Each month, USATF highlights a new Youth Spotlight to shine!
Lauren Primerano started her successful career in track & field as an athlete first at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, NJ and then at Manhattan College in NYC. In high school she was a three time county and state champion and finished 2nd at the New Jersey Meet of Champions and was a two time NSAF All-American in the Javelin Throw. As a college athlete, Primerano was a six time All-East performer, competed in a myriad of events, including throws, jumps, and sprints, scoring conference points in every area of track and field. She was honored as the MAAC Conference MVP in both Indoor and Outdoors in 2002. At Manhattan, Primerano was named team captain and lead the team to their eight consecutive MAAC Championship title, was named the MAAC conference MVP for the indoor and outdoor 2020 as well as team MVP in both 2002 and 2003. She qualified for and competed at the 2002 and 2003 USA Track & Field Championships as well as the 2004 USA Olympic Trials. Currently she holds the Manhattan College school record in Javelin and sits third all time in the Hammer. Lauren received her Bachelors of Science degree in Physical Education from Manhattan College.
Following her career as an at Manhattan College, Primerano serves as a assistant coach at her alma mater helping win four additional MAAC conference championships and the IC4A Championship in 2004. During that time Primerano played a crucial role at bringing the NCAA Regional Championships to New York City, which was hosted at Icahn Stadium in 2004.
After her time at Manhattan College, Primerano served as the assistant athletic director at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York for over five year. During that time she was responsible for capital renovation projects, managed equipment and purchasing needs for all 18 NCAA teams, managed events, and oversaw all facility rentals and scheduling for the department which lead to revenue doubling for the department as well coordination of all recreation and club sports.
During that same period Primerano also worked with a team of individuals; Sean Rice, John Honerkamp, Curt Clausen and Phil Greenwald, who were all dedicated to restoring the USATF brand in New York City and established USATF New York in 2011. In 2011 with assistance from USATF and the USATF Challenge Grant, Primerano in conjunction with Louis Vazquez and the Randall's Island Park Alliance started the "Youth Challenge Series" which includes the addition of the youth division of the historic and prestigious New York Relays and changed and shaped the current landscape of youth track and field in New York City, which increased competition opportunities for the children of New York City and increased membership and participation by over 400%. Since 2011 the Youth Challenge Series has welcomed over 28,000 athletes compete at Icahn Stadium.
In 2012 Primerano, joined the NYC Parks Department which lead her to her current position as Park Administrator at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. There she was able to extend the Youth Challenge Series to the indoor track season by providing an additional three youth developmental meets for the children of New York City which have become the largest indoor youth meets in the country. These meets are held in conjunction with the Ocean Breeze "BIG3" elite high school series which are three of the largest and most prestigious meets in the United States. Since 2016 USATF New York and the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex has successfully hosted the USATF Hershey Youth National Championship which has given thousands of children the opportunity to compete in a world class facility. She also served as co-meet director of the 2019 USATF Toyota Indoor Championships.
In addition to the robust competition schedule at Ocean Breeze, Primerano also started many successful community programs such as Track & Field 101 which strives to introduce children to the basic concept of running, jumping and throwing to spark their interest in track and field. Ocean Breeze is also home of the Ocean Breeze WaveRunners which has become one of the top youth clubs in the Northeast with an active roster of over 150 athletes. Lauren is also certified as a Level I USATF Coach, is a member of the USATF Alumni Association, a highly skilled finishlynx operator and a member of the USATF. Recently, Lauren has completed over 70 hours of professional development training with FEMA and the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety & Security (NCS4).
In recent years, Lauren has received multiple awards and acclamations from NYC Parks, USATF and other organizations. Some noteworthy awards include:
Lauren currently resides in the Staten Island.