2008 Dern Scholarship winners
Ferguson, Ferlazzo and Goodspeed Win Dern Scholarships
       

Lianna Ferguson of Broadalbin, Elizabeth Ferlazzo of Amsterdam, and Andrew Goodspeed of Fort Johnson have been named winners of the Fulmont Roadrunners Club’s 2009 James R. Dern Memorial Scholarships.  The student-athletes, all graduates of Broadalbin-Perth High School, received their $500 awards last month in ceremonies following the club’s annual Mule Haul road race.
 
Lianna,  the daughter of Kevin and Amanda Ferguson, was a six-year member of the varsity cross country and track teams at Broadalbin-Perth High, and will be attending Colorado’s Mesa State College, where she will run competitively while majoring in psychology.  She plans to advance into education and become an elementary school teacher.
 
As a runner at B-P, Lianna competed three times in the prestigious New York State Cross Country Championship, the first in 2005 after she led the team to its first-ever Section II Class B Championship. In addition, she went to the NYS Track and Field Championship twice, in 2008 and again this year, as a 400-meter hurdler.  Lianna also excelled academically, achieving a 90-plus grade point average, and as a basketball player.  Outside of sports, she was active in a number of school organizations, including the National Honor Society, Peer Leaders, and S.A.D.D., and also as a volunteer, on projects benefitting her church, school, and Broadalbin youths.  She was co-president of her sophomore, junior, and senior classes.
 
The daughter of Michael and Clare Ferlazzo, Elizabeth also was a six-year member of the B-P’s varsity cross country and track teams and also an outstanding basketball player.  She will be majoring in physical therapy (health sciences) at The College at Brockport and hopes eventually to obtain doctorate and medical degrees and work with children in a rehabilitation hospital. 
 
In her six-year varsity cross-country career, Elizabeth earned five trips to the New York State Cross Country Championship,  leading the team to three Section II Class B Championships. She received the Coach’s Award in 2006 and was named Most Valuable Runner in 2007 for her achievements in cross country, and she was voted the most valuable track athlete those same years.  While excelling in the three varsity sports, she maintained a 95 GPA, earning membership in the National Honor Society, and she was co-president of her freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes.
 
Andrew, the son of Edward and Cheryl Goodspeed, ran varsity cross country and track at B-P for four years.  He will be studying biology at the State University of New York at Geneseo and hopes to follow that up with medical school and career as a physician.
 
Like the other scholarship recipients, Andrew excelled both academically—he was fifth in his class with a 96 GPA—and athletically.  As an individual, he qualified for the NYS Cross Country Championship the past three years, and this year he led the B-P team to its first-ever Section II Class B Championship and first-ever trip as a team to the NYS championship event.  He also shined in track, where he was a member of the school’s record-setting 4x800-meter team.  In addition to his running, Andrew was active in B-P’s recycling club. He was treasurer of his sophomore and junior classes and vice president of his senior class. 
 
Lianna, Elizabeth, and Andrew bring to 32 the number of recipients of the scholarship that bears the name of the late Jim Dern, a Canajoharie resident, Beech-Nut executive, and longtime running enthusiast and Fulmont Roadrunners Club member.  The scholarships are awarded to college-bound seniors from Fulton and Montgomery County high schools, along with club members from other high schools, who have competed in varsity running programs for at least two years. Applicants are judged on work ethic, leadership skills, sportsmanship, commitment to running team goals, and respect of peers.
 
With this year’s awards, more than $14,500 in scholarships have been granted to young men and women from nine high schools. The awards program is chaired by Stuart Palczak, an FMRRC member who teaches at Amsterdam High School and heads its running program. The first scholarships were awarded in 1995.
. Applicants are judged on work ethic, leadership skills, sportsmanship, commitment to running team goals, and respect of peers.
 
With this year’s awards, more than $13,000 in scholarships have been granted to young men and women from nine high schools. The awards program began in 1995.