From AYF Olympics 2012 Special Issue
BOSTON, Mass.—With the spirit of Mal Varadian hovering over a $200 million stadium, Providence pulled out all the stops and answered their spiritual leader with a resounding victory in this 79th anniversary AYF Olympics.
In what was expected to be a three-team race, the suspense was there as all 3 battled it out to the very end before the “Varantians” prevailed with 176 points.
Host “Greater Boston” settled for second with 145 points after sweeping both pentathlons at the end to overtake Philly. The “Sebouhs” finished a credible third with 124 points.
After winning the crown last year in Chicago, defending-champion Detroit could do no better than fourth this time around, ending with a scant 49 points compared to 181 last year, as many of its top guns failed to show.
Fifth place went to New Jersey with 39 points, followed by the Hagopian-led Granite City team with 23, and Worcester with 20. The “Arams” took home the Most Improved Chapter Award after fielding a team of a dozen athletes for the first time in six years.
Toronto made a worthy appearance with 16 points, followed by Chicago, 12, Montreal, 5, and North Andover, 3. Also participating were Racine and Washington.
In all, 13 chapters took part in these games, represented by 200 athletes in what can be regarded as a noted success given the previous numbers.
The recent death of Mal Varadian might have been the motivating factor in this one. Losing a pillar of the community weeks before gave the “Varantians” just the right spirit to pull this out with the obvious numbers and talented athletes. They fielded a team of 40, dressed in black jerseys with the Varadian name prominently displayed.
His place at the usual pep rally that week was assumed by son Michael, who was a chip off dad’s block with words of encouragement. These “Varantians” were not to be denied.
Greater Boston showed up with 50 athletes and was expected to pose a threat. The “Nejdehs” did just that as the lead tethered throughout the afternoon. Philly wasn’t to be denied either, with enough brawn in the lineup to make it interesting.
At one point early in the games, it was Philly (77), Providence (76), and Greater Boston (45), with most of those points coming in the pool. A later update had Providence over Philly, 109-105, with Boston lagging at 69.
But it was too little-too late for the “Nejdehs” to close the deficit, despite the flurry of points at the end.
For Providence, this marked the 39th championship in chapter history, dating back to 1934 when the games were officially launched. The only other chapter in double figures is Detroit with 14 titles. Meanwhile, the “Varantians” have racked up more than 7,300 points over their fabled history.
If comparisons are made, Providence last prevailed in 2009 at home in what was even a greater tussle with Philly, 252-232, with Boston at 46. The “Nejdehs” have truly surfaced as an AYF power with 100 Juniors waiting in the wings.
Wasn’t it just two years ago that Philly bounced back with a vengeance, scoring 296.5 points? And beat Providence by 175 points? It’s been that kind of an Olympic trade-off the past five years and destined to get better, given the rise of stellar athletes in the various chapters.
New Jersey gained some solace by winning its third consecutive softball title rather handily. In fact, it was so lopsided that the mercy rule was exercised in all three games.
New newcomers to the pentathlon scene gave Greater Boston double the pleasure. Honors went to Nairi Krafian (2,080), who took over for her sister Araxi, and Vigen Sarkisov (2,560).
There were five high scorers with 15 points apiece. Three of them hailed from Providence: Greg Hamalian (800, 1,600, and 3,200); Stephen Tutunjian (long jump, triple jump, and high jump), and Lynne Tutunjian (25 free, 50 breast, and 25 butterfly).
They were joined by Granite City’s Michelle Hagopian (golf, discus, and baseball throw), who remained undefeated in her seventh year, and Philly’s Mike Kaiserian (50 butterfly, 50 freestyle, and 100 freestyle).
In what was a banner year for records, no fewer than six were broken. Sixteen-year-old newcomer Taleen Shahrigian from Detroit cracked the 800 (2:25.1) and 1,600 (5:17.5).
Tutunjian rewrote two of his own in the long jump (22’2 ¼”) and triple jump (48’4 ½”). The others went to Hamalian in the 1,600 meters (4:33) and Philly’s Lindsey Santerian in the triple jump (33’1”).
Raffi Markarian of Detroit received the Ernest Nahigian Sportsmanship Award, while John Aharonian (Winchester) walked off with the Cory Tosoian Memorial Award for alumni golf. He shot a 78, besting a field of 40 players.
Rich Chebookjian and Ara Krafian were selected as co-Olympic Kings, while Astor Guzelian was recognized for his overwhelming community and church service by accepting the Varadian Spirit Award.
A word of gratitude to Mark Alashaian for keeping the announcements going throughout the day while keeping the stadium informed and updated.
Tom Vartabedian
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