Friday, Sept. 8, 2017: Geneseo runner, 14, struck and killed by car

   Leading off today: A Geneseo 14-year-old was struck and killed by a car Thursday during a cross country team practice, school and law enforcement officials said.

   Claire Allen, an accomplished road racer who had just started her freshman year, was running with a friend on Route 39 north of the school at about 4:20 p.m. according to Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty. A statement from the school district called her "amazingly bright and energetic. She was an incredibly kind and gentle friend to her classmates."

   Livingston County Sheriff's officers were continuing their investigation Friday. "It's too early to say, but I don't think anything will be suspicious," Dougherty said. "It looks like a horrible accident, but I want to stress that it's preliminary."

   Allen was at least the fifth scholastic athlete to die in less than a month and the third whose life was taken in activities related to a sport. Previously:

    •Sachem East football player Joshua Mileto, 16, died Aug. 10 when a heavy log being carried by several athletes during an offseason conditioning camp fell and struck him in the head.

    •Waverly three-sport athlete Paul Girolamo, 16, was killed Aug. 19 in a one-car crash in Tioga County in Pennsylvania.

    •Mount St. Michael football player Dominic Bess, 14, collapsed and died while running sprints on his second day of freshman practice Aug. 22.

    •Akron senior football player Johnny Fiebelkorn, 17, a standout athlete who broke the school record for career wrestling victories last season, died Aug. 26 in a one-car crash in Alden.

   Sobering perspective: The combined age of the five young athletes who've perished since Aug. 10 is 77 years. On average, the overall life expectancy for someone born in this country in 2015 is 78.8 years.

   Like the others, Claire Allen had so much to look forward to in adulthood and had much to offer. Just last weekend, she'd placed fourth in the women's division of the nearby Oak Tree 5K road race in 21:41. In June 2016, Allen was profiled by the Livingston County News after having raised $600 for the Breast Cancer Coalition at the agency's annual road race.

   Notice of lawsuit: Joshua Mileto's family has filed notice they intend to sue the Sachem Central School District and Sachem East Touchdown Club Inc. for $15 million in damages, Newsday reported. Attorney Jay Dankner said the family is seeking compensation for pain, suffering and death.

   Mileto died after being struck on the head by a 400-pound log he and other players were carrying during a conditioning workout the week before the official start of football practice. Dankner says such training was inappropriate and unsafe for high school players.

   A spokeswoman told the newspaper the district doesn't comment on pending litigation. Club officials, who operated the preseason camp, didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

ADVERTISEMENT

    • Mileto's No. 5 jersey will be retired during a ceremony at Sachem East at noon Saturday, two hours before the season-opening kickoff against Lindenhurst.

   Girls soccer: Annie Coogan scored in the first half and the goal stood up as Calhoun defeated Massapequa 1-0 on

RoadToSyracuse.com football site

Thursday in a rematch of last year's Section 8 Class AA title game. Massapequa is the four-time reigning Long Island champion with NYSPHSAA crowns in 2013, '14 and '15.

   "We've been going through trying to beat Massapequa for years and years and it's been getting closer and closer," Coogan said. "I can't believe it finally happened."

   Added Colts coach James Raucci: "We talked more about how hard we wanted to play, the effort in between plays and just leaving no doubt that we played the hardest we could."

   Julia Miguel posted the shutout in goal.

   Football Week 2: We've updated the full schedule for Week 2 of the New York high school season, with the CHSFL, PSAL and most of Long Island joining the fray for the first time in 2017.

   The Spectrum schedule for Friday night cablecasts and streaming across Upstate New York has also been refreshed.

   Also, News 12 Varsity has an extensive streaming schedule this fall. I haven't had a chance to format a version myself, but you can check out their schedule page.

   Scheduling oddity: News 12 Varsity points out that Saturday's game marks the third time in a row over two seasons that Oceanside is playing Massapequa.

   Oceanside won the 2016 regular-season finale, but the Chiefs captured the Nassau County quarterfinal the following weekend. And Saturday, of course, is their 2017 opener.

   More from me online: My weekly column for the Press & Sun-Bulletin highlights some of the records in sports other than football the seemingly cannot be broken. Two holes-in-one during a single round of gold certainly fits the description.

   You can explore what else made the list here.

   Catching up: I've fallen behind on highlighting some outstanding features and profiles. One of them came along last weekend from Jeff DiVeronica in Rochester, who wrote about Churchville-Chili soccer player Alex Vogelwede, who has had to overcome leukemia, meningitis and five months of pain so intense in his legs that he told his mother he wished they could be amputated.