DAVID LAKE
Spring Valley High School
Class of 1952
David Lake was a headliner for a strong Spring Valley team that shared dominance of the Rockland County Public School Athletic League track scene with Nyack during the decade of the 1940s. From 1941 to 1950, Spring Valley laid claim to seven RCPSAL titles, including a co-championship with Nyack in 1950.
One of the Tigers’ stalwarts on that 1950 club was David Lake, who sprinted to victory in the 440-yard dash – the classic one-lap distance – at both the Rockland County and Section 9 Class B championship meets. At the latter meet he clocked 52.4 seconds, clipping the existing County record of 52.8 set by fellow Hall of Famer Henry Cook of Nyack in 1948. David also was credited with a 52 flat in a dual meet with Westwood, N.J., although the mark could not count for record purposes.
After winning the County championship in the 440 as a freshman and sophomore, David shifted gears to concentrate on the short sprints, the 100- and 220- yard dashes. In his junior year he swept the 100 and 220 at the RCPSAL meet, and as a senior in 1952, he annexed the Section 9 Class B 220-yard crown and capped a stellar four-year career with a third-place, bronze-medal showing in the 220 at the New York State championships.
In total, David won almost 80 percent of his races in the 100, 220 and 440 over four years, and never lost in the long jump or sprint relay. During those years Spring Valley competed against Rockland schools including Suffern, Tappan Zee, Haverstraw, Nyack, Pearl River and Congers, St. Agnes school for boys in Sparkill, and Westwood and Ramsey of New Jersey. Also on the annual meet schedule was the prestigious Newburgh Relays, at which David bested a strong 440-yard dash field of entrants in 1950.
The athletic pursuits of David Lake ended with his graduation from Spring Valley, but his career endeavors proved just as fruitful. After several years working as a union carpenter, he earned a position as a facility supervisor for nuclear power plants with Bechtel Corp., a large engineering, construction and project management company. The job took him to locations in western New York, Maryland, Tennessee, and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. He and his team built power plants in the first three locations and performed repairs and nuclear cleanup work at Three Mile Island.
After a prosperous career of more than 30 years in the field, David, a native of Susquehanna, Pa., retired to live in the Atlanta suburb of Newnan, Georgia. He died in 2002 at age 69.
One of the Tigers’ stalwarts on that 1950 club was David Lake, who sprinted to victory in the 440-yard dash – the classic one-lap distance – at both the Rockland County and Section 9 Class B championship meets. At the latter meet he clocked 52.4 seconds, clipping the existing County record of 52.8 set by fellow Hall of Famer Henry Cook of Nyack in 1948. David also was credited with a 52 flat in a dual meet with Westwood, N.J., although the mark could not count for record purposes.
After winning the County championship in the 440 as a freshman and sophomore, David shifted gears to concentrate on the short sprints, the 100- and 220- yard dashes. In his junior year he swept the 100 and 220 at the RCPSAL meet, and as a senior in 1952, he annexed the Section 9 Class B 220-yard crown and capped a stellar four-year career with a third-place, bronze-medal showing in the 220 at the New York State championships.
In total, David won almost 80 percent of his races in the 100, 220 and 440 over four years, and never lost in the long jump or sprint relay. During those years Spring Valley competed against Rockland schools including Suffern, Tappan Zee, Haverstraw, Nyack, Pearl River and Congers, St. Agnes school for boys in Sparkill, and Westwood and Ramsey of New Jersey. Also on the annual meet schedule was the prestigious Newburgh Relays, at which David bested a strong 440-yard dash field of entrants in 1950.
The athletic pursuits of David Lake ended with his graduation from Spring Valley, but his career endeavors proved just as fruitful. After several years working as a union carpenter, he earned a position as a facility supervisor for nuclear power plants with Bechtel Corp., a large engineering, construction and project management company. The job took him to locations in western New York, Maryland, Tennessee, and Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. He and his team built power plants in the first three locations and performed repairs and nuclear cleanup work at Three Mile Island.
After a prosperous career of more than 30 years in the field, David, a native of Susquehanna, Pa., retired to live in the Atlanta suburb of Newnan, Georgia. He died in 2002 at age 69.