Cross country thoughts

First of all, congratulations to the Iona College Gaels for their phenomenal runner-up (2nd place) performance at the NCAA Championships. All the talk was of Oklahoma State challenging Oregon, maybe even beating them. Seems everyone forgot LAST YEAR'S runners-up. And now, they are THIS YEAR'S runners-up. Convincingly. We should all be proud to be THEIR runners-up every year at MAACs.

Amazing stat of the season: Iona's Andrew Ledwith had a higher individual placement at the NCAA Championships (3rd) than he had at the MAAC Championships (5th). Obviously, the NCAA Championship race had a bit more importance to him and to his teammates, and they nailed it. Good for them.

Marist Cross Country 2008: This was a great fall season in which the team met or achieved all its goals. For those of you team members reading this, congratulations on your hard-earned success. For those of you alumni/friends/family reading this, thank you for your continued support throughout the fall season.

With all due respect to past teams -- and I've loved them all! -- this may have been the most fun I have had in a cross country season (I probably say that every year, right?). We were relatively injury-free. Everybody got along great. Everybody did the "little things" off the trail to make sure they got the "big things" nailed down correctly. I do think the racing-ever-other-week schedule worked out really well.

And the added bonus this year was getting to have a more active role in the women's program (more on that later). So in all, I couldn't have asked for more out of the past 14 or so weeks.

We had highlights in pretty much every meet.

Iona MOC: School record by Girma (25:01) and school record by the team (25:45 average), as well as highest team finish ever.
Paul Short: Probably our weakest meet of the year, but we still averaged 25:17 per man in the top-5, which was a program best until ...
Albany: When we won easily and averaged 24:47, the first time in school history we averaged under 25:00.
MAAC: We finally ran well for Mickey, getting a dominant 2nd, three all-MAAC performers (Girma, Conor, Will) and averaging 25:12 on a course that seemed to run a little slow.
Regionals: Top-10. Says it all.
IC4As: Broke the Vanny record by 1 second, despite the slightly longer course and brutally cold conditions, and sent off the Girma-Raucci and Friends Senior Class with one, last memorable day.

Now, I know this blog is men's-team centric. Not sure if any women's team members even read it. I would welcome the ladies to, and will try to include more women's meet details as track season begins in earnest next week.

One observation from this old coach about the women's program: We ran the University Division at ECACs (the women's version of IC4As), and got 4th. Our two lead runners, Addie (2nd) and Kathryn (9th), were in the top-10. Then there was a gap to a very capable and improving pack of ladies.

Does this sound familiar? It should. In 2005, the men's team ran the IC4A University Division. Girma place 2nd. David placed 11th. Both were freshmen. Then there was a gap to a very capable and improving pack of men.

You know how the past three years have gone for the men's program, with Girma and David leading the way. With two stud freshman ladies and under Chuck's excellent leadership, recruiting and coaching ... well, all I'll say is, just watch and see.

It should be a fun ride, and I'll be glad to hitch along to that wagon.

Final thoughts on the Girma/David Raucci Cross Country Era: It has been pointed out, by me and others, many times how "I wish Girma and David would nail it on the same day" in a cross country meet. They finally came very close to that perfection at Regionals this year, and the result was obvious.

However, the thought occurred to me the other day: In their many cross country races as our 1-2 runners (and they NEVER missed a meet, by the way), one of them ALWAYS stepped up and led the team. So while they rarely nailed it together on the same day, one of them almost always picked up for the other and kept our train rolling along. For four memorable years.

If anyone is interested in the updated VCP School Record List, let me know and I will email it to you.

On to indoor track.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Philly marathoners: NICELY DONE!

Great job by Marist Alumni Racing Team members Matt (CT) Szymaszek and Matt (Walsh) Walsh at the Philly Marathon on a chilly Sunday morning. Both ran their maiden voyages at 26.2 miles with smartly-paced, strong debuts.

As Decker wrote in a text shortly after they finished: "They ran brilliantly." I couldn't agree more, but I'll let you be the judge.

CT: 2:45:53. 63rd overall. 5km: 19:32; 10km: 39:21; 15km: 58:59; 20km: 1:18:32; 25km: 1:38:57 (included a 56-second bathroom break!); 30km: 1:58:23; 35km: 2:18:13; 40km: 2:37:24.

Walsh: 2:55:54. 138th overall. 5km: 21:40; 10km: 42:12; 15km: 1:03:24; 20km: 1:23:52; 25km: 1:44:29; 30km: 2:05:15; 35km: 2:26:04; 40km: 2:46:38.

Interestingly, Walsh won the little-known "Matt Walsh" division in the marathon, as he finished ahead of 25-year-old Matthew Walsh of Philadelphia (3:38:55).

Fellow Alumni Racer Justin (Jut) Harris deserves kudos for guiding Walsh in his training, particularly over the last month. And CT did a nice job crafting his training, and then adjusting it accordingly in the past month as he trained through a foot/ankle injury.

Great job fellas: We here at Blog Central are proud of your efforts and look forward to even brighter marathon days in the future.

Banner day at IC4A

Hello all:

Here is what I wrote up for the Marist Web Site (www.GoRedFoxes.com). Figured I'd give you all a sneak preview.

This was a great way to end the best season in school history.

More later in the weekend and/or earlier next week ...


NEW YORK – Seniors David Raucci (Clermont, NY) and captain Girma Segni (Bronx, NY) closed out their landmark cross country careers Saturday in record-breaking fashion, leading the Marist College men’s cross country team to its best team performance in school history at the 100th annual ICAAAA Championships, held at a cold and windy Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

Competing for the final time on the famed cross country course, the seniors led the Red Foxes to a third-place finish in the Championship Division, the highest placement in team history. The previous best team mark was fifth place in 2006. En route, the top-5 runners eclipsed the school record for combined time at Van Cortlandt Park by one second, bettering a mark set earlier this fall at the Iona College Meet of Champions.

The Red Foxes trailed IC4A Champions Duke (48 points) and second-place finisher Duquesne (87 points). Marist scored 102 points for third place in the 19-team field.

Raucci placed second overall, the highest individual finish in the Championship Division in school history, in a personal-best time of 25:13 over the 5-mile course. He earned IC4A All-East honors for the fourth time in his career.

Segni, the school-record holder at VCP, was 16th overall and earned his fourth All-East honors with a time of 25:43. Segni and Raucci have been the top-two runners for the Red Foxes for the past four years, and have set all of the cross country program’s school records in the process.

“We’ve never had a 1-2 punch like Girma and David, for four straight years, and we may never will have that again,’’ head coach Pete Colaizzo said. “As a program, we cannot thank David and Girma enough for all they have done to elevate our team and our school.’’

Sophomore Tim Keegan (Huntington, NY) improved on his VCP best by nearly 40 seconds with his 22nd-place finish of 25:43. That placement earned him IC4A All-East honors. Freshman Will Griffin (Columbia, CT) lopped 55 seconds off his previous VCP best with his 25th-place finish in 25:54. That placement earned him the final IC4A All-East position in the race. It was the first time in school history that four Marist runners earned IC4A Championship Division All-East honors on the same day.

Junior Conor Shelley (Rockville Centre, NY) was 38th in 26:04, rounding out the scoring pack. He was followed by freshmen Matt Flint (Queensbury, NY) and Curtis Jensen (Atlantic Highlands, NY), who notched personal-best times of 26:16 (54th place) and 26:35 (70th place).

The top-5 combined time of 2:08:43 was five seconds faster than the combined time at the Iona College Meet of Champions two months ago, with the average top-5 runner time equaling 25:44.6 – the best in the 45-year history of Marist Men’s Cross Country. Saturday’s combined time was run on a course slightly longer than Meet of Champions (5 miles is about 45 meters longer than 8,000 meters). It still represents the fastest combined time in school history.

In addition to the Championship Division result, freshman Brian Townsend (East Setauket, NY) won the Coaches Association 5-mile race in a personal-best time of 26:53.

The IC4A meet concludes the fall cross country season. The indoor track season begins in two weeks at the Yale Season Opener, Dec. 6, at Coxe Cage in New Haven, CT.

IC4A Championships
Individual results, 5 miles

2. David Raucci 25:13 *IC4A All East
16. Girma Segni 25:43 *IC4A All East
22. Tim Keegan 25:49 *IC4A All East
25. Will Griffin 25:54 *IC4A All East
38. Conor Shelley 26:04
54. Matt Flint 26:16
70. Curtis Jensen 26:35
77. John Keenan 26:44
80. Nick Webster 26:45
89. Matt Janczyk 26:51
103. Joe McElhoney 27:15
107. Alex Emerel 27:19
129 finishers

Team standings: 1. Duke 48, 2. Duquesne 87, 3. Marist 102, 4. Cornell 157, 5. Princeton 183, 6. Columbia 193 ... the last page of team standings blew away in the chilly breeze. There were 19 teams total in the Championship Division.

Coaches Association race, 5 miles

1. Brian Townsend 26:53
4. Sam McMullen 27:13
5. Tom Lipari 27:17
7. Frank Stewart 27:25
10. Pat Duggan 27:40
14. Zak Smetana 27:47
26. Kyle Havard 28:09
30. Ryan Brown 28:20
37. Greg Masto 28:47
38. Kris Geist 28:51
55. Mike Holinko 30:41
66. Alex Lombardozzi 33:25
66 finishers

Freezing in Philly

Best of luck to CT (Matt Szymaszek) and Walsh (Matt Walsh), who will be running the Philly Marathon on Sunday.

Just got off the phone with CT and he informed me the race starts at 7 a.m. Yikes. I checked www.wunderground.com and noted that it will be about 27 degrees at that time. But with a light wind, so actually pretty decent marathon racing conditions.

Unsolicited advice to my boys: Go out at a conservative pace. Don't blow it over the first 8-10km. Stay comfortable. And then it's just a 20-mile hard run. Look at it that way.

Best of luck to them, and any other alums/runners reading this, at Philly.

For those of you coming to Vanny on Saturday morning: IT WILL BE COLD. But dry.

See you soon.

Mud picture #2

Also courtesy of Decker, a little bigger and better photo.

From left: David Raucci, Matt Flint, Will Griffin, Tim Keegan, Girma Segni, Conor Shelley, Joe McElhoney

Mud picture #1

Courtesy of Decker ...

Proud of my alumni coaches

Been meaning to write a post about this, and I will offer my disclaimer apology up front for anyone I inadvertently leave off this list ...

I've been coaching a long time, this is my 18th year. Obviously, this means I have coached a lot of athletes. And a lot of those athletes have, fortunately, graduated and made productive lives for themselves and those around them.

It's gratifying to me that many of my former runners have become coaches in their own right. In fact, several Section One and New York State cross country and track meets sometimes turn into impromptu Marist Alumni Coaches meetings! And now, many of you guys are sending some of your athletes my way, which makes me a GrandCoach of sorts. Or something like that.

OK. In no particular order, here is a roster of Marist Running Alums that are now guiding young runners all over the Northeast and beyond ...

High school
David Swift: Spackenkill (Mr. Bucket has been there over a decade now)
Pat Driscoll: Tappan Zee
Jason Grady: Rhinebeck (nearly won a state title!)
Gilby Hawkins: Pearl River (also nearly won a state title!)
Mike Nehr: Syosset
Matt Pool: Dover (they even built him a really nice track!)
Louis Caporale: Brewster/Carmel or somewhere over there (sorry Louis, I always forget!)
Joe Scelia: Brewster
Timmy Russo: Somewhere on LI (sorry)

Collegiate
Sean Hopkins: Assistant at Hofstra University
Justin Harris: Assistant at SUNY New Paltz

I am certain I forgot someone, probably a recent grad that I should remember. If so, let me know and we'll do a follow-up post.

More regionals analysis

This is mostly for those alums/friends of the program that were not at the mudfest at Vanny:

-- Throw away the times. They are meaningless, of no use. The course was a mess, with parts of it under water with puddles. It was impossible to run even remotely fast on it. Interestingly, though, when the men were racing the conditions were not that bad. A bit breezy, but no rain. And, it was insanely warm and humid for this time of year -- mid-60s and sticky.

-- Girma and Conor were not at 100 percent. Girma had been sick all week and had nosebleeds during several of his runs, including Friday afternoon. I was worried his new white singlet would be covered in mud and blood at the same time. He said he had trouble breathing because of his illness, but he "manned up" and got the job done for the team. Conor has had knee pain since before MAACs but it has been barking pretty good the past 2 weeks. He popped some IB before the race and said he didn't feel it, but it was probably a factor in his subpar performance in terms of place. However, there was nothing subpar about his effort. He gutted it out and did a fantastic job for us as 5th man on this day. His status is questionable for ICs.

-- David Raucci was hoping for better, but it was by far his best regional race and he ran tremendously well. His 33 points for our 2nd man was a huge key, as was ...

-- Will Griffin, the fab freshman, who scored 58 points and really held his own against big-time competition over a 10km distance that had us all concerned earlier in the season. No more.

-- Timmy Keegan ran an overall solid performance, as he usually does. He said afterwards it was the hardest race he ever ran. He lost a toenail during/after the race and was in some pain, but he'll hopefully be good to go for ICs.

-- Matt Flint and Joe Mac were disappointed in their races and in not scoring for the team, but they have been strong varsity runners all year and they have one more race to prove it. Matt's race was actually solid and would have been fine for a scoring spot if needed. Again, we are looking for big PR efforts out of them -- and all, at ICs on Saturday.

-- As a team, we finished ahead of two Ivy's (Yale, Brown), which is significant given the caliber of their programs; Army, the Patriot League champ; Boston College; Binghamton and Stony Brook, two strong America East teams; and were just a few points behind the America East champs (UNH).

Now we move on to IC4As, a meet that our program has always attended and where we have some strong tradition. We are hopeful for a strong finish to what has been a solid season. Equally as important, we are hopeful for as many personal-best performances out of the entire squad -- 1 through 25.

And lastly, we are thankful for the efforts of our departing senior xc runners: Alex Emerel, Kris Geist, John Keenan, David Raucci, Girma Segni. They have been part of the best teams in history, and we hope they can be part of a fine send-off at Vanny.

Thanks for reading, and for your support.

10th place

It was a memorable day at Vanny, which was pretty much under water due to the mid-morning deluge.

Thanks to the alums that could make it and braved the miserable (but not cold) weather. Special note of thanks to "old" alum Pete Startz (class of 00) for making it out. Great to see you!

We missed Schab, who is recuperating from a major foot injury that occurred at work. If you don't know about it, call or text him. It was pretty gruesome and will keep him out of the Philly Marathon. We hope to see the Schabster -- and many others -- at IC4As on Saturday.

Weather will be COLD for that one. But isn't it always cold at that meet?

More post-race analysis to come on Monday or whenever I have time. A great team effort -- from those on the course and off the course, and from the alums there to support them as well.

See you soon.

Rain and wind

Weather forecast for Saturday is calling for rain and wind, but relatively warm temperatures in the high 50s/low 60s. It will be messy. But cross country is an outdoor sport. And sometimes it gets messy.

To all who will be in attendance on Saturday -- racing, doing a hard workout, supporting, or some combination of those -- you will get wet.

Although I am a notorious weather wimp, I am looking forward to Saturday. It will be wet, but at least it won't be cold.

See you on the van, or at Vanny.

Random team notes

For current team members, a few odds and ends ...

-- Several of you guys have mentioned that you will have papers that need proofreading in the coming days and weeks. As a reminder, please provide me with enough lead time to get it done for you. A 4-hour window for an 8-page paper won't get it done. Proofreading services are offered for one and all, for any subject matter. Alumni: Feel free to post wiseguy comments about my ability to proofread despite my many blogging typos.

-- The Asics shoe order has been placed. Thank you for your prompt delivery of money for the shoes. Hopefully they'll get here very quickly. Thanks to Rickey (Greg Masto) for superior organization with this order. It is appreciated.

-- Keenan and Cocca might be planning a Marist Track Hoodie order in the coming weeks. Cost will be about $25 per hoodie. Check with our fine captains for further details.

-- Hunting (shotgun) season starts on Saturday. This means any and all trail running (Culinary trails, etc.) will be off limits. Don't be stupid. Stay on the roads. If you want soft surfaces, do North Field or let me know and I'll bring you to Vassar Farms, where there are certainly no hunters.

-- Raffle ticket money is due back before Finals Week. If your tickets are sold before then, feel free to bring them to me or Chuck at any time.

See you soon.

Race times

The next two Saturdays, we return to our home away from home: Van Cortlandt Park.

