More than 200 Long Island athletes, coaches and officials were on hand for the third Long Island Track & Field (LITF) Awards Brunch, held recently in the dining room of the KeySpan Corporation facility in Hicksville.

Long Island Track & Field is the Nassau/Suffolk arm of USA Track & Field, the official national governing body for the sports of track and field, long distance running, cross country running and race walking.

This year's Awards Brunch was highlighted by special LITF "President's Awards" to Long Island Sports Commission Executive Director Regina Zara; KeySpan Corporation and its Special Programs Chair Philip Maroney; Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto; the Renna family; Cross Country Youth Camp Administrators Peter McNeill and Alex Young; Patti Kemler and Paul Giordano of the Nassau County Department of Recreation and Parks; and to the Greater Long Island Running Club in recognition of their dedicated support for athletics and Long Island Track & Field.

Awards for the "Athletes of the Year" in Long Island athletics were also presented to: Long Distance Running Champions Carlos Castro Jr. and Regina Ronan; Masters Long Distance Running Champions Don Di Donato and Kathy Martin; Senior Long Distance Running Champion Guy Froehlig; Open Track & Field Champions Floyd Mayne and Carol Senn; Masters Track & Field Champions Rick Lapp and Marie-Louise Michelson; Youth Champions Walter Henning and Stephanie Guercioj; and Race/Walk Champions Greg Dawson, Maria Michta, Jim McGrath, Linda Goldstein and Joe Trapani.

The Officials Committee of LITF presented special awards to two outstanding officials, Gary Westerfield and Consuelo Champlin. Awards were also presented to the top finishers in the 2001 KeySpan Grand Prix of Long Island Road Racing, a 21-race series that included virtually all of Long Island's premier road races and involved all of Long Island's top runners in every age group.