Saturday, February 20, 2010

Maybe Leo Durocher was right ...

Most of you know that I am a huge fan of baseball history. One notorious figure in 20th Century Major League Baseball is Leo Durocher, the feisty manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers (and other clubs) back in the day.

Leo The Lip is most well remembered by his famous quotation: "Nice guys finish last." As with most things etched in historical stone, there is only a fragment of truth to his utterance. There is ample evidence that he never actually said that (similar to Yogi Berra's famous "It ain't over till it's over" quote). Nonetheless, the quotes are forever linked with Leo The Lip and Yogi ... and based on their respective reputations and personalities, rightfully so.

Anyway, the quote comes to mind a day after the MAAC Indoor Championships, in which your beloved Foxes and Foxettes did, indeed, finish last. It is not the first time it has happened. Probably won't be the last. It never feels good.

Oh sure, we can expound upon the "reasons" for this here, most of which are valid. I'm not going to bother. Bottom line: As a coach (and you all, as athletes) with competitive juices, finishing last does not feel nice. Last night, it was inevitable; but it still sucks.

Having said that ... there were many fine performances in a meet that has become more and more competitive over the years (especially on the women's side).

On the men's side, we scored and scored well in all distance events, this despite a strong presence and showing by mostly Iona but also Rider and Manhattan. The sprint crew had a really strong night as well, and they are really hitting their stride now. Great to see! Let's hope to build on this next week and into the outdoor season.

On the women's side, it was great to see Holly Burns nab that elusive school record in the 400-meter dash. Nicely done! Both of our meet-ending relays ran very strong as well, medaling in third in the DMR and 4x400.

But at the end of the day (or late at night, in this case), last place is last place. It does not lessen my pride in this team and this program, and I look forward to the next practice and the next competition with the same vigor as always.

Results are below. Lombi did splits for all races (men and women). I will type them up in the coming days as my schedule allows. We will also detail the NYU Fastrack meet, IC4As and preparation for outdoor track. It never ends, my friends ...

MAAC Indoors 2010

Men’s results


55-meter dash
7-Darren Bushey 6.89 (finals); 6.90 (prelims, qualified for finals)
13-Neal Viets 7.25

200-meter dash
11-Mike Clifford 23.67
12-Derrick Powell 23.73
13-Darren Bushey 23.78
15-Neal Viets 25.14

400-meter dash
11-Phil Krupka 51.15
13-John Kristie 52.12
15-Dan Conklin 52.61
16-Josh Lopez 53.37
19-Colin Frederickson 53.90

800-meter run
8-Kyle Havard 1:57.07
10-Matt Panebianco 1:58.31
13-Chris Vanzetta 2:00.25
15-Matt Janczyk 2:01.46
19-Alex Cuesta 2:07.24

Mile run
4-Matt Flint 4:13.00 (IC4A qualifier)
9-Conor Shelley 4:30.72
11-Colin Johnson 4:34.77

3000-meter run
3-Will Griffin 8:28.05
6-Curtis Jensen 8:45.21
7-Quimes DelaCruz 8:49.28
9-Alex Ward 8:56.62

5000-meter run
3-Girma Segni 14:55.91
4-David Raucci 14:58.64
5-Tim Keegan 15:08.30
6-Zak Smetana 15:21.75
10-Pat Duggan 15:35.89

Distance Medley Relay
4-Marist (David Raucci, John Kristie, Matt Panebianco, Matt Flint) 10:35.72

1,600-meter relay
4-Marist (Derrick Powell, Colin Frederickson, Phil Krupka, Kyle Havard) 3:26.86

55-meter hurdles
12-Mike Clifford 8.94

Pole vault
7-Max Carow 3.90 meters

Shot put
11-Keith Peterson 10.82 meters

Men’s team scores: 1. Manhattan 153, 2. Rider 142, 3. St. Peter’s 93, 4. Iona 74, 5. Marist 32

Women’s results

200-meter dash
9-Holly Burns 26.36
20-Kelley Sullivan 28.53

400-meter dash
5-Holly Burns 59.08 (school record)
12-Rachael Eichacker 1:01.83
15-Kelley Hanifin 1:03.07
16-Nicole Weir 1:04.20

800-meter run
8-Jackie Gamboli 2:19.96
12-Kim Bartlett 2:22.27
15-Jillian Corley 2:24.54
16-Briana Crowe 2:25.39
18-Laura Lindsley 2:27.74

Mile run
6-Erin O’Reilly 5:19.82
8-Dayna McLaughlin 5:30.66
12-Colleen Smith 5:41.66
14-Kelley Gould 5:47.91

3000-meter run
9-Erin O’Reilly 10:48.75
11-Katie Messina 10:55.52
18-Rachel Lichtenwalner 12:02.47

1600-meter relay
3-Marist (Kelley Hanifin, Jackie Gamboli, Rachael Eichacker, Holly Burns) 4:08.43

Distance medley relay
3-Marist (Jillian Corley, Nicole Weir, Briana Crowe, Kara Lightowler) 12:42.53

Pole vault
6-Justine Colabraro 2.90 meters

Triple jump
11-Brooke Kristensen 9.55 meters

Long jump
12-Brooke Kristensen 4.37 meters

Women’s team scores: 1. Manhattan 228, 2. St. Peter’s 116, 3. Rider 99, 4. Iona 75, 5. Loyola 64, 6. Marist 29

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