Football, food and five days of fun were found at the Return to Wolfstock Homecoming Festival this weekend, as alumni, students, faculty and staff celebrated together with the greater Stony Brook University community.
Wolfstock ran from October 18-22 and featured a variety of events across campus, highlighted by a day full of activity on Saturday. Wolfstock Village rose up from the LaValle Stadium parking lot, where hundreds of people gathered for the ultimate pre-game experience and some tasty barbecue. Fans of all ages participated in games, face painting, a giant slide and a photo booth, and ate great food.
Saturday also included the induction of the latest members of the Stony Brook Rita & Kurt Eppenstein Athletics Hall of Fame. Seven standout Seawolves were enshrined as part of the Class of 2023, including: Dr. Leah Fiorentino (Holland) ’76 (Swimming & Diving), Brock Jackolski ’12 (Football), Nini Lagvilava ’13 (Women’s Tennis), Courtney Lawless (Murphy) ’17, ’18 (Women’s Lacrosse), Kylie Ohlmiller ’18 (Women’s Lacrosse), Carson Puriefoy ’16 (Men’s Basketball), and Steve Waldeck ’10 (Men’s Lacrosse).
Unfortunately, the football team lost its homecoming game Saturday to New Hampshire, 45-14, despite two 100-yard receiving days from freshmen Jayce Freeman and Anthony Johnson. Freeman set a school record with a 98-yard touchdown catch and run that cut the Wildcats’ lead to 24-14 in the second quarter.
Fans at the game got the chance to see the 2023 Homecoming Court crowned. Joseph Bisiani, Tim Giorlando and Tabassum Hasan were crowned Homecoming Royalty. The rest of the Homecoming Court included: Noemie Facchini, Rayia Habibulla, Laura Infante, Jenn Martinez, Taylor Schiebel and Katie Weglarz.
Meet Your 2023 Homecoming Court!
The festivities began on Wednesday with the Homecoming Harvest at the Academic Mall, featuring the Harvest Market, pumpkin carving demonstrations, a teaching kitchen, a smoothie bike, pies and other great foods that celebrate autumn. The Fire and Safety Expo at the Student Activities Center included safety vendors, demonstrations and giveaways, along with live cooking demos from SBU Eats.
The Homecoming Court Royalty Competition took place Thursday night at the Sidney Gelber Auditorium, as the 2023 Homecoming Court took their spirit to the stage. Friday night saw the 13th annual Seawolves Showcase at Island Federal Arena. The raucous audience enjoyed performances by handpicked student groups along with the marching band, cheerleaders and dance squad.
The rain didn’t stop hundreds of alumni from reconnecting with fellow Seawolves to catch up and reminisce at different events throughout the weekend. The Class of 2013 enjoyed reconnecting after 10 years at a social on Friday night. Also on Friday night, Stony Brook Kappas alumni arrived in style for a black tie affair benefiting the Stony Brook Kappas Endowed Achievement Scholarship at the third annual Stony Brook Kappas “HomeKoming Scholarship Gala: A Sneaker Ball.”
On Saturday, alumni were out early networking at the Black and Latino UNITI Multicultural Brunch and the Statesman Alumni and Student Breakfast. After enjoying the Wolfstock Village barbecue, the festivities continued into the evening where alumni danced the night away at the UNITI Alumni Event Dance Party.
The weekend concluded Sunday morning with the first annual Wolfie Dash, a 5K foot race through the SBU campus sponsored by the Office of the President, the Stony Brook Alumni Association and Healthier U.
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