Among all the strong performances on Saturday at BU, one little piece of Marist Running historical trivia was nearly overlooked. In Adam Vess' landmark 3k race, he demolished the 6-year-old school record in that event, which had been held long and proud by Mike Nehr (8:24.42).
Nehr had a distinguished career with the Running Red Foxes. He led the team to the 2000 IC4A University title in cross country, when he came out of the woods in the lead and won the race (25:58.7). That Nehr-led team had the VCP overall time record for several autumns, and Mikey always checked back at Vanny to cheer on the team and also make sure his team's record stood strong.
His 3k mark has been embattled for years, as several groups of runners scoffed and said it would go down. But it never did go down, until Vess tore it down on Saturday.
Here's why Mike Nehr mattered then, and matters now:
When he came in here as a punky freshman in the fall of 1998, all he had was a bad nickname (Air Nehr) and a dream. His high school PRs were not all that noteworthy -- I believe it was 10:15 for 3,200 meters, before he was kicked off his high school team for having an attitude.
Well, he had an attitude here, too, and that was to break records and run faster than anyone ever thought he could. He did just that, although I know he was hoping for more out of his senior year. Still, he left here at the time as one of the best who ever wore the Marist red-and-white. He went on to have one excellent 5th-year indoor season at CW Post, and then did some amazing post-collegiate running as well -- winning the Long Island Marathon! -- before settling in, getting married and coaching high school track.
Mikey Nehr matters because he affirms my belief that any schmoe 10:00 2-miler (or 10:15 2-miler, for that matter) can achieve greatness if he believes it and is willing to put in the hard work necessary to get there. It doesn't mean that every one of those guys can do it, but it can never hurt to dream. I maintain that philosophy in my recruiting, and I'm forever in search of the "next Mike Nehr" -- a kid with minimal high school credentials hungry enough to become a quality D1 runner. They're out there. Oh, they're out there.
Who knows? Now that he's coaching at Syosset, maybe he'll send the "next Mike Nehr" up our way in a few years ...
2 comments:
I really enjoyed this blog and agree totally with your thoughts about what the "average" runner can achieve with hard work and the right attitude. I would also include that it takes the right college coach to help the athlete achieve at that level. Kudos to you for providing a program that allows for that kind of development.
That blog was excellent. I agree with what Steve said about it takes the right college coach to help the athlete achieve. In my case, that was you. And for that, I want to thank you once again for helping me achieve so many goals. You have done so much for so many athletes. Every year, the team continues to excel and set new records. I'm sure all the alumni are proud of the current team and all their success. I know I am. I wish you and the team best of luck and look forward to seeing a meet in the future.
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