Alumni

 Omari C. Wise

Omari was one of the first Gliders and was an active member for 8 years, competing primarily in long-distance events. Omari won several state championships in USATF and AAU in both track and cross country. He won an 8th place medal in the 3000 meter run at the 1993 USATF Track National Championships in Baton Rouge, LA, and contributed to a third place team medal in the AAU National Cross Country Championships in 1990 in Birmingham, AL.  Omari was a National Achievement Scholar who also competed in the long-distance events for Lake Brantley High School.

After completing a series of corporate internships, Omari graduated from FAMU at the top of his accounting class in 2001. He then worked as an auditor for Deloitte & Touche in Miami; after earning his CPA license in 2005, he took a job as an internal auditor at Ryder, where he was the top American scorer on the November 2005 Certified Internal Auditor exam. At Ryder, Omari subsequently was promoted to Audit Manager in 2006 and Senior Audit Manager in 2007.  He received a MBA program from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.  Omari currenty works for Amgen as a Vice President in Los Angeles. He is married with one child.

Dara M. Wise

Dara was an active member with the Gliders for 8 years competing in long-distance, hurdles & the multi-events. In youth group competition, she won several state championships and medaled in the AAU 1999 National track championships and won several other national medals in track. In age group cross country she led her team to first place for the Gliders first Gold medal team championships at the 1990 AAU XC Championships in Birmingham, AL.

In high school, Dara led her Lake Brantley team to finish first in Florida’s high school state cross country meet in 1998 and second in 1999. She was also a member on Lake Brantley’s 4x800m state meet championships. After receiving a track scholarship to FAMU, Dara led her team to the MEAC cross country conference Championship in 2002, and 2003 the team finished second and Dara qualified for the NCAA XC Championships in Tennessee where she finished 88th. Dara has volunteered almost every year to help run the Glider’s Classic track meet.

Dara graduated from FAMU in 2004 summa cum laude with an MBA and worked for Pfizer as a sales representative in Jacksonville and Orlando and currently works oncology sales specialist with Johnson & Johnson in Jacksonville. She is married with three children.

Dafina A. Wise

Dafina was an active member with the Gliders for 8 years competing in the long-distance events. In youth group competition, she won several state championships in track. She also finished 9th in the AAU 1991 National Cross Country Championships where she led her team to the Gliders first Gold medal at the 1990 AAU XC Championships in Birmingham, AL. In high school, Dafina was a member of the Lake Brantley team which finish first in Florida’s high school state cross country meet in 1998 and second in 1999. Dafina has volunteered many years to help run the Glider’s Classic track meet.

Dafina graduated from UF in 2004 and graduated medical school from at Wayne State University in Detroit where she has won several awards for her dedication and performance. She is a practicing doctor with her own weight loss firm. She is married with two children and lives in Saginaw, Michigan.

Ade J. Wise

Ade was an active member of the Gliders for 10 years competing primarily in the distance events. He also competed as a youth in AAU national basketball competition and national chess tournaments. In youth group track competition Ade won many state championship, medaled several times at the USATF, AAU and Hershey National Track Championships. In 1992 at 10 years old he set a national 5k road record. In age group cross country, he and his twin brother led their team to one USATF and three AAU National Cross Country titles. In high school, Ade was a merit scholar started on the basketball team and reached the track state finals two times, finishing 3rd in the 800m and with his brother led Lake Brantley High School to a medal in the 4x800m relay at state.

Ade ran track for Duke for 2 years before graduating in 2006 with an electrical engineering degree. He currently works for Gatorade as a marketing manager in Chicago where he lives with his daughter. 

Kamal C. Wise

Kamal was an active member of the Gliders for 10 years competing primarily in the distance events. He also competed as a youth in AAU national basketball competition and national chess tournaments. In youth group track competition, Kamal won several state championships, medaled several times at the USATF and AAU National Track Championships. In age group cross country, he and his twin brother led their team to one USATF and three AAU National Cross Country titles. In high school, he was the starting point guard on the basketball team; and with his brother led Lake Brantley High School to a medal and school record in the 4x800m relay at the Florida High School State Championships.

Kamal graduated from FAMU in 2008 with an MBA and currently works for EA Sports in Orlando as a marketing manager. He is married with two children and currently coaches with the Gliders.

Neamen R. Wise

Neamen has been active member of the Gliders for 10 years competing primarily in the field and multi-events. He also competed as a youth in cross county, AAU basketball and Pop Warner football. In youth group track competition Neamen won many state championships, medaled several times at the USATF and AAU National Track Championships. In 2005 Neamen won a national USATF championship title in the pentathlon. The following year he won bronze medal in the decathlon at the USATF Championships in Walnut, CA. Last year he won the Silver medal in the decathlon at the AAU National Track Championships in Detroit. He also competed in the decathlon at the USA Jr. National Track Championships (19 & under) in Columbus, Ohio finishing 11th.

In high school, Neamen has played basketball and was on the Lake Brantley football team that went to the state championships while earning a varsity letter every year in track at Lake Brantley. He has reached the state track championships as a sophomore in the 300m hurdles and the following year as a junior he made the state finals in both the 100m and 300m hurdles. He won the state championship in the 300m hurdles and long jump. He gradusted from USF with a business degree and represented the US at the JR World Championships in Moncton CAnada. He currently is a coach with the Gliders.

First Glider to Graduate from Law SchoolSteve Christian of Altamonte Springs is the first Glider to graduate from law school! Steve earned his law degree from Florida’s A & M’s law school. He plans to take the bar exam this fall and will pursue a law career in the non-corporate arena concentrating in family law, property law and public benefits. Steve graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2005 with a degree in legal studies.

Steve ran both the short and long hurdles for the Gliders and for Lyman High School. He has been the recipient of several Glider college scholarships and has volunteered consistently at our annual Glider track meet. Steve is a very thoughtful individual, always supporting others. For years while in school he scraped money together to fund an annual award each track season which was given to the “hardest-working’ Glider which was usually an athlete that didn’t win national medals, but competed hard and showed up at every practice. Steve also has two other brothers currently attending FAMU who also ran with the Gliders.

We salute Steve as he ventures out into the professional world and wish him much luck. He typifies the Glider spirit of hard work, supporting others and community involvement.

Ryan Truchelut Heads To Graduate College of Meteorology 

After a 10-year career with the Gliders, highlights of which include membership on national runners-up cross country teams in 1995, and a 3rd place individual national finish in the 2000m Steeplechase in 2001, Ryan Truchelut was recruited by the track program at Princeton University, where he enrolled in 2004. While injuries limited him to only two seasons of varsity competition, his time at Princeton was well-spent taking advantage of academic and research opportunities in meteorology, a field which has fascinated him as far back as anyone can recall. Completing a rigorous slate of coursework heavily weighted towards the natural sciences and mathematics, as well as two original research papers on topics in tropical cyclone formation, Truchelut was honored for his efforts with the Peter Stroh Prize for Best Thesis on an Environmental Topic, the Arthur Buddington Departmental Award, and the Max Mayfield Scholarship in Weather Forecasting, among others. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Geosciences in June 2008, with a cumulative GPA of 3.73, in the top 20% of the class. Currently, Truchelut is enrolled in the Graduate College of Meteorology at Florida State University, enjoying a fellowship from the American Meteorological Society and preparing for a career in operational forecasting.

The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Since its inception in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, more than 100,000 Americans have taught, studied or conducted research overseas. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

Steier expects to travel to Norway later this summer, where he will continue to train and compete in track with an Oslo-based club. He had hoped to qualify for this week’s U.S. Olympic track trials in the 1,500 but was hampered by an injury.

Caleb Vogt

We would like to recognize that Caleb Vogt, running track & cross country for the Georgia Bulldogs, has maintained a 3.67gpa and will graduate with a degree in Finance in 12/2010. We wish Caleb much success in his senior year at Georgia.

Caleb Vogt is a sophomore Exercise Science major from Winter Park, Florida.  He is a member of the UGA Cross Country and Track and Field teams.  Caleb has a 3.59 GPA and has been named to the Dean’s List.  He was a member of the Southeastern Conference Freshman Athlete Academic Honor Roll and UGA’s Student Athlete of the Month for October 2006. Caleb is very involved in Team United, a Christian organization involving Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Georgia Athletes Outreach and Athletes in Action.  He was instrumental in organizing the Track and Field Bible study ministry

BIOGRAPHY

2007: Indoor – Took 13th at the Southeastern Conference Championships in the 5000-meter run…registered a season-best 5000 time of 14:36.59 to take eighth at the Tyson Invitational…finished fourth in the 3000 with a season-best time of 8:33.63 at the Diet Pepsi Invitational. 
2006: Cross Country – Ran in five races for the Bulldogs during his freshman campaign…clocked a season-best time of 25:52.87 to take 46th at the SEC Championships.
High School: Led his team to three cross country FHSAAA championships…Won FHSAA state titles in the 3200 meters at Winter Park…Registered personal-best times of 9:17 in the 3200 and 4:18 in the 1600…Posted a 3.96 GPA in high school…Majoring in Exercise Science.
Personal: Born Sept. 27, 1987.