Veteran athletic trainer Jeff Bray, left, works on Ava Wilburn during a Keuka College women's soccer home game in the fall of 2011.

By John Boccacino/Sports Information Director

Jeff Bray is an avid motorsports fan, and when he arrived in scenic Keuka Park to accept a job as Keuka College’s head athletic trainer/assistant athletic director in the summer of 1992, he figured he was just making a pit stop.

Nearly 20 later, the man who came to campus on a two-year plan can’t imagine working anywhere else.

As he reflects on two decades of dedicated service to the Storm’s student-athletes, Bray can’t help but wonder how he ended up as the second-longest tenured member of the College’s athletics department.

To quote the Grateful Dead anthem, “Truckin’,” what a long, strange trip it has been for Bray.

Born in Sterling, Kansas, a small town that Bray said possesses a similar down-home feel to Keuka, Bray essentially grew up on his parent’s gas station before enrolling in Kansas State to study athletic training.

Bray has taped hundreds of professional athletes during a career that, among other stops, has seen him work the sidelines of NFL games, alongside pit crews for assorted auto racing events across the world, and behind the bucking chutes at top-flight bull riding competitions.

During a four-year stint in the NFL working as an athletic trainer with the Philadelphia Eagles — three as a summer intern and one as a paid professional — Bray taped Hall-of-Famer Reggie White, was part of a team that helped dynamic quarterback Randall Cunningham recover from various knee injuries, and worked alongside talented coaches such as Buddy Ryan, Jeff Fisher and Wade Phillips, to name a few.

Tom Coughlin, the Waterloo native who will lead the NFC champion New York Giants into battle against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI Feb. 5, was also a part of those Eagles’ coaching staffs during Bray’s time with the team.

Jeff Bray has worked as an athletic trainer for numerous auto races, including an open wheel race when he met Helio Castroneves, an IndyCar driver and three-time Indy 500 champion.

Bray worked alongside legendary actor/race car driver Paul Newman and the drivers of his Newman/Haas Racing Team when working in the Champ Car Racing Series. Division I schools, including Bray’s alma mater Boise State, have sought his expertise in the field of athletic training, making enticing job pitches in an attempt to land Bray’s services.

But through an athletic training career that has spanned more than three decades — the last two of them spent at Keuka — there is no place Bray would rather call home than picturesque Keuka College.

“One of the reasons it’s been easy to stay here is because Keuka’s just been a good place to be, with good people who provide a great college experience, be it coaches, parents, administrators, or the student-athletes. Coach Dave Sweet has been an outstanding mentor and has taught me all about the world that is Division III athletics,” said Bray, who became interested in physical training after watching his mother, Nettie, battle back from a debilitating stroke when Bray was 15.

“I really appreciate getting to know the families of the student-athletes here. At a Division I school you never really have any dealings with parents. Keuka is special from that standpoint, and as my kids get older that [relationship with the parents] means more to me, because not too far down the road it’ll be me handing my kids off to a college and I’ll want to feel as comfortable sending my kids off to college as the parents of our student-athletes feel when they send their children to Keuka.”

However, that opinion of Keuka took some time to formulate for Bray, who currently resides in nearby Penn Yan with wife, Kristen, and son Tyler, 15, and daughter Kelly, 13.

When Bray was offered the Keuka position, he had his reservations. Sweet, Keuka’s athletic director and head coach of the women’s basketball team, had been on campus for nine years and was working diligently to transform the Storm from a predominantly women’s sports-based program into a well-rounded, co-ed athletics department that produced championship-caliber teams on the playing fields, and accomplished students in the classroom.

Additionally, Bray had only worked with professional and Division I athletes at his previous jobs, and Keuka was a tiny Division III school smack-dab in the middle of rural Upstate New York.

The Storm didn’t even have a football team, a fact Bray felt was a prerequisite for any potential job. He previously had worked passionately with football teams at every stop along the way: from his student athletic trainer days at Kansas State, to his graduate work at Boise State, through his four-year stint with the Eagles, and his time spent as Illinois State’s head football trainer.

