2024
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Federspiel Family - May 2024
Pictured from left: Micheal Fauci, Brooke Fauci, John Evans (setup guru), Joanne Federspiel, Jim Federspiel, Driver Geoff Federspiel.
Picture courtesy of Dirty Lens Photography.
FedcoSpeed Racing 21G sweeps race at Limerock Speedway. Written by Jim Federspiel.May 18 at Limerock Speedway in Caledonia NY, was the setting for both a winning night and other firsts for the FedcoSpeed Racing 21G Micro Sprint Team, driven by Islander Geoff Federspiel. Geoff sweep the first race attended at the track this season with not only fast time in hot laps, heat, and feature, but also won both his heat race as well as the feature event in the 600 Wingless Micro Sprint Class. It was also the first win for the newly developed MINT CHASSIS , built by long time micro racer Micheal Fauci of Spencerport NY.Micheal developed the concept for his own chassis after years of racing and working for Hyper Racing in Pa, as well as running a driver development team along side his wife Brooke. The micro sprint arena if full of Hyper cars and to beat them in a newly designed car is a big deal.
We will be running at Limerock Speedway as well as numerous races in Pa, New Jersey, and Delaware. Our team will race the KKM Challenge Race, May 29-June 1st at Clyde Martin Speedway in Pa, as well as Hyper 600 Speedweek in July, support class for the USAC Eastern Storm Series , and Extreme Midget Series in August. This is our 5th main event win and 7th heat victory , in only our 3rd season running. Last season Geoff won a heat race during speedweek and we qualified for 3 out of the 5 nights in a row we ran. FedcoSpeed also won the First responders Night race on Sept 9th at Limerock.
We would like to Thank the Grand Island Businesses that help support us this season. They are: Woodchuck Tree Service, Top Notch Sewer and Drain Cleaning, Double D Construction, Childress Performance and Fitness, Wheelfind Automotive.
Mackenzie Wright - May 2024
Buffalo News Story - Grand Island resident Mackenzie Wright, award winning baton twirler. See article.
Luke Hess - May 2024
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Three University at Buffalo students and one alumna have received prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) scholarships. The latest awards continue UB's success in placing its students as winners in the GRFP scholarship program. Launched in 1952, the GRFP represents the oldest continuous investment in the nation's science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce. As one of the most competitive scholastic programs in the U.S., it recruits high-potential, early-career scientists and engineers, and supports their graduate research training.Luke Hess (Grand Island, New York)
Hess graduates from UB this spring with a BS in biochemistry and will pursue a PhD in cancer biology at the University of Michigan. He conducted research in biochemistry professor Jennifer Surtees's lab at UB and at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center under Katerina Gurova. His research pertains to understanding genomic instability and characterizing next-generation chemotherapies, called chromatin damaging agents. Hess has also served as a Civic Engagement Alternative Break team leader, Ready-Set-Buffalo team leader and is an academic tutor.
See complete press release HERE.
Aiden Daghestani - May 2024
Tridelphia, WV. A life-long resident of Grand Island, and 2nd grade student at Huth Road Elementary, Aiden Daghestani was crowned wrestling champion at the annual "Tournament of Champions" on April 27, 2024 in the 60-pound Bantam division. The "Tournament of Champions" - as it is officially named - is referred to as America's #1 toughest and largest youth wrestling tournament, with the best wrestlers in the country going head-to-head with hopes of being crowned national champions. Aiden's 20-man bracket was stacked with multiple state champions from across the US with impressive accolades on a national level. After defeating Jace Hughes from Georgia in the round of 16, he went on in the quarter-finals to beat Michigan State champion Dawson Bittinger. Afterwards, Aiden faced Kentucky State champion Kaysen Mabry in the semi-finals. Mabry had won all his previous matches without giving up any points, but Aiden was able to pull off the win and move on to the championship bout against Georgia State champion Luke Autin. Aiden went on to take an early lead and defeat Autin by score of 6-0 and become champion of champions.Prior to winning Tournament of Champions, Aiden won New York State championship on March 9, 2024. Aiden has won his last 6 tournaments and is on a 25-match winning streak. Aiden's success is attributed to highly successful coaches Tony Kuhn from Niagara Wheatfield Wrestling and Jeff Catrabone from Revolution Elite Wrestling. The Tournament of Champions had historically been held in Columbus, Ohio. However, it has been held in Tridelphia, West Virginia since 2021.
Jaimen Wright and Peyton Abbott - April 2024
Jaimen Wright and Peyton Abbott, both seniors at Grand Island High School, travelled to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to participate in the USA hockey 18U National tournament. They played a round robin in the beginning of the tourament with 3 teams from around the country. They advanced into the quarter finals on Friday where they faced the Reston Raiders from VIrginia and won in an overtime victory. They then faced the Cleveland Crusaders on Saturday and won that battle as well. That brought them to the National championship on Sunday. Their opponent was the St Clair Shores from Michigan. Sadly the Grand Island boys and their Cheektowaga team lost in the last 36 seconds of the game. But they still came away from the weekend #2 in the national. That's a great accomplishment for the Western New York area
Jaimen Wright and Peyton Abbott - April 2024
Jaimen Wright and Peyton Abbott participated in the 18U Tier II New York State Amateur Hockey tournament this past weekend at the Northtown Center. They played Wheatfield Blades in the quarterfinals, then the Mid Hudson Polar Bears in the semi fials and the Rochester Coalition to win the championship game. They will be traveling to Pittsburgh to participate in the national tournament in April.
Aiden Daghestani - March 2024
Second Grader Aiden Daghestani, student at Huth elementary school, won NY State Wrestling Championship in the 57-pound weight category held at the Exposition Center in Syracuse, NY on Sat. 3-9-2024. This annual event is organized by New York Wrestling Association for Youth (NYWAY) and over 2,600 wrestlers from all over NY, spanning multiple age groups and weight classes, took part in this wrestling event over the past weekend.
To qualify for a chance to compete at the State Championship, Aiden had to place among top 6 at one of 6 Regional Championship qualifying events that are spread out across the state. Aiden qualified by taking first place in the Far Western Regional Championship on 3-3-2024, which was held in Gowanda, before heading to Syracuse the following week and winning State Championship by going 5-0 in an elimination bracket that pitted the best wrestlers in the state against each other. The level of talent at the tournament is quite impressive considering the wrestlers that made it there are not only the best in the state, but also some are nationally ranked among the best in the country. Worth noting is Aiden did not give up a single point during any of his wrestling bouts at the State Championship. Grand Island does not offer youth wrestling programs. Therefore, Aiden practices at the Niagara Wheatfield program under coach Tony Kuhn.
