In both rowing and gymnastics, elite athletes with roots at Fayetteville-Manlius High School are continuing to make their alma mater proud.
Dana Moffat, who just graduated from F-M last June, continued her ascension in rowing circles by winning a gold medal for the United states at the World Junior Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the same course where the Summer Olympics will get staged next year.
Meanwhile, men’s gymnast Paul Ruggeri, who graduated from F-M in 2007, earned a spot on Team USA and is headed to the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, which take place from Oct. 23 to Nov. 1.
Moffat, a few weeks from heading to the University of California at Berkeley, made her way to Rio to take part in the women’s fours late in July with fellow crew members Kaitlyn Kynast (Ridgefield, Connecticut), Marlee Blue and Katy Willingham, both of whom hail from Seattle, Washington.
Just after arriving, though, Moffat fell ill, a condition that she said cost her seven pounds and more than a day’s worth of training. Some attributed illnesses to the waters of Rodrigo de Freitas Lake, the 2016 Olympic course that remains a source of pollution. No less than 13 U.S. athletes and a quartet of coaches dealt with illness while in Rio.
In time, though, Moffat got over that illness and went to work with her U.S. boat, advancing through the early rounds, though finishing second to favored Germany in an Aug. 6 heat. This was the same German side that beat Moffat’s crew at the 2014 World Junior Championships.
Since then, though, Moffat had added state and national rowing titles at F-M, adding to a resume that included a junior world championship in indoor rowing.
Now, Moffat, along with Kynast, Blue and Willingham, returned to Rodrigo de Freitas Lake for the Aug. 8 finals. The U.S. four took the lead at the outset and kept stretching out that advantage through the first 1,500 meters.
Though the American boat tired a bit in the last 500 meters, Moffat, Kynast, Blue and Willingham finished in seven minutes, 9.04 seconds, just 1.15 seconds ahead of the Germans, and won gold. New Zealand took the bronze medal, more than 11 seconds behind.
Moffat said it was, by far, the biggest win of her career, but added that most rowers reach their physical peak in their late 20s, so the odds of her returning to Rio with the U.S. team for the Olympics remain long.
Meanwhile, Ruggeri, who went from F-M to a four-time All-American stint at the University of Illinois, has gradually made his way up the ranks of U.S. men’s gymnastics, culminating in his berth in the World Championships following three years as an alternate selection.
Just this summer, the 26-year-old Ruggeri helped Team USA win a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Toronto, also earning a bronze medal on the high bar and finsihing fifth in the vault.
Then Ruggeri claimed a pair of silver medals – one on the high bar, the other in the vault – at the P&G Championships in Indianapolis, which serves as the national tournament. All of these results helped elevate Ruggeri’s status, with the World Championships an opportunity for him to earn his own Olympic ticket to Rio next summer.