In the end, while the decision was Bray’s to make, his future wife Kristen held the ultimate card. She had grown up in the Buffalo area and was a successful basketball player at Canisius College. Even though the couple wasn’t yet married, Bray realized it was important for Kristen to be closer to her family.

So the couple came to an agreement. Kristen and Jeff would relocate and Bray would try out the Keuka position for two years, and if Bray was unsatisfied at the end of the two-year trial period, Kristen would relocate anywhere in the country as her husband searched for his dream job.

Twenty years later and, the rest is history. Bray said he “fell in love” with the job and the students, and while other colleges and universities have called for Bray’s services, the answer has always been the same: “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“I had a unique opportunity at a very young age to reach the pinnacle of our profession,” said Bray, who still carves out time in his busy schedule to work between 5-10 auto races a year as an athletic trainer.

“There are thousands of young athletic trainers, student athletic trainers that aspire to work in pro sports, and only a few get there. I had the opportunity and while I enjoyed my time in the pros, long-term I didn’t know if it was for me. After a lot of thinking, when this job became available I took it and while I couldn’t believe I was at this small college with no football, I owed it to Keuka to give it my best. After all these years this is where I’m supposed to be.”

To achieve peace of mind with his decision about his future, Bray turned to an important part of his past, Otho Davis, his mentor in the athletic training field. Davis was the long-time trainer in the NFL who had worked with the then-Baltimore Colts and was Bray’s boss with the Eagles when Bray secured a summer internship to study under the legendary Davis, who at the time was considered among the best trainers in all of professional sports.

Davis, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2000, was instrumental in swaying Bray to take the job with the Storm. While he was the influence who got Bray into professional sports, Davis also warned Bray of the dangers of working in an industry where off days are few and far between and the average work week could range from 80 to 100 hours.

Davis, who had four sons, rarely got to see his family due to the rigors and demands of the job, a factor Bray considered heavily when debating the pros and cons of the Keuka position.

As Keuka's head athletic trainer, Jeff Bray is responsible for attending to all injured players, whether they play for the Storm or the opposition.

In the end, the chance to help deserving Division III athletes won out. Now, fast-forward 20 years and Bray’s presence has become part of the fiber of a student-athlete’s life. Bray and his staff of athletic trainers work all Keuka College sporting events, ready on the sidelines should an injury befall a member of the Storm or the opposition.

“When I’m asked why I’m still at Keuka, ‘I say why not?’ If our point guard, [Jessica Bandrowski], sprains her ankle and is going to potentially miss some big games coming up, she’s as valuable to her team as [Boise State star quarterback] Kellen Moore is to his team,” said Bray, who used his NFL connections to secure the New York Jets old athletic training equipment when the NFL franchise decided to purchase new equipment in 1998.

“Sure, it’s not going to be in the USA Today or make ESPN that Bandrowski sprained her ankle and might miss a game, but she deserves to be treated like a professional athlete, too. But also, if I go to coach Sweet and say Bandrowski can’t play tomorrow, I’m not going to get the screws put to me [to get her ready to play] to the point that my ethics are pushed and her best interests are questioned in order to get a win.”

Bray’s influence on Keuka’s student-body is not limited to the various playing fields for the Storm’s 16 varsity sports teams. Bray also serves as an adjunct instructor and teaches two sports management classes.

Each fall, as part of their senior class projects, Bray’s sports management students organize the annual Storm Madness pep rally, a raucous affair that provides a first look at the men’s and women’s basketball teams to the campus and neighboring communities.

“Jeff has been my right-hand man for all these years, and he is immensely talented and certainly has a lot to offer to any college,” said Sweet, who credits Bray’s communication skills, problem-solving ability, and self-starter mentality as some of his best personality traits.

