There was only one record broken at the 2016 Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Olympics in New Jersey. That record was not an individual event record, but the women’s all-time high scorer record set by Michelle Hagopian of Greater Boston/Granite City.
Michelle’s last AYF putt
All time high scorer records are rarely broken. “Hyortik” chapter running phenom Haig Bohigian has the men’s record of 165 points and it has been decades since it was set. Another sprinter, Boston’s Rich Chebookjian challenged it in the 1970’s and 80’s, but fell short with an equally remarkable 161. It will take a great and sustained effort for this record to be broken… if it ever will.
All the excitement has been on the women’s side. In Providence last year, Lynne Tutunjian of Worcester/Providence became the all-time women’s high scorer when she achieved the 153-point mark. Most of Lynne’s points came in the pool. She broke the record set by Detroit’s Nancy Gavoor, running and pentathlon, and Jill Tosoian Dolik, golf and swimming, of Detroit. These two friends accumulated 144 points each in the same year breaking Suzanne Merian Arzoian’s long standing record of 90 points. Both the Gavoor/Dolik and Arzoian record stood for twenty-five plus years!
In the interim, several women, including this year’s Queen, Victoria Mesropian Yeghpairian, surpassed the 90-point mark, but fell short of breaking the record. Lynne’s accomplishment was impressive and noteworthy. To have her record surpassed by Michelle achieving 156 lifetime points this year is amazing. Breaking this record in back-to-back Olympics is something quite special. Michelle competed for eleven years and was individual high scorer for eight of those eleven years.
I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with Michelle and capture her reflections of her years in the AYF, competing in the Olympics, and becoming all-time women’s high scorer.
Below is the interview.
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Mark Gavoor: Michelle, you began in a small chapter Granite City, all the other women’s high scorers were from Detroit, Providence, or other large chapters. How does this make you feel? What does this mean for the small chapter athletes out there?
Michelle Hagopian: I loved competing for Granite City for all those years and helping to put a small chapter on the radar of the AYF Eastern Region. Even though we would only have about three athletes per year walking in the opening ceremonies, it felt good to be there and be recognized alongside bigger chapters like Detroit, Providence, and Boston.
Obviously you can be a high scorer regardless of what part of the country you come from, as shown by Azniv Khaligian from Racine this year—what a swimmer. For me it’s more exciting to watch those AYF-ers compete and grow as seniors, because you know they don’t have the biggest Armenian community base and they are making every effort to be at Olympics or other events like AYF Senior Seminar that strengthen our organization.
M.G.: Would you have liked to have competed your entire career for your “home” chapter?
M.H.: When I lived in Granite City, I absolutely wanted to compete my entire AYF career as a member of the “Antranig” chapter. But after moving to Boston and getting involved with the community here, I realized it doesn’t matter which chapter you compete for. Being on AYF Central Executive (CE)from 2012-2015 allowed me to consider the bigger picture, and this is something I’ve told my friends for years now. It’s not about individual chapters—you have to do what’s best for the organization. Organization above individual chapter and above individual desire. But of course I’ll always feel tied to Granite City in some way, as a small chapter and as my home. Go GC…and Boston!
Shayna McCarthy (L) and Michelle Haopian (R)
M.G.: The past four all time high scorers—men and women—were runners and swimmers. You and Jill Tosoian Dolik played golf, Jill also swam. You are the first high scorer to have two thirds of your points coming from field events. How does that make you feel and how could this be an example for future athletes?
M.H.: I’ve never been a swimmer or a runner. The only time I seemed to care about running was when it involved basketball, and it was a feat if I didn’t collapse on the court! I played golf and threw discus in track through middle school and high school, and they were two easy sports to keep up with through the years. My dad taught me how to play golf when I was nine, and it’s always been a way for us to bond. I appreciate discus because you have to train hard to perfect your technique. If anything, I think this shows that you can be versatile in the events you choose to compete in at Olympics, and that the weekend doesn’t have to revolve around swimming and running. Watching field events is very exciting if you know what to look for.
