Crab Feed raises money for new track

Paying $75 each for an all-you-can-eat crab dinner, participants raised about $15,000 for the school’s sports program at the March 5 event, said athletic director Peter Jordan.

Held at the Saratoga Community Center, the Crab Feed attracted student athletes, parents and coaches for an evening of socializing and enjoying delicious food. It was the third year the school’s Sports Boosters has put on the event, and this year the main goal was to raise money to redo the school’s aging track.

“The event went really well and many people had fun,” said junior Alison Knysh. “People were very willing to support Sports Boosters.”

The Crab Feed raised quite a lot of money, but it will cost roughly $125,000 to renovate the track, which is missing patches of rubber in some places and generally too worn down. Assistant principal Kevin Mount is unsure whether the school will be able to raise enough money to replace the track with one of new rubber any time soon.

“We’re hoping to get it done sooner than later,” said Mount, “but at this point we don’t really know whether we can reach our target, in terms of putting money together to make it happen.”

The crab dinner was on the expensive side, but it also included pasta, salad and garlic bread.

“People came back for seconds and thirds of crab, so they were enjoying the food for sure,” said Knysh. “Everyone seemed to be having a good time.”

Even though the event was held to construct a new track, most of the athletes present played other sports. The lack of spring sport athletes may be explained by the fact that the event recognized coaches of winter sports.

“We came together and celebrated the awards for the coaches — for example, ‘Best Coach of the Winter Season,’” said junior Jonathan Junqua. “But it was more like a social event for all the sports people.”