“He’s tuned-in well with the needs of our student-athletes and understands what we’re trying to accomplish as a small Division III college athletics program. We’re not all about wins and losses; we try to educate the student-athletes on the overall collegiate experience and Jeff has been extremely helpful, not only to the college but to me in particular.”

Applauding Keuka’s unique Field Period as one of the most beneficial aspects of a Keuka education, Bray backs the college’s required annual 140-hour long internship program that offers real-world work experience to students each year they’re on campus.

“Professionally, if you’re trying to get somewhere, don’t always think you’re going to get somewhere on your own,” said Bray, who originally learned of the Eagles’ summer trainer position through Jim Rudd and Hank Fijalkowski, his bosses while Bray was a student athletic trainer at Kansas State.

“There are people that can and will help you if they know where you want to go. I am a firm believer in our Field Period because I lived the internship route, that’s how I got into the NFL. Jim and Hank, my mentors, told me I needed to do an internship in the NFL, and at the time I was probably too stupid to ask questions. But if Otho, Jim or Hank told me to do something, I knew that was what I needed to do. Our students need to get out and have those workplace experiences, but students can’t have a broken want-to. You can’t be the one pushing them; they need the drive and motivation to succeed.”

Throughout the years, Bray’s dedication toward Keuka College and the Storm’s student-athletes has never wavered, and he is just as passionate about his job and this campus as he was July 1, 1992, the day he first reported for duty at Keuka.

“I think you’re missing the boat of life if you’re not passionate about something,” Bray said. “To this day, I’m still doing something I’m passionate about and that’s pretty cool.”

Freshman Brooke Lovell had the game-winning hit against Ithaca.

The Keuka College softball team’s phenomenal 2011 season came to an end with a 6-1 loss to Messiah College in the finals of the NCAA Regional Tournament hosted by Ithaca College on Monday.  The Storm defeated Ithaca College, for the second time in the regional, by a score of 2-1 to get to the finals against the top-seeded Falcons.

Keuka finishes its season with a 23-5-1 overall record while Ithaca ended its season with a 30-14 record.  Messiah advances to the next round of the NCAA’s and sports a 39-5 overall record.

After being rained out all day on Sunday, Keuka and Ithaca were finally able to get on the field for a chance to face Messiah in the finals.  The Storm jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning when senior Sarah Fredricks (Milton, Ontario/E.C. Drury) drove in junior Sara James (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton).  The Bombers tied the game in the top of the second with a run and it stayed that way until the seventh inning.

After Keuka held Ithaca scoreless in the top of the seventh, James led off the bottom half of the inning with a triple.  The backstop finished the game 2-for-3 while scoring both of Keuka’s runs. Freshman Brooke Lovell (Arkport, N.Y./Arkport) then delievered a walk-off single to give the Storm a 2-1 win.

Sophomore Allison Richter (Hume, N.Y./Fillmore) improved to 13-3 on the year while tossing a complete game and allowing just six hits and one earned. 

Against Messiah, Keuka was out-hit 11-4 as they fell to the 2009 National Champions for the second time in the regional.  After neither team was able to score in the first two innings, Messiah plated a run in the third, two in the fourth,  two more in the fifth, and another run in the sixth.  Keuka plated its lone run in the bottom of the seventh when James reached on a hit and scored on an illegal pitch.

James, Lovell,Terin Brown (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton), and Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) each had a hit for the Storm.

Richter tossed the first six inning and allowed 11 hits and five earned runs.  Senior Cherie Smith (Canastota, N.Y./Canastota) pitched a perfect seventh inning.

Richter, James, and Fredricks were all named to the Regional All-Tournament Team.

Junior Sara James had one of Keuka's two hits.

The Keuka softball team finally lost a game in the NCAA Tournament as they fell by a score of 8-0 to the top-seeded Falcons of Messiah College on Saturday.

Keuka falls to 22-4-1 overall while Messiah, the 2009 National Champions, improves to 38-5.  The Storm will now square off against the winner of #2 Ithaca College and #5 St. John Fisher College on Sunday, May 15 beginning at noon.