M.G.: You are the only recent high scorer to have served on the AYF CE. How many years have you served on CE? What inspirational advice might you give other AYF-ers not to be one dimensional members?
M.H.: I served on the AYF CE from 2012 to 2015; as chair for three years 2013-2015. I can’t stress enough how important it is for AYF members to be multidimensional and not just focused on athletics. I’ve admittedly become more open minded about how we contribute as AYF-ers and Armenians to our cause. I used to wonder why someone wouldn’t want to be as involved as possible in helping advance our organizations.
After working for several years, having plenty of commitments, and just understanding Armenian communities more, it’s easy to see that everyone has their limits. The last thing the AYF—or any Armenian organization—needs is burnout. I think Armenians overall need to adjust our expectations. We need everyone to contribute, but we need to stop assuming everyone can do everything all the time when it comes to our cause. We’re stronger when we capitalize on the skills each individual can bring to the table, whether that’s activism, technology, art, science, etc.
M.G.: Last year Mel Melkonian from Worcester competed and was a world class thrower. She even set two records and was an individual high scorer. She did not compete this year. Would you have become the high scorer if she had come to Jersey and competed?
M.H.: If Mel Melkonian from Worcester competed this year at Olympics, there is no way I would have won baseball throw. She is a dynamite athlete and demolished the baseball throw record in 2015, so she would have elevated the competition for sure. I was already thinking going into the weekend that if she showed up, I could still win all-time scorer with a second place—if I was lucky—but I also knew Christine Kutlu from New Jersey threw well and beat me last year, so I tried to stay positive leading up to the event.
M.G.: Setting a lifetime record like this requires persistence and luck. Persistence at coming to Olympics and competing at a high level every year. There is also luck. Luck could be not getting injured and missing a year of competition. Can you comment on this?
M.H.: I feel very humbled to be the all-time scorer for AYF Olympics. When I first competed in Milwaukee in 2006, I was just excited to be considered a senior in the AYF and to try new events like discus and golf. I don’t look at my AYF athletic career and think that I was persistent. To be honest, I was just doing what I loved to do every Labor Day.
In my younger years when I was a decent athlete, I would put in more time training, but as I got older, other commitments took up time and I would try to stay in somewhat admirable shape. If I were a competitive college athlete, like several of our past and present AYFers are, I’m sure I would have injured myself or missed a year here and there for competition. Each year I made sure I worked out/practiced just enough so as not to throw my arm out or ruin my golf swing. Trust me, I’m no Katie Ledecky or Simone Biles!
M.G.: Lynne Tutunjian became high scorer on the women’s side last year in Providence. Before that Nancy Gavoor and Jill Tosoian Dolik held the record for like 20 years. It is really rare to have this milestone broken in two successive years. How special is what happened in 2015 and 2016?
M.H.: It’s been a fun two years to watch the Olympics, especially the women’s events. It’s pretty incredible that the record held by Jill Tosoian Dolik and Nancy Gavoor stayed at 144 points for as long as it did, and then Lynne Tutunjian competed for years and broke it by dominating in the pool. I honestly didn’t think I would top 153 points, where the bar was set last year, and she certainly provided me some motivation to try my best in my final Olympics. It feels like my AYF Olympic career came full circle a bit since I ended on a high note both all-time and as a high scorer for 2016, which is how I started as a 17-year-old in 2006.
The 2016 women’s high scorers
M.G.: Anything else you would care to add?
M.H.: A major motivator for me to try to beat the all-time record was my uncle, Michael Hagopian, who passed away in January. I know he had wanted to be in New Jersey to see me compete. Uncle Mike still remains a big presence in my life—always the cheerleader and best critic—and the Olympics weren’t the same without him and my aunt Karen this year.
AYF Olympics weekend has always been special for me because my entire family gets together every year for it. My parents Jeff and Lynne and sister Megan have supported me and cheered me on the last 11 years, as have all my aunts, uncles and cousins. The past few years in particular have been extra special having my girlfriend, Gaby, offering support from the sidelines.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Michelle Hagopian Breaks AYF Women’s All-Time High Scorer Record