74 The QUEE NS Courier • october 22, 2015 for breaking news visit www.qns.com sports Queens College baseball stadium named after former student athlete Photos courtesy Queens College Queens College has named their baseball field Hennekens Stadium after former student athlete Dr. Charles Hennekens (middle). By Anthony Giudice agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com What’s in a name? The Queens College Athletics Program named its baseball field “Hennekens Stadium” on Oct. 17, in honor of Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., class of 1963, who excelled in varsity basketball and baseball while a student at Queens College. The stadium’s new sign bearing Hennekens’ name was unveiled during the college’s homecoming weekend where Hennekens threw out the first pitch for a Queens College baseball team scrimmage game. “My amazing, fabulous, uneducated, working-class parents instilled in me the values of getting an excellent education — which Queens College provided to me — as well as the importance of giving back,” Hennekens said. “I am thrilled, honored and humbled on this occasion.” Known as “Flash” during his playing days, Hennekens was the team captain, high scorer and most valuable player for the school’s basketball team. He also won the Regan-Stein Award during his senior year. Hennekens was also the cocaptain of the baseball team and received the Long Island Press Athlete-Scholar Award as a Phi Beta Kappa graduate. In addition to his athletic skills, Hennekens is also a world-renowned scientist, earning the #81 ranking by Science Heroes for “Most Lives Saved in History” for discovering that aspirin prevents a first heart attack and can prevent death when given during or after a heart attack. Hennekens has also conducted seminal research on health-promoting drug therapies and positive lifestyle changes related to smoking and obesity. In 2014, he was awarded the Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Health for discovering the multiple hazards of smoking and oral contraceptives on heart attacks. As one of the top 100 graduates in Queens College history, Hennekens joins such luminaries as Paul Simon, Jerry Seinfeld and Marvin Hamlisch. He is the first, and only, inductee to both the Queens College Achievement and Queens College Athletics Halls of Fame. “This is a first for our Department of Athletics here at Queens College,” said China Jude, assistant vice president of athletics. “Dr. Hennekens is one of the many talented scholar-athletes to pass through our doors. We appreciate his generous gift, his serving as an athletics volunteer and his research and scholarship that have profoundly impacted countless lives.” Currently, Hennekens serves as first Sir Richard Doll Professor and senior academic adviser to the dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fl. Francis Lewis HS assistant principal running in NYC Marathon against all odds BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport One educator from Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows is running in his first marathon, the New York City Marathon, on Nov. 1 with an eye condition that could cause him to go completely blind. Patrick Dunphy, assistant principal of the social studies department at Francis Lewis HS, was diagnosed with Stickler Syndrome, a hereditary condition that can affect the retina and deteriorate eyesight, at 16 years old. “I began to see floaters that looked like someone had sprinkled pepper in my left eye. Thinking that it would go away, I pretty much kept it to myself,” Dunphy said. “These floaters began to grow exponentially and I continued, naively, to keep it to myself now out of some fear that it was in fact something terrible.” It turned out that Dunphy’s retina had almost completely detached, and he required surgery to prevent it from coming off altogether. “So now, 16 years later and the assistant principal for the social studies department at Francis Lewis High School, I had the same ordeal occur in my right eye this past summer,” he added. Dunphy needed an additional surgery to fix his right eye. Now, with two eye surgeries under his belt, Dunphy is taking on a new challenge, running in the NYC Marathon. “I have never run in a marathon before. I have run in seven half-marathons including the Long Island, Brooklyn and NYC. I ran cross-country at Carle Place MS/HS in Carle Place, Long Island, where I grew up and now live,” Dunphy said. “I have always felt that any marathon is the epitome of physical challenge. Doing it in the greatest city in the world is even better. My father is from Woodside. I am a St. John’s University graduate. I have taught in both Far Rockaway and now in Fresh Meadows and my wife is from Marine Park, Brooklyn. So, though I am not personally from the city I feel myself to be a part of it.” Dunphy is using his diagnosis with Stickler Syndrome and participation in the NYC Marathon to run for the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), an organization that helps those with vision loss. “I started to hate that I wasn’t running for a charity, especially given what I had gone through. I wanted to do something for someone else as so many had done for me,” he said. “I looked into AFB and I loved the shared vision they had for camaraderie and helping people through vision loss. I felt for people who lost their vision and never got it back. I hope that’s never me but AFB promoted awareness before an issue and a great life with vision loss. This is why I joined the AFB team.” Dunphy has been training for the NYC Marathon for several months, but lost a significant amount of time due to his most recent eye surgery in July. That did not deter him, as he continued to train and prepare for the longest race he has ever run. “I also like the discipline this type of lifestyle offers. After doing my first half marathon, I thought I’d never do another one because I felt under-conditioned,” Dunphy said. “I ended up realizing that I just needed to pay greater attention to my body and its needs in order to accomplish things like this. I hope to finish under five hours. I just really want to enjoy my first marathon.” “I really owe a lot to my very understanding family, especially my loving wife, Stefanie,” he added. “She has kept me steady and aware of my eye issues. Also, my team, my cousin Michael Sciortino and good friend Carmine Fischetti.” Photo courtesy Patrick Dunphy Patrick Dunphy (right) with teammate Carmine Fischetti (left).
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