The Storm bats were finally silenced as they were two-hit in the five-inning shortened game.  Messiah recorded only six hits but took advantage of six Keuka errors en route to its eight runs.  The Falcons scored in every inning except for the second.

Senior Denise Bilbow (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) and junior Sara James (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton) each recorded a single for the Storm.

Sophomore Allison Richter (Hume, N.Y./Fillmore) went 4.1 innings while allowing five runs, only two earned.  Senior Cherie Smith (Canastota, N.Y./Canastota) tossed the final 0.2 innings while allowing a run.

Sophomore Allison Richter tossed a four-hitter.

For the second straight game, Keuka jumped out to a big first inning lead en route to upsetting its opponent in the NCAA Regional at Ithaca College. 

This time it was against No. 2 Ithaca College as Keuka rolled to a 7-1 victory.  The Storm improve to 22-3-1 overall and advance to face top-seeded Messiah College, who won the national championship two years ago, in the winners bracket.  Ithaca falls to 1-1 in the regional and 28-13 overall.

Keuka’s offense remained hot as they plated four first inning runs, high lighted by a Sarah Fredricks (Milton, Ontario/E.C. Drury) two-run single.  The Storm scored three more runs in the bottom of the third as Fredricks had an RBI single and freshman Brooke Lovell (Arkport, N.Y./Arkport) had a sac fly.

The seven runs was more then enough for sophomore ace Allison Richter (Hume, N.Y./Fillmore) who tossed a second straight complete game while allowing just four hits.  She had a shutout going into the seventh before the Bombers plated its only run.  Richter improves to 12-2 on the season and 2-0 in the NCAA regional.

Fredricks finished 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored as junior Sara James (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton) was also 2-for-3 with two runs scored.  Senior Morgan Engelbert (Elmira Heights, N.Y./Thomas Edison) scored twice and played solid defense at shortstop, finishing with four assists and five putouts.  Lovell drove in a pair of runs and senior Denise Bilbow (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) finished 1-for-2 with a run scored and a stolen base.

Senior Sarah Fredricks was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

The No. 6 seeded Keuka College softball team upset the No. 3 seeded Panthers of Middlebury College (VT.) by a score of 5-0 in the first game of the NCAA Regional Tournament hosted by Ithaca College on Thursday.

Keuka improves to 21-3-1 overall while Middlebury slips to 29-7 on the season.  The Storm advance to take on No. 2 Ithaca College on Friday at 4:30 pm.  Ithaca defeated Centenary College by a score of 8-1 in its first round game.

The Storm wasted no time in setting a tone for its game.  Senior Denise Bilbow (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) led off the game with a single and was then caught stealing.  Senior Morgan Engelbert (Elmira Heights, N.Y./Thomas Edison) proceeded to draw a walk and was followed by an opposite field two-run home run by junior Sara James (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton).  Senior Sarah Fredricks (Milton, Ontario/E.C. Drury) then crushed a home run to dead center for back-to-back jacks.

A 3-0 lead was all sophomore ace Allison Richter (Hume, N.Y./Fillmore) would need as she went the distance, scattering just seven hits for the shutout.  Richter struck out two and improved to 11-2 on the year.

Fredricks singled in Bilbow in the third to make it a 4-0 lead for the Storm.  James and Fredricks connected on back-to-back doubles in the seventh for the Storm’s fifth run.

Fredricks and James each went 3-for-4 with Fredricks driving in three and James a pair.  Bilbow was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.

Keuka College will be making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Keuka College softball team will be traveling to Ithaca College for the NCAA Regional Tournament that begins this Thursday, May 12.

The Storm (20-3-1) received the No. 6 seed in the eight-team regional and will square off against No. 3 Middlebury College (29-6) in the 2:30 pm game.

