Heard Around the Track

 

January 19, 2002
 
 

In the first two weeks of the new year, the Pennsylvania track community, and more importantly, the community as a whole, lost two of its most promising children – both at the hands of others.

On January 6, while driving toward her home with friends, '00 Haverford HS graduate Alison Ciancio was killed by an alleged drunk driver, who swerved into her lane, striking her vehicle head-on. She was pronounced dead at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania one hour after the crash. Ciancio had been studying animal science at Iowa State University. During high school, she was involved in raising 4H Seeing Eye puppies. She played soccer and lacrosse for three years, ran track for two years, and was co-captain of the cross country team her senior year. She was enrolled in pre-veterinary courses at Iowa State. The confirmation that it was most probably another senseless drunk-driving accident was told in this article in the Philadelphia Inquirer January 15, 2002.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Seeing Eye, P.O. Box 375, Norristown, PA 07963-0375, or to the Alison Ciancio Scholarship, Haverford High School, Attn: John Wilson, 200 Mill Rd, Havertown, PA 19083.

On the evening of January 15, a shocked Ardmore community heard the news that a family had been murdered by a relative. Among the dead was Baldwin School freshman Alexandra Wake. The following email to PennTrackXC came from Baldwin School XC Team Parent David Pudlin (Julia's father), the morning after the tragedy.

"I am sad to report that the young lady from Ardmore - Alexandra Wake - who was murdered yesterday (1/15) with her mother and grandparents by her stepfather, who committed suicide, was a freshman member of the cross country and track teams at The Baldwin School. While Alex primarily was a short distance runner, she showed a big heart during the cross country season by going out and finishing every race, regardless of her place or time. As the team parent for Baldwin's cross country team, which was captained by Julia, I attended every meet, and I can tell you what a delightful and hard-working girl Alex was. Needless to say, the entire Baldwin community, but particularly the cross country and track team members, were devastated by the horrible news they received when they got to school this morning. Alex always had a smile on her face, and she will be sorely missed." - David

The story of this loved family was detailed in this January 17, 2002 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.