Sage Athletics

Troy, NY---- The Sage Colleges has announced the inductees for the 2013 class for The Colleges Athletic Hall of Fame. The three inductees are a former softball and women’s volleyball player, Caitlin (C.J.) Ostrowski (Troy, NY), and former men’s basketball player, Rafael Salazar (New York, NY). Also joining this year’s class is Marie Corrado (Port Washington, NY), a 1950 graduate of Russell Sage College, who will join the Hall of Fame as a contributor to athletics.

The trio will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, February 16 at 5:30 p.m. to be held at the Albany Country Club (Voorheesville, NY). The event costs $35 per person and please RSVP to Rosaire Murphy by telephone at 518-244-2283 or via email murphr@sage.edu by February 1.  The cocktail hour will start at 5:30 p.m. and the dinner will follow at 6 p.m.

Sage started the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993 and has previously inducted 25 individuals, including 21 former student-athletes.

During her outstanding career with Sage’s women’s volleyball program and as a member of the softball team, Caitlin (CJ) Ostrowski (Originally from Hudson, MA/Hudson) distinguished herself as one of the department’s most talented student-athletes. In volleyball, she helped the team post a 71-35 record during her career, while earning numerous individual honors.

As a member of the 2004 team, which went 25-11, she was named to five all-tournament teams, including a selection to the All-Independent Tournament Team, while also earning acclaim as a member of the Game Plan/AVCA All-Academic Team. She was also honored with a spot on the Russell Sage All-Academic Team. In her second season with the volleyball program, she was part of the team that garnered the program’s very first Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament appearance and advanced to the semifinals. The Gators also won the All-Independent Team Tournament and she was honored with a selection as the Tournament Most Valuable Player after ranking 15^th nationally in Division III with her 4.57 kills per set average.

A team captain for the 2005 Gators, she was once again honored for her academic success as she was a team captain and a member of the RSC All-Academic Team and the 2005 AVCA Team Academic Award.

In her final volleyball season, she was an AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention pick as well as the 2006-2007 ECAC Robbins Scholar-Athlete Award recipient. She once again served as a team captain and was awarded academic awards for her success in the classroom from RSC as well as the recipient of an ECAC Merit Medal and the NYSWCAA Scholar-Athlete Award after also earning a spot on the NYSWCAA All-State First Team. By year’s end, she was also honored as the 2006-2007 Sage Athlete of the Year for her excellence on the volleyball court and on the softball diamond.

She finished the season ranked No. 25 in Division III with her 4.42 kills per set average, while also laying claim to numerous Sage volleyball records, many of which still stand today.

She is the Gator volleyball career leader with her 1,411 kills, while also holding the mark for 4.09 kills per set average, while her .292 career hitting percentage is second best at Sage. She is now No. 9 on the career digs list with 1,149, while her 3.36 digs per set average stand ninth and her 90.4 reception percentage is second best as well. She added 130 career aces and ranks tenth. She has also attached her name to many single-season records as she is No. 1 and No. 2 in kills with her 594 in 2005 and 455 in 2006, while ranking in the Top 10 in kills per game, kills percentage, and reception percentage.

On the softball diamond, she was also a three-year letterwinner where she played both infield and outfield for the Gators. As a newcomer in 2005, she had a .298 batting average with a .421 slugging percentage and had three triple to pace the team’s offense. She was a defensive specialist in the field and excelled at whatever position she played at. She was Sage’s utility player and earned the team’s Gator Award one season as well.

In the classroom, she excelled and graduated in less than four years earning her degree in criminal justice. She was the recipient of the Douglas E. Stanley Award for Criminal Justice and participated in the honors program in criminal justice. She was a Dean’s List student as well as a Kellas Scholar, and graduated with summa cum laude honors. Active on the Sage campus as a student-athlete, she was a team captain and a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, while also volunteering with the Sage Crank for the Cure event and Habitat for Humanity. She is a resident of Troy, NY.    

Rafael Salazar (New York, NY/John F. Kennedy) was a major factor in the success of the Sabres’ men’s basketball program during his time on the hardwood from 1992 to 1994. In his first season with the team he helped the squad to a dramatic improvement from the previous year as they posted a 17-11 record and capped that season with a 23-7 mark. The 1993-1994 team made it to the semifinals of the Region III Division I Playoffs, only to fall to Monroe Community College by just six points. 

Salazar excelled for the team garnering the team’s Most Valuable Player honors twice after leading the program in rebounding and blocked shots both years, while also ranking among the team’s leaders in both scoring and with his assists. He finished his career with 428 career rebounds, which was sixth all-time on the career list, while his 167 career steals is second best in the program’s history. He also had 272 rebounds as member of the 1993-1994 team and that number ranks fourth highest among the team’s players. His 91 steals that same year is also fourth best.

Coach Mike Long said of Salazar, “He was a totally unselfish player, who always make the extra pass, set the great screen or got the team into transition.”    

After finishing his career at JCA, he transferred to nearby Southern Vermont College, where he continued to distinguish himself and was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2004. A graduate of SVC in 1996, he played on the men's basketball team from 1994-1996. Upon his induction in 2004, Salazar held the record for most points in a game with 40, most field goals in a game with 18, and most assists in a game with 11. Overall, he ended his collegiate career with more than 750-plus points and 500-plus rebounds. Salazar helped lead the Mountaineers to a 19-4 record in 1995-1996 and was inducted with the team in 2003.

Active in the community, Salazar often volunteers his time in New York City with youth basketball camps and clinics. He is a one-time member of the non-profit organization, Make A Play, Inc. that serves youth both here in the Capital District and in NYC looking to transform them and their communities by providing comprehensive academic and athletic programs to better their personal, academic and professional goals.

Marie Corrado (a one-time resident of Rockaway, NY),  a 1950 graduate of Russell Sage College, will join the Hall of Fame for her longstanding commitment, dedication, and support of Sage’s student-athletes and the athletic department as a whole.  

A 2001 recipient of the Crockett Medal Award, she was honored by the RSC Alumnae Association for her loyalty, outstanding career achievements and her “high level of character.”  A retired high school athletic director, she began her career as a physical education teacher at the Ticonderoga (NY) public schools. She later taught a number of subjects from physical education to health as well as driver education as a member of the New Hyde Park School system from 1957 to 1984. She retired in 1984 from the New Hyde Memorial Junior-Senior School after serving as athletic director and chair of the driver education department.

A past president of the Association of Women in Physical Education (AWPE), she served on the board of the State Scholarship Fund as well as the chair of the Ethic Committee of Nassau County in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. She was active and extremely involved with the implementation of Title IX athletic programs for high school girls in Nassau County (NY) and throughout New York State. She was a one-time guest on ABC’s Good Morning America on the subject of “Should Girls and Boys Participate Together in Contact Sports?”

An accomplished scholar, she has authored several physical education curriculum guides and was profiled in the Women’s Sports Foundation,Spring of 2003 newsletter.       

Her passion and dedication to Sage and the athletic department is on-going as she is often seen in attendance at Sage contests, especially when the Gators play downstate. She is known to send monthly newspaper clippings from the New York Daily News sports section, identifying teams and potential prospects for the Sage coaching staffs. She has assisted several Gator coaches with their recruiting efforts by connecting them with area coaches on Long Island and administrators she has worked with as well through her high reputation and love for Sage.  

She is one of Sage’s most avid supporters and attributes her own success to the education she received at Sage. She continues to show her remarkable commitment to all things Sage, particularly with her support of Sage athletics.  Sage’s home softball dugout at the Robison Field is named for her in gratitude for her generous gift toward the Neff Center and the Robison Softball complex.