S PORTS
Think pink: mother inspires athlete to raise awareness
November 2, 2012
BY L.A. LOGAN
Staff Writer
Pink cleats, pink gloves and pink bracelets. Everything
is pink to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month at
Guilford, even on the football field. Chris Campolieta,
a defensive back on the Quaker football team, and his
family experienced the disease firsthand.
Two days before Christmas in 2011, Chris' mother, Pat
Campolieta, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"I want people to know that cancer does not
discriminate," said Pat. "It can happen to anyone at any
time."
"To explain what type of lady my mom is, she did not
want to ruin her kids' Christmas," said
Chris. "She waited a few days afterwards to let it down
to all of us."
At the time Chris and his twin brother were seniors in
high school. Of Pat's seven children, Chris is the youngest
by one minute.
"I cried a lot," said Chris. "I broke down not just one
day but every night, because I didn't know what was
going to happen. I mean, it's my mom. I'm a mama's boy."
Chris didn't let his mother's cancer become an excuse.
If anything, it motivated him.
"I added more chores around the house and picked my
"Give credit to the entire Guilford Community. This is one kid who reinforces the
values of our community. That's very Guilford. That's very Quaker."
Andy Strickler, director of admission
In an email interview, she described the heavy emotions
she felt while deciding when to break the news to her
family.
"The boys had no idea, and I was not going to have
this heavy burden on them during the holidays," Pat said.
"Tears (were) streaming, my husband (was) shielding the
boys from the conversation. Breast cancer had hit our
home. Now, it was time to tell the twins."
First-year-student Chris remembers this day as the
worst of his life.
grades up," said Chris. "I wanted to so my mom wouldn't
have to worry about that stuff."
Chris, like many Guilford students who are inspired
to do great things, decided to hold a fundraiser in honor
of his mom's strength and determination in overcoming
breast cancer.
"Chris called me early in October to remind me that it
was Breast Cancer Awareness Month," said Pat.
"Chris said, 'Mom, I want to do a fundraiser for breast
cancer, so I ordered a bunch of pink bracelets, so if anyone
wants to donate they can get a bracelet.'"
One day after practice, Chris shared information with
the football team about his mother's breast cancer odyssey.
"Chris approached the entire team during a meeting
to let everyone know about the fundraiser," said safeties
coach Steve Terlesky. "It took a lot of guts to tell his story,
and from that perspective I have a lot of respect for Chris.
It was brave."
Terlesky noticed a lot of team members wearing pink
bracelets during practices and games.
This prompted the entire coaching staff to contribute to
the cause as well.
Chris' best friend, first-year student Matt Pawlowski,
wears his bracelet every day.
"I got a chance to donate to the fundraiser," said
Pawlowski. "I wanted to show support for not only Chris'
family, but for all families dealing with cancer."
Another teammate, first-year student Reggie Bullard
added, "As a team, we wanted to do something special
for the Campolieta family and other families. We used
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to help Chris reach his
goal and to show (that) we care."
The use of social media greatly increased awareness
about the fundraiser.
"Give credit to the entire Guilford community," said
Director of Admission Andy Strickler. "This is one kid
who reinforces the values of our community. That's very
Guilford. That's very Quaker."
Chris' family struggled for a while, like all families
dealing with this unannounced disease, but the self-
described mama's boy is grateful for his mother's,
presence.
"I cried just as much when I knew she was cancer-free,"
said Chris.
With her around, he feels like he can accomplish
anything.
San Francisco Giants sweep Detroit Tigers for MIB titie
GIANTS COMBINE TIMELY
HiniNG, PITCHING TO WIN
108TH WORLD SERIES
AGAINST TIGERS
BY CLARENCE TURPIN
Staff Writer
More than 40,800 people file into a single
setting; thousands more wish they could
be there.
Excitement in the air, great players, great
fans and a great atmosphere could only
equal one thing: the World Series.
"I think it is one of — if not the best —
sports championship," said senior baseball
player Ben Esser. "I am definitely excited
each year for the World Series."
In the 108th World Series, the general
public found itself witnessing a historic
matchup between the San Francisco Giants
and the Detroit Tigers.
In the first game alone there ^yas an epic
face-off between pitchers Barry Zito and
Justin Verlander. Zito was surprisingly
able to gain the upper-hand on Cy Young
Award winner Verlander.
"To be able to go up against Verlander
and give our team a chance to go up 1-0,
and the fact that we won, it's just kind of
surreal," said Zito in an interview with
ESPN. "It's just a pleasure to be a part of
it all."
Despite the solid performance from Zito
on the mound, the night was stolen by
Giants third baseman and teammate Pablo
Sandoval. On the night of Oct. 24, Sandoval
hit a perfect four for four, including three
home runs. Hitting three home runs made
Sandoval one of only four men to lay claim
to such a feat.
"The guy had one of those unbelievable
World Series nights that they'll be talking
about for years," said Tigers manager Jim
Leyland in an interview with CBS Sports.
"So I tip my hat to him."
In addition to the historic performances
of Zito and Sandoval, the Giants as a unit
were able to come together and win game
one of the World Series.
In game two, there was not as much
'historical' excitement. However, through
a strong pitching performance from
Madison Bumgarner, the Giants were able
to gain a 2-0 win, as well as a 2-0 series
lead.
"I wanted to go out there and try to pitch
well for our guys and the fans, and that's
all I was thinking about," said Bumgarner
in an interview with the San Francisco
Chronicle.
In game three the Giants put on another
dominant pitching performance headlined
by Ryan Vogelsong. Vogelsong pitched
nearly six innings of shutout baseball and
lead the Giants to a 2-0 victory, putting
them up three games to none.
"I've been waiting for this since I was
five years old," Vogelsong said in an
interview with MLB.com. "I wasn't going
to go down without a fight, that's for sure."
In the game that completed the sweep for
the Giants, it took extra innings for them
The San Francisco Giants celebrate on the field after they defeated the Detroit Tigers to
become World Series champions.This is their second Series title in three years.
to win. The Giants eventually won on a the series."
Marco Scutaro single that drove teammate
Ryan Theriot in from third base.
"These guys made it easy," Manager
Bruce Bochy said to the Washington Post.
"They never complained. They just wanted
to win."
When the Giants were up 2-0, many fans
at Guilford seemed to be jumping on the
Giants bandwagon.
"The Giants pitching staff is too deep,
both starting and bullpen," said sophomore
John Richardson. "(The) Giants will win
First-year Sam Mozon felt similarly.
"The Giants are playing textbook
baseball," said Mozon. "They find a way to
score runs; the Giants will tak^it all."
With the Giants claiming ^eir second
World Series title in the pastfjhree years,
they are proving themsel^s to be
somewhat of a baseball force.
Though the series ended wl^ the Tigers
being swept, both teams g4fe the fans
plenty to cheer for and left thi^S anxious to
see what next season holds. T