The past year in Binghamton University sports has been the year of the individual, spear-headed by pole vaulter Rory Quiller, who captured the school’s first-ever Division I national title in March and was featured in the April 17 issue of Sports Illustrated. Two others who not long ago were Bearcats have also brought notoriety to BU athletics with the start of their professional careers: Scott Diamond, a starting pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization, and Adam Chavez, who plays backfield for the Richmond Kickers of the United Soccer Leagues.

What a Quill!

Quiller, who already had a day named after him by the City of Binghamton, was further honored for his national title by becoming the fourth BU athlete to be featured in SI.

He was pictured along with several other athletes in “Faces in the Crowd,” a section the magazine runs every issue to expose accomplished athletes who might otherwise go unnoticed.

“It’s probably one of those things that comes along with being the first at something,” Quiller said. “If somebody else wins national now for Binghamton, they’re probably not going to get their face in there. It’s just a starting point. It’s not an article, it’s not something huge, [but] it gives my mom something to send to my grandma.”

The piece reads: “Quiller, a graduate student at SUNY Binghamton, cleared 18’ 1/2” to win the pole vault at the Division I indoor championship after finishing second in 2007. A three-time All-American and five-time qualifier for the indoor and outdoor NCAA meets, he is the Bearcats’ first Division I champion.”

Both Mike Thompson, BU’s track and field head coach, and Joel Thirer, BU’s director of athletics, were pleased with the recognition but felt it was just icing on the cake after all Quiller, 24, has accomplished.

“Rory’s not our first athlete to be in ‘Faces in the Crowd,’ and he hopefully won’t be the last,” Thirer said. “Rory’s just an outstanding young man, an exemplar for all our athletes.”

“It’s exciting certainly, but doesn’t mean nearly as much as the fact that he won nationals,” Thompson said.

Stefan Gonet, a goalkeeper for the men’s soccer team, was the last Bearcat featured in SI, in the Dec. 1, 2003 issue.

Scott starts in South

Diamond, who chose to forego his senior year at Binghamton late last summer after posting a 5-3 record and 3.45 ERA for the Bearcats in 2007, is off to a strong start with the Rome Braves, the Atlanta Braves Low-A affiliate in Rome, Ga. that plays in the South Atlantic League.

Diamond, 21, made his pro debut on April 5 against the Charleston RiverDogs, a New York Yankees affiliate. He earned his first professional win with six innings of one-run ball against the Savannah Sand Gnats, a New York Mets affiliate, on Monday night. He struck out six and allowed eight hits. On the season, Diamond is 1-0 with a 3.32 ERA in 21 2/3 innings over four starts. He has allowed five walks and struck out 16.

“The biggest thing is obviously commanding both sides of the plate,” Diamond said. “It’s early in the season, I feel like batters are sill not comfortable yet in the box — got to take advantage of that.”

Diamond worked hard in the instructional league in the fall and in spring training earlier this year to earn a spot with Rome and avoid being sent to extended spring training. Now, he feels he could move quickly.

“In terms of the organization, I can’t speak highly enough of Atlanta and how really good they are,” said Diamond.

The crowds have been large, the road trips long and the weather surprisingly cold, but Diamond said the adjustment has gone well. He even has some fans.

“First time I ever had a guy hand me photos of myself that he had taken at the game to sign,” he said. “I was more taken aback looking at the pictures than actually signing them.”

Diamond does, however, miss his former BU teammates.

“I keep in close contact, still watch the games on game tracker whenever i can,” he said. “I feel like in some ways I should still be there, that’s where my friends are.”

Though BU baseball head coach Tim Sinicki and Thirer both spoke of the benefits of having former Bearcats in the professional ranks and said they were both excited for Diamond, Thirer also spoke to the importance of completing one’s undergraduate degree.

“Scott made an intellectual choice to take the opportunity to sign a contract before graduating, which is not something we exactly encourage,” he said. “If you’re asking my opinion, it’s something we might typically discourage.”

Chavez keeps cool

Chavez, who played in the America East men’s soccer championship game every season of his four-year career with the Bearcats, signed a three-year contract with the Richmond Kickers, who play in the USL Division II, earlier this month and will still be able to graduate this spring.

Chavez, 22, is a senior at BU and will finish his degree thanks to some understanding professors, who have allowed him to submit work online. He said he hopes his time with Richmond will eventually lead to an MLS career.

“In my years in the profession at Binghamton and before, I’ve known a lot of young people who have had an opportunity to go on with a career after college,” said Thirer. “If you have an opportunity to do that at 22, 23, 25 years old, why not do it? It only goes around once, and you can spend the rest of your life living in regret that you should have done this, might have done that.”

Chavez was a two-time All-Northeast Region selection at Binghamton and was named the 2007 AE Conference Defender of the Year in 2007, his final season with the team.

“It’s hard to move away but it’s a new chapter in my life,” Chavez said. “Starting a new career, I feel like soccer-wise I had a great career at Binghamton, it prepared me very well.”

“We want to bring in guys who want to try and play at the next level,” said BU head coach Paul Marco. “It helps them improve, it helps them stay hungry during the difficult times—when they’re looking each other in the face and it’s 5:30 in the morning and they’ve got a pretty tough workout ahead of them—and they’re wondering what it’s worth.”

Chavez was in the starting lineup for the Kickers’ 3-0 regular season-opening win over the Western Mass Pioneers on Saturday.

The match, hosted by Richmond, was played in front of 3,197 fans — a lot, but not as many as the almost 4,000 who showed up to watch the Kickers defeat DC United of Major League Soccer 3-0 in an exhibition match on March 22, a match Chavez also started. He was not too thrown by the atmosphere thanks to the Bearcat Hooligans, BU’s student fan group that took over the Bearcats Sports Complex stands this past season.

“We played very well that game in front of a big crowd, it was a new experience for me, there were a lot of people there,” Chavez said. “But coming off Binghamton’s last season, where there were large crowds and a lot of atmosphere, [it helped].”