Here are the race times for Regionals and IC4As, for those that are interested:

Saturday, Nov. 15, NCAA Regionals: 11 a.m. women; 11:45 a.m. men; there is no JV/open race attached to this meet this year. Women race 6km; men race 10km.

Saturday, Nov. 22, IC4A/ECAC Championships: 9:30 a.m., men and women JV combined; 10:45 a.m., men's varsity (top 12); 11:30 a.m., women's varsity (top 12). The men will be running the championship division; the women will be running the university division and will be returning to this meet for the first time since 2000. Chuck and I plan to make it a regular part of the women's schedule. Men race 5 miles; women race 5km.

Hope to see some of you there. Trust me when I say your continued support and interest in our program is always appreciated and never taken for granted.

Why Kirk is my hero

Did you know?

Those "fancy" arm-warming things that Kirk was wearing at NYC were actually TUBE SOCKS with holes cut in them so he could get them on his arms.

Tube socks: My personal sock of choice, much to the chagrin of current team members and stylish/normal friends. I love my tube socks, and wish they still made them with the three stripes.

I know. I'm a dork.

Have a great day.

Schab, Uncle Duane, Coach Peach

Final Disney thoughts:

1. Schab. Great to have him crashing in our hotel room and basically being an assistant coach to me and to Chuck. As per Schab Policy, he got about 3 hours' sleep each night on the floor, mostly because he was out till all hours of the night/early morning hanging out with ...

2. Uncle Duane. Uncle Duane! Hopkins' awesome relative. If you want to get a glimpse as to what Sean Hopkins will be like in, oh, 20 years, just give Uncle Duane a call and have a beverage or three with him. (Note: Despite much prodding and arm-twisting, I did NOT go out with UD and Schabby, as per Athletic Department policy. Schab can attest to this). Anyway, Uncle Duane came to Disney and cheered on the Running Red Foxes. Great to have him on board.

3. Coach Peach. On one of our bus rides around Disney properties, a driver who was English-speaking-challenged asked me my name. Pete, I said. Peach, he asked? No. Pete, I said. Peach, he asked? No. You write it down, he said. And so I did. Ah, driver said: Coach Peach! And so, a Disney legend was born. Coach Peach. This, of course, became a recurring theme for the rest of the weekend.

So long, Mickey. See you in 4 years, hopefully, if I'm still doing this.

Ogden Hills, one more time

Today's workout was a final reprise of the Ogden Mills hills. We did two sets of 5 in tempo style, and top to bottom the times were the fastest they have ever been.

Which is how we expect it to be. Of course, the beautiful late-fall weather (overcast, 60 degrees) made it nice.

As a reminder, fellas, our last two races are at VCP. Vanny. Hills. Remember hills? It's easy to forget, considering our past three races: Paul Short. Albany. Disney. Flat. Flatter. Flattest.

And so, we must reacquaint ourselves with hills. Here's the workout template for the next two weeks:

Wed/Thur: Distance (no hammering already!) and strides
Fri: Bowdoin Park, 2xhilltop; 4x1k flats
Sat: Long run
Sun: Short/off
Mon: Thresh
Tues: Distance
Wed: Extended strides
Thur/Fri: Distance/premeet
Sat: Regionals. Those not racing will do Back Hills repeats at Vanny

That's it for now. Still awaiting the other Mickey pix from Rickey. Send 'em along, bro!

Kirk at NYC

Kirk Dornton (Class of 2004) had a strong run at the NYC Marathon on Sunday (2:39:33). Kirk went for broke, trying to break the 2:30 barrier. He went through 13.1 in 1:14:07 and obviously hit the wall hard in the final few miles.

Kirk placed 124th overall, 111th in the men's field and 44th in his age group. He was well within the top 100 in the field before his pace slowed over the final 4 miles or so. It's a marathon. It happens.

Kirkles stopped by McCann on Monday afternoon. He was a little stiff-legged, but was in good spirits. He went for it and it didn't work out. Good for him. After his strong run at NYC in 2007, he made the determination that if he was racing, he was going to do all he could to bust out a sub-2:30. I like the attitude. He's fired up for another sub-2:30 try in the spring of 2009 at a race to be determined (we have an idea, but it's not 100 percent confirmed).

