Gino CulottaFootball

International School of Brussels

Last week: Culotta, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior running back, battered the AFNORTH defense 29 times for 239 yards and four touchdowns Friday night in unbeaten ISB’s 34-6 road victory over the 2008 European D-III champions. Three of Culotta’s TDs came on runs; the fourth was a 65-yard kickoff return. “He was continuously pumping his feet and falling forward,” ISB coach Will Vreugdenhil said Tuesday, “as many of his yards came with one or two players trying to take him down.” In addition to helping ISB to the Division II-North championship, Culotta’s effort was his second straight four-TD, 200-plus-yard game. The previous week, Culotta — who has scored 13 TDs and rushed 94 times for 799 yards — burned SHAPE for 278 yards on 25 carries, four of which ended in the SHAPE end zone. Culotta, Vreugdenhil pointed out, doesn’t take a break from his 25-or-so carries per game, either, when the Raiders don’t have the ball. So far, he’s come up with 19 tackles, nine of them in Friday night’s clincher, and two fumble recoveries.

Milan JulianoVolleyball

Vicenza

Last week: Juliano, a 16-year-old junior, handed out 44 assists Saturday as the Cougars dumped visiting Marymount International School of Rome 25-20, 25-17, 25-20. The effort gave the 5-foot-1 setter, who “can jump like a rabbit,” according to her coach, Lisa Balboni, a hand in 58.7 percent of the 75 points Vicenza rang up against its guest. Along with setting, Juliano brings a strong floater serve to the table, and a killing ability one would expect of a second-degree black belt. “She’s a very strong player,” Balboni summarized. Vicenza is the third school in three years Juliano has attended, but she’s made up for any discontinuity in coaching styles with attendance at camps at the University of Georgia and Emory University the past two summers as well as the DODDS-Europe camp at Aviano. She also plays local club ball in the offseason, honing her skills against international competition. Although she’s a four-point student pursuing advanced placement classes, Juliano is hoping for a future in volleyball at the next level, according to Balboni. “Volleyball is more than a sport for her,” Balboni concluded. “It is a lifestyle.”

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