrecht High School football coach is chomping at the bit – he’s sent a letter to all Green and White alums on the upcoming season.

“We return 20 players from last year’s team,” he wrote after Spring practice, “and will have about a 30-man varsity roster to start the season.
“A winning attitude is very important,” he continued, “and by what we saw in Spring ball this team has that desire to win with a great attitude and work ethic. Practice went extremely well and the kids made great strides in the month of May.”

Balkan went on to say his players got much stronger over the past six months and he adds that Utrecht will have over 15 kids that squat three plates or-more, which is unbelievable.

“Ou entire coaching staff returns for another season which is critical in achieving team success,” he said. “The strength of our team will lie in the trenches this year, with all five offensive linemen plus three-more and all four defensive linemen, plus five more, being plugged into action.”

Tyler Honan will quarterback the club, and his twin brother Dylan will be his backup. “Both young men are also our two starting outside linebackers and will not come off the field,” Balkan said.

Utrecht graduated their best player from last year — middle linebacker Zenobi Brown, who is attending State University of New York at Morrisville – yet Balkan believes 6-1, 210-pounder Akil Cameron will carry the ball.

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Michael Malone recently won the NBA championship as head coach of the Denver Nuggets; his dad is Brendan Malone – a grad of Rice High School and Iona College who went on to coach basketball at Power Memorial High School, Fordham University, Yale and served as an assistant with the New York Knicks (’86-88, ’96-2000, and ’03-04).

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Rali Mihaylova completed an MBA while competing for three years with the LIU cross-country and track teams – and will soon earn a master’s degree in data analytics as well.

Now home in her native Parma, Italy, and competing with her hometown running club, Mihaylova set a personal best in the 1,500 meters last month.

Her 4:33.77 time would haver broken the LIU program record (4:33.99) had it been accomplished while competing weeks earlier with the Sharks.

In two years as a graduate student with the Sharks, Mihaylova was a four-time Commissioner’s and Academic Honor Roll achiever. She earned second-team All-NEC honors with the track and field team this past season.

“Thanks to LIU,” she told Andrew Choades on the Sharks’ website, “I was able to move to the other side of the ocean, and gained more international experience. It allowed me to get a competitive master’s and train at the same time.

“Being an international student is stressful, but training at LIU definitely helped me to manage it in a better way.”

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LIU men’s soccer coach Michael Mordocco reports his team is hosting ID Clinics this summer. “This will prove to be a great opportunity to showcase your skills not only in front of our staff, but other collegiate coaches as well,” he said.
Clinic dates are set for: July 24th at LIU, C.W. Post campus; July31-August 3rd at Deer Park, New York; and August 6th at LIU, C.W. Post campus. For further information www.sharksoccerschool.com.

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Weeks after their standout performances at the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the conference handed-out recognition to several LIU student-athletes.

Faith Shaw received Most Outstanding Field Performer Throws and also earned first-team All-NEC recognition for the discus.

Also on the women’s side, the 4×100 meter relay team of Alessandra Pastor, Shaunelle Wallace, Camille Watson and London Claxton received second-team All-NEC honors.

Pastor additionally was named to the NEC All-Rookie Team for the 400-m hurdles, while Tess Duignan and Rali Mihaylova received second-team All-NEC recognition for the 800-m and 1,500-m, respectively.

With the men, Jordan McKenzie picked up first-team All-NEC honors in the 200-m and second-team All-NEC in the 100-m. Elyas Ayyoub was a first-team, honoree for the 5,000-m; and TJ Roberts received second-team honors in thew 400-m hurdles.

Shaw won the discus at the NEC Outdoor Championships in North Andover, Mass., while McKenzie won the 200-m and Ayyoub won the 5,000-m.

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Spencer Ross, the New Utrecht grad who became a Hall of Fame broadcaster – he called play-by-play for every New York professional team – and two years with the Boston Celtics – comments on Boys High School basketball.

“You mentioned former Boys High basketball coach Mickey Fisher,” he writes. “He was truly a giant in a field populated by coaching greats in New York City. His teams were spectacular.”

Ross mentions players like SiHugo Green – NBA No. 1 draft choice in 1956 – Tommy Davis – All-City basketball, who went on to lead the National League in hitting twice playing for the Dodgers; and, of course, Connie Hawkins, the man who changed the way the game of basketball was played.

The Hawk, says Ross, truly loved his coach – Fisher.

“He told me one time that till the day coach died, he never called him anything but ‘Mr. Fisher,’” Ross wrote.
Respect and love.

Morris Meyer “Mickey” Fisher was the basketball coach for the Kangaroos of Boys High School for 23 years and of the Israel national basketball team preparing them for the 1960 Summer Olympics, and was the Brandies University acting athletic director,

The New York Post described him as “The incomparable Mickey Fisher,” Newsday and The Jewish Post described Fisher as “legendary,” and The New York Times called him, “The most successful high school basketball coach in New York City.”

Lenny Wilkens, the Hall of Famer who played for Fisher at Boys High, told the Brooklyn Eagle: “Coach Fisher said I had great court vision.”

Under Fisher, Boys High went undefeated and won the PSAL title in 1959 – Boys again went undefeated and won the 1960 PSAL title.

In fact, five of his teams he coached won PSAL titles — four of them in the six years from 1957 to 1962. In one stretch his teams won 60 games and lost two.

Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: andyf@#brooklyneagle.com Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR.