Sarah Szczepanik Sayko

Athlete

Sarah graduated from Berlin High in 1993 where she was a three sport participant. In volleyball she was a tri-captain in 1992 and received the Ace Award with 102 for the season. The 1992 team was the Northwest Conference Champion. Sarah also participated in gymnastics and in 1991 was an All- Northwest Conference selection. The sport where Sarah really excelled was in track and field. At the time the school did not have a track, so the team had to practice on the school’s asphalt parking lot. In 1990 she set the school record in the 4×100 in 52.5 sec and duplicated it in 1991, a record that was broken in 2008. She was three time All Northwest Conference for the 300-meter hurdles. In 1991 she set the sophomore record in the 100 meters (12.9 sec) that stood until 2006. In 1992 she qualified for States in the 100-meter hurdles, 4×100 relay, and the 300-meter hurdles. In 1992 and 1993 she was a team co-captain and won the Coaches Award both years. During the 1993 season she made the All-Northwest Conference team for the 100-meter hurdles and was selected to the All-Herald area team. She set the school record for a senior in the 300-meter hurdles (47.44 sec) that stood for 15 years and was the State Class M Champion in that event. She was the first Berlin athlete to compete in the CIAC heptathlon.

After graduating Berlin, Sarah attended Wheaton College in Norton, MA where she was a member of the volleyball team for her four years 1993-1996. In 1993 and 1994 the team was the New8 Conference Champion and in 1994 they were the ECAC Tournament Champion. Sarah was a co-captain her senior year.

Sarah graduated from Wheaton College with a BA in English Literature and from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA with a Masters of Education as a Consulting Teacher of Reading. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Education at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Sarah is a Senior Research Associate at RMC Research Corporation in Arlington, VA, which specializes in education research, program evaluation, and technical assistance where she serves as the Deputy Director of the National Center on Improving Literacy, and the West Virginia State Coordinator for the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center, which helps State Departments of Education to implement the Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act and increase their capacity to assist districts and schools. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Joshua and their daughter Isla.

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