Opening Ceremony - U.S. Army Officials Hall of Fame Invitational 2023

From Armory Release:

During the U.S. Army Officials Hall of Fame Invitational, The Armory Foundation will also honor three outstanding individuals with the Stan Saplin Media Award for their contributions to the sport of track and field. This award is named after the late sports journalist, track and field historian, and statistician Stan Saplin.

Ian Brooks is a legendary announcer who is known as “The Voice of The Armory.” Brooks has been calling meets at The Armory for well over two decades, thrilling the crowds with his wit, enthusiasm, and deep knowledge of the sport. He has been on hand for all of the most iconic races to take place at The Armory over the years, including Alan Webb’s sub-four minute mile in 2001, Team USA’s 4x800m world record at the 2018 Millrose Games, and so many others. Brooks was a competitive race walker for Great Britain in the 1960s before beginning his announcing career. Outside of The Armory, Brooks has announced at many high-profile road races, most notably the New York City Marathon. 

Donna Dye is the wife of the late John Dye, and together the two of them founded the DyeStat website in 1998. DyeStat helped bring the high school track and field community together like never before in the early days of the Internet, with results, rankings, and different forums for each state. Donna served as the features editor for the website, and she wrote her own column known as ‘Donna on the Side.’

John Nepolitan is a photographer taking photos for The Armory, RunnerSpace, and DyeStat and many others at track & field events all over the world. He is a ubiquitous presence throughout the season at The Armory, capturing moments of jubilation, heartbreak, and everything in between.  John has won numerous sports photography awards and is also a social studies teacher at Don Bosco Prep.

“We’re thrilled to honor today’s amazing three Stan Saplin award recipients.  Each, with their unique talents and creativity, elevated the hard work and successes of so many student athletes over the years.  Their work inspired and continues to inspire so many in this great sport of track and field”” said Armory Foundation Co-President Jonathan Schindel.

Past Stan Saplin Media Award winners include Jack Pfeifer, Frank Litsky, William J. Miller, Bill Moore, Ed Grant, Walt Murphy, Elliott Denman, Marc Bloom, Peter Gambaccini, Derek Alvez, George Kochman, Nancy Haggerty, Paul Schwartz, and Dr. Norbert Sander Jr.