2003 World Champion Kristie Marano (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) will receive the James M. Cooke Memorial Award as the New York Athletic Club's Athlete of the Year during a special awards ceremony this evening, Tuesday April 20.    She will be honored at the the 106th annual Quarter Century Club Awards Dinner at the historic New York Athletic Club, which is located on 180 Central Park South in Manhattan. The Quarter Century Club is one of the most prestigious groups within the New York Athletic Club. It comprises NYAC members who have maintained continuous membership for a period of 25 years or more.    Her honor recognizes her outstanding year, capped off by winning the gold medal at the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling in Madison Square Garden in New York City in September.    The James M. Cooke Memorial Award winner is recognized as the NYAC Athlete of the Year. Other wrestlers to have received this honor include Gene Mills (1981), Bobby Weaver and Bruce Baumgartner (both 1985) and Kevin Bracken and Kerry McCoy (both 2002).    Kristie is only the third woman in NYAC history to be designated Athlete of the Year. (The others were track and field competitor, Dawn Ellerbe, and rower, Lisa Schlenker.)    Marano is also the first female NYAC athlete in any sport to become an individual world champion.    The James M. Cooke Athlete of the Year Award is sponsored by the NYAC Athlete's Fund. The Athlete's Fund is the charitable arm of the NYAC. Its mandate is to offer financial assistance to athletes attempting to qualify for the Olympic Games. In addition, it provides funding for the development of sports programs for inner city children.    The NYAC was founded in 1868 and, in the years since, its athletes have won 204 Olympic medals. Bruce Baumgartner has been among the most successful, winning a super heavyweight gold medal in 1984, a silver in 1988, a gold in 1992 and a bronze in 1996. NYAC wrestlers who competed in the 2000 Olympic Games were Kevin Bracken, Kerry McCoy and Charles Burton.    In 2003, Marano won her second career World title, capturing the 67 kg/147.5 lbs. division at the 2003 World Championships of Freestyle Wrestling in Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. , Sept. 12-14. The win extended her U.S. record for most women's World medals to seven.     In the finals, she defeated Ewelina Pruszko of Poland, 7-1, helping the U.S. place second in the team race. Over the three-day tournament, Marano also recorded three pins and a 11-1 technical fall.    Marano claimed an individual gold medal at the Women's World Cup in Tokyo, Japan, in October, helping lead the USA to the team title in an upset of host Japan. She also claimed a gold medal at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in February. Marano won silver medals at two other major events, the Sunkist Kids International in October and the Manitoba Open in Canada in February.    She competed at 63 kg/138.75 pounds during the domestic season, earning a silver medal at the U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas, Nev. in April and the World Team Trials in Indianapolis, Ind. in June. To secure her spot on the U.S. team, she moved up to 67 kg/147.5 lbs. and won a Special Wrestle-off in Colorado Springs, Colo. in August.    Marano was named USA Wrestling's Woman of the Year in 2003, recognizing an outstanding woman for her contributions to the sport of wrestling.    Marano is a native of Albany, N.Y., where she competed in wrestling at Colonie Central High School. She also attended Hudson Valley CC in New York. This year, she became a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete.