Page 12 - Alumni Horae: Vol. 93, No. 1 Fall 2012

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carrying his ass, and he was dragging my
point totals down.”
Ice hockey for adults in Southern Cali-
fornia is more common than one might
imagine, but Grant says his league features
players almost exclusively from NEPSAC
schools like St. Paul’s, Lawrence Academy,
GDA, Tabor, NMH, Canterbury, and others.
The long hockey tradition of SPS is well
documented. Pick-up games on the ponds
and some of the best prep school hockey
in the country helped produce players
with a lifelong love of the game. CJ Ficek
’97, who played college hockey at UNH
and in Europe after his two years at SPS,
remains connected to the sport as a
product manager for Nike Bauer Hockey.
As with so many players who suited up
at SPS, the game carries distinct memo-
ries for Ficek. The New Hampshire resi-
dent recently finished up a summer
league in which his gang of “old men”
won the championship.
“Having a chance to compete against
college kids at my age is always challeng-
ing, yet rewarding,” says Ficek. “Obviously,
my competitive playing career has been
over for many years, but my passion for
the sport will always be there, so I wel-
come the opportunity to still compete at
a decent level.”
Countless SPS graduates pursue their
athletic interests for other reasons as
well. It is akin to breathing, part of their
makeup, a means of survival. Greg
Fowlkes ’87 works on Wall Street, but
he is most comfortable on his bike. Near-
ing his mid-40s, Fowlkes isn’t content
with leisurely weekend treks though
Long Island. He is a fixture on the New
York City cycling scene, competing in
numerous events each year. His biggest
achievement thus far was placing second
out of 92 racers in his division at the
40-mile 2010 Bear Mountain Spring
Classic in New York.
“I still really enjoy the competition –
the rush of going shoulder-to-shoulder
with someone at 30 mph on the last lap
of a race never seems to get old,” says
Fowlkes, “…and the camaraderie among
racers is great.”
Alison Crocker ’02, a Rhodes Scholar
from Dartmouth who received the Loomis
Medal as best female athlete at St. Paul’s,
spends her days as a post-doctoral fellow
in astronomy at the University of Massa-
chusetts-Amherst. A rare athlete, Crocker,
who has been a nationally ranked Nordic
skier, has discovered a new sport that suits
her skills, personality, and intellect: she is
a world-class competitor in orienteering
and ski-orienteering. Though those who
know her will be unsurprised, Crocker is
not only competing on an international
level, she’s the best American woman in
the sport.
At the most recent orienteering world
championships in Lausanne, Switzerland,
she finished 20th in the sprint race, the
highest an American has ever placed in
orienteering. Next up is the ski orienteer-
ing world championships (March 3-11,
2013) in Kazakhstan. Leave it to the astro-
physicist to pursue what amounts to
adventure racing on land and snow.
“The sport is basically cross country
running (or skiing), but you have to find
your own way around the course using
a map, compass, and a series of points
you must find,” she explains.
With a federation of 73 member coun-
tries, orienteering isn’t exactly Quidditch.
The sport has a growing following, and
Crocker feels the tug to compete as much
as she ever did.
“I really love the sport,” she says. “I
still feel like I’m improving and have
the ability to move up in the interna-
tional rankings, maybe make a bid for
first-ever U.S. top 10.”
Keeping in shape beyond the compe-
titive high school and college years can
be a challenge. The elliptical machine
can only be so inviting, but friendly com-
petition, a set day on the schedule, and
playing with friends keeps SPS graduates
suiting up. Rector Mike Hirschfeld ’85
continues to play hockey in the weekly
games on campus that include New
Hampshire Governor John Lynch and
graduates such as Frank Kenison ’70.
Countless Halcyon and Shattuck rowers
still find their way to the water. Josh
Crosby ’93, Hilary Parkhurst ’80, and
many others remain active crewbies.
Tom Charlton ’52, an Olympic gold
medalist, only recently retired from
masters rowing. Others, such as Crocker
and Jamie Koven ’91, carry a determina-
tion that is different in scope.
Koven remains the rower whom all
graduates must be measured against.
A managing director for a private invest-
ment arm of JPMorgan Chase, the father
of three decided 24 months ago to come
out of his retirement from international
rowing. A two-time world champion and
two-time Olympian, Koven narrowly
missed qualifying for the 2012 London
Olympics in a two-year process that
involved putting his life on hold to train
with U.S. Rowing in San Diego.
Amory Rowe ’91’s idea of putting things
on hold is a bit different from that of most
adults. The founder of In the Arena, an
organization that supports Olympic ath-
letes and strives to connect them with
local communities, Rowe deflects any
notion of her status as an athlete.
“Other than running 70-80 miles a
week and striving to catch my two- and
three-and-a-half-year-olds as they zip
about the house, I’m not much of an ath-
lete anymore,” she says.
Rowe is the example of the athlete who
still craves the heart-rate elevation of
competition. A three-sport star at SPS,
Rowe was also a two-sport All-American
ADRIAN ZISSOS
Crocker competes at the 2011 World
Orienteering Championships in France.