Anyway, the following photo of Kirkles (I'm guessing in the latter stages of the race) was sent to me by Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club member Bob Kopac.

Feeling right at home

The above photo is of Conor Shelley with his favorite rodent. Vintage Conor, if you ask me.

Anyway, after they announced the All-MAAC runners (top 15 overall individuals), they herded the 30 runners (15 men, 15 women) into the Milk House (Disney's basketball field house), escorted by MAAC officials. I was thinking maybe some random drug testing was going on.

Wrong. Pictures with Mickey for each of the runners. When I get the photos of Girma and Will with Mickey, I will post them here as well.

MAAC at Disney

Hello Blog Followers:

Sorry for the lack of posts as we were busy traveling, etc. I did have a few minutes on Conor Shelley's laptop in the hotel, but it was the day before the meet and there was not a lot to report. For those of you that did not see our men's team results at the MAAC meet, we finished a strong 2nd to Iona -- for the fourth consecutive year, the fifth time in six years and the sixth time overall.

For those that are interested: The years we finished 2nd to Iona include the following. 1998, 70 points; 2003, 60 points; 2005, 73 points; 2006, 52 points; 2007, 61 points; 2008, 55 points.

It could be argued that this was our most dominant 2nd-place finish in history. Iona ran their entire varsity squad. Most VCP years, they will sit out a few of their top-5 men to rightfully prepare for regionals and nationals (they sometimes get grief for this; I understand and respect their decision-making process). This year, being a Disney year, they did not do this as far as we could tell. They swept the top-5 spots, once again proving their dominance. We were hoping to break into the top-5 but could not do so.

However, we more or less swept the rest of the MAAC field. In fact, our second 5 and possibly our second 7 (starting with our 8th man) could well have gotten 2nd place in the field, which may be a testament to this team's depth. That is not for me to decide or judge.

Here are the team standings: 1. Iona 15, 2. Marist 55, 3. Manhattan 118, 4. Loyola 120, 5. Rider 122, 6. Canisius 174, 7. Fairfield 198, 8. Niagara 207, 9. Siena 266, 10. St. Peter's 292.

The course at Disney's Wide World of Sports was flat, flat, flat. Nary a hill to be found. However, most runners I talked to from all teams felt the course either ran slow or may have been long since they felt their efforts should have reaped faster times. Matters little. When you get to the championship portion of the xc season, all that matters is place. Time is secondary.

The race began at 8 a.m., just shortly after the sun rose in Florida. In an unusual scene, the men warmed up in the dark, with just stadium lights showing the way. It was an overcast morning with a slight drizzle and a breeze, a far cry from the blazing weather from the 2000 and 2004 races. The course was slightly altered from the other Disney years, for those alums who remember those races. Again, it can be debated whether the course was faster, slower or in between. My take: A lot slower than 2000; a lot faster than 2004. If that helps.

For those that did not see the results, here are our Marist boys' places and times from the meet on Saturday morning, with commentary as warranted.

6. Girma Segni 24:47.50. All-MAAC. Picture with Mickey.
10. Conor Shelley 25:04.91. All-MAAC. Picture with Mickey.
14. Will Griffin 25:16.04. All-MAAC. Picture with Mickey. Top true freshman in the field (I'm pretty certain of this, anyway).
16. David Raucci 25:23.86.
17. Tim Keegan 25:28.56. A nice PR.
NOTE: Top 5 average time of 25:12.18.
20. Joe McElhoney 25:48.51. About a 4-minute improvement from his 2004 Disney race!
23. Nick Webster 25:58.53. Tremendous effort.
24. Matt Flint 25:58.63.
27. Curtis Jensen 26:10.60. Nicely done.
31. John Keenan 26:17.17.
33. Alex Emerel 26:20.95. PR and wonderful race!
39. Brian Townsend 26:47.67. Great bounce-back effort.
44. Zak Smetana 26:54.21. Huge PR and the race of his life (so far).
49. Sam McMullen 27:01.13.
50. Matt Janczyk 27:01.32.
51. Tom Lipari 27:02.51.
69. Pat Duggan 27:39.27.
75. Frank Stewart 27:49.23.
89. Kyle Havard 28:22.77.
98. Greg Masto 29:00.51.

Much more to come, and maybe even pictures if I can figure that out.