Sports

WMC Memorial Race Dedicated to Former Runner

This year's 5K will honor the memory of Steve Berstler, Jr.

The annual 5K Run set for May 20 will be filled with heavy hearts this year, as runners remember one of their own.

The race, which takes runners through a path around the high school’s campus, will honor Steve Berstler, Jr., a Central graduate of 2008 who holds a handful of the school’s track records from his days on the team, including distance running. 

Berstler, a senior at Salisbury University, was staying in Long Valley for winter break when . Some of Berstler’s belongings were found atop the George Washington Bridge that day by a passerby, but there was no indication of the 22-year-old’s whereabouts.

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More than a month later, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, a

The event’s organizer–and Central teacher–Jay Herrigel, coached Berstler during his track days at the high school. The 5K was created to honor Tanner Birch and Kyleigh D’Alessio, two Central students who died in a car crash in December 2006.

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There are about 20 scholarship funds for students who lost their lives, Herrigel said, and one is being created for Berstler. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit all the scholarships, with a larger portion going to Berstler’s memorial fund. This is an event that Berstler himself attended each year and helped set up, according to Herrigel.

His mother, Sandi Basenese, will shoot the starting gun at the race, and is making black ribbons for the runners to wear in honor of her son.

Basenese also attended a meet at Salisbury University earlier this spring that was dedicated to Berstler’s memory.

“It’s still very hard to deal with,” Basenese said. “But these events; they help with the healing process.”

Basenese said the support from the community has been amazing.

“I’ve just been taken back by the outpouring,” she said. “He touched the lives of so many people. The amount of condolences… it’s just been incredible.”

Dedicating this year’s race to Berstler was Herrigel’s idea, Basenese said, as the two had a very strong bond.

“(Herrigel) was a great mentor to Steve,” Basenese said. “He approached me with the idea, and I was so thankful.”

There’s no limit to the amount of runners that can participate in the event. Last year’s race, which was dedicated ,

The race will have automatic timing, snacks and drinks for all runners and walkers, live bands playing throughout the event, and prizes awarded to the top three males and top three females. Early entry participants will receive a newly designed t-shirt if registered by May 9.

Registration can be done at www.njraces.com. Start time for the event is 1:30 p.m. that Sunday, with a registration fee of $25.

“Steve’s in a good place now,” Basenese said. “He had a pure soul, a passionate soul, and not a nasty bone in his body.”

And many that day will surely believe Berstler is running right beside them in what was his best event.


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