For the first time in five years, the Clifton Athletic Hall of Fame is inducting new members. The list includes eight record-setting individuals and three storied teams across five sports. Over the next few pages, we highlight the accomplishments of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees. To attend the induction of these Mustangs on Oct. 11, call the CHS Athletic Department at 973-470-2280. To place an ad in the Commemorative Journal, call 973-253-4400. Stories by Tom Szieber
Emily Urciuoli By the time she had finished her athletic career at Clifton High School, Emily Urciuoli had arguably become one of the top ten most decorated athletes in the history of Mustang sports. She was truly a model student-athlete—self-motivated, talented and dedicated to performing well in both the classroom and the pit. Ironically, it was all due to what Urciuoli referred to as a “lucky accident.” A gymnast for 12 years, Urciuoli developed an interest in track and field following a conversation between her father, former Clifton Board of Education commissioner Mike, and then-Clifton girls track coach Andy Piotrowski. The latter had learned about Urciuoli’s athletic background, and suggested to Mike that she might enjoy his summer pole vault camp during the summer before her freshman year. The rest, as they say, is history. “Coach Piotrowski always said that gymnasts and 70 August 2015 • Clifton Merchant
soccer players made great pole vaulters,” Urciuoli recalled. “I had a productive summer, but needed quite a bit of work. Luckily, I liked it enough to join the indoor track team after [my freshman] gymnastics season ended. My parents wanted me to participate in a sport every season, and my brother was a member of the track team, so I happily obliged. After a few weeks, I fell in love with the sport and quit gymnastics.” The change seemed to work out for her, as, by the time she finished her career in indoor and spring track, she had broken records and accomplished more than any girls track athlete before her. For her many achievements in Mustang maroon, she will be honored with one more this October—a spot as an inductee in the Clifton High School 2015 Athletic Hall of Fame. As a junior in the spring of 2009, she added that perhaps the greatest feather in her cap was winning an individual state title and a gold medal at the state Meet of