The rest of the seedings for the regional are as follows:

No. 1 Messiah College (35-5)
No. 2 Ithaca College (27-12)
No. 3 Middlebury College (29-6) 
No. 4 Western Connecticut State (27-12)
No. 5 St. John Fisher College (28-12-1)
No. 6 Keuka College (20-3-1)
No. 7 Centenary College (29-11)
No. 8 Muhlenberg College (25-15)

Keuka, who is making its fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, won the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Tournament to earn the automatic qualifier into the tournament.  Middlebury won its first-ever NESCAC Tournament title and will be playing in its first-ever NCAA Tournament.  The Panthers have won a school-record 29 games this season.

The winner of the game will advance to face the winner of Centenary and Ithaca in the 4:30 pm game on Friday, May 13.  The loser will face the loser of Centenary and Ithaca at noon on Friday.

Ticket prices will be $5 for adults and $2 for students, senior citizens, and children under the age of 12.  The NCAA softball regional website can be viewed at http://bombers.ithaca.edu/sports/2011/5/2/SB_0502110933.aspx?id=2593 while live stats will be availbale for every game at http://www.sidearmstats.com/ithaca/softball/index.htm.

The Keuka Storm will represent the NEAC Conference in the NCAA Tournament.

Having already won the the North Division North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) regular season and tournament championships, the only thing left for the Storm before yet another trip to the NCAA Tournament was the overall conference championship.  Standing in Keuka’s way was a best of three game series against the South Division winner, the Phoenix of Wilson College.

Keuka didn’t need three games as they disposed of Wilson in the first two games.  Winning game one 4-2 and taking the second game 5-3.  Keuka, who improves to 20-3-1 overall, will now wait to see where it gets placed for the NCAA Tournament.  Wilson ends its season with a 22-12 overall record.

In game one, the Storm out-hit the Phoenix 9-4 and capitalized on five Wilson errors.  Sophomore Allison Richter (Hume, N.Y./Fillmore) tossed another complete game, allowing just one earned and striking out six.  Leading the bats was senior Denise Bilbow (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) who went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and a home run.  Sophomore Terin Brown (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton) was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate as senior Sarah Fredricks (Milton, Ontario/E.C. Drury) went 2-for-4.

In game two, Keuka plated all five of its runs in the first two innings while being out-hit 8-7 in the game.  Senior Cherie Smith (Canastota, N.Y./Canastota) picked up the win while going 4.1 innings and striking out seven.  Rookie Danielle Gravel (Sidney, N.Y./Sidney) picked up the save after tossing 2.2 scoreless innings.

Bilbow was 3-for-3 at the plate with three stolen bases and was named the Tournament MVP for her two-game performance.   Freshman Brooke Lovell (Arkport, N.Y./Arkport) was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs.

Sophomore Allison Richter has been the NEAC Pitcher of the Year both years she has played.

The Keuka College softball team, who won both the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) North Division regular season title (14-0) as well as the tournament, swept the All-Conference individual awards while placing seven players on the All-NEAC teams.

Head coach Jamie Burke was named Co-Coach of the Year after leading her team to an 18-3-1 overall record.  Burke shared the award with the head coach at SUNY Morrisville. 

Sophomore ace Allison Richter (Hume, N.Y./Fillmore) was selected as the conference Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season while also being selected to the All-NEAC first team.  Richter is currently 9-2 on the season with eight complete games and a 2.22 ERA.  She has three shutouts and 63 strikeouts in 69.1 innings of work.

Senior first baseman Sarah Fredricks (Milton, Ontario/E.C. Drury) was selected as the North Division NEAC Player of the Year, giving her that distinction in three of her four years at Keuka.  Fredricks batted a team-high .484 with 31 hits, 24 runs, nine doubles, 18 RBIs, and a .750 slugging percentage.  She also earned a place on the All-NEAC first team.

Joining Richter and Fredricks on the All-NEAC first team was junior catcher Sara James (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton), sophomore second basemen Terin Brown (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton), senior third baseman Morgan Engelbert (Elmira Heights, N.Y./Thomas Edison), and senior left fielder Denise Bilbow (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker).

James batted .367 on the year with eight extra-base hits while catching a pitching staff that sported a team ERA of 2.86.  Brown led the team in RBIs with 25 while batting .403.  Engelbert led the team in hits (31), runs (25), extra-base hits (17), home runs (6), and slugging percentage (.900) while batting .443 on the season.  Bilbow stole 18 bases while batting .301 with 22 hits and 21 runs scored.

Junior center fielder Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) was selected to the All-NEAC second team after finishing the season with a perfect fielding percentage and 17 putouts.  She batted .214 on the year with 11 RBIs and 14 runs scored.

Freshman Jill Hart was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.

The KeukaCollege softball team played the Cardinals of St. John Fisher College to a 3-3 tie at home on Monday.  The game was called in the top of the seventh due to rain and game two of the double header was cancelled.

Keuka now stands at 18-3-1 while the Cardinals sit at 25-11-1.

Fisher struck first with two runs in the top of the first inning.  Sophomore ace Allison Richter (Hume, N.Y./Fillmore) settled in after that throwing four scoreless frames.  Keuka tied the game in the bottom of the second when sophomore Brittany Smyder (Avon, N.Y./Avon) capitalized on a couple Cardinal errors with a two-run single. 

The Storm took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a run but allowed Fisher to tie it up in the top of the sixth.

Richter finished with three strikeouts and three earned runs as Keuka was out-hit 7-4.  Rookie Jill Hart (Cowlesville, N.Y./Iroquois) led the bats, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored.  Junior Elly Disbrow (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan) laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to drive in Keuka’s other run.

Keuka will next play at Ithaca College this Wednesday, May 4 beginning at 4 pm.

Senior Morgan Engelbert was named the Tournament MVP after batting .389 in the five games.

Needing to win three straight games to win the North Division of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) tournament, that’s precisely what the Storm did at home Saturday.

Keuka began with a 4-0 shutout of SUNY Morrisville.  The Storm were then able to get revenge from its 5-0 loss a day before to the SUNYIT Wildcats by besting them twice in a row.  Keuka won game one 14-2 and took the championship game 10-2.

Keuka improves to 18-3 overall and will now face-off against the winner of the South Division Tournament in a best-of-three series on the road this Saturday, May 7.  Game times will be 10 am, 12 pm, and 2 pm if necessary.

Against Morrisville, sophomore Allison Richter (Hume, N.Y./Fillmore) and rookie Danielle Gravel (Sidney, N.Y./Sidney) combined on a one-hitter.  Richter tossed the first six innings while striking out seven batters.

Keuka clubbed seven hits with senior Morgan Engelbert (Elmira Heights, N.Y./Thomas Edison) belting her second home run of the tournament and sophomore Terin Brown (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton) going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

In its second game of the day, Keuka capitalized on nine errors by SUNYIT to win 14-2.  Keuka out-hit SUNYIT 9-2 and scored seven runs in the second inning.  Brown stayed hot, going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a triple as Engelbert was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.  Sophomore Brittany Smyder (Avon, N.Y./Avon) drove in three runs.  Senior Cherie Smith (Canastota, N.Y./Canastota) improved to 6-0 on the year with six K’s and allowing just two hits.

In the championship game, Keuka trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the fifth when rookie Brooke Lovell (Arkport, N.Y./Arkport) crushed a bases loaded double off the wall with two outs.  The Storm would plated four more runs that inning and added two more in the bottom of the sixth.

Richter pitched a complete game, allowing just two earned with five punchouts.  Lovell finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs as junior Sara James (Wayland, N.Y./Wayland-Cohocton) was 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and a pair of runs scored.  Rookie Jill Hart (Cowlesville, N.Y./Iroquois) batted 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Engelbert was named the Tournament MVP after batting .389 with eight runs scored, six RBIs, a double, a triple, and two home runs.