Hello and I hope all is well with everyone. I have been in holiday mode and not blog mode, and it probably will stay that way till after the New Year, at which time you can expect the usual flurry of posts about Marist Running and beyond.
Anyway …
Depending on where you are out in the blogosphere, you got a little snow, a lot of snow or somewhere in between after that powerful Nor’easter that packed quite a wallop. Or, if your name is Billy Hild and you are a Giants' football fan, you were stuck in Green Bay after that white-flag of a loss and forced to drive through the barren Midwest to get home. But that's another story ...
I was visiting family in northern New Jersey, where we got 21 inches. My brother, who lives a little east of where we were, near Newark, reported 31 (!) inches in his front yard. Most folks got about a foot.
It is what it is. It’s winter; it snows; you deal with it. Actually, after the post-storm winds died down, the rest of this week looks nice. I just went out to the mailbox; the sun is out, the snow is melting and it feels downright warm. So this storm should have little to no impact on training for the foreseeable future.
And that’s good news.
The other night while having dinner with my family in New Jersey, my cell phone was buzzing in my pocket. In the span of about 15 minutes, I received 4 rapid-fire texts from excited team members announcing they had gotten a 4.0 GPA for the semester or pretty darn close to a 4.0 GPA. Rules and regulations do not allow me to brag about the specific athletes who garnered the straight-A grades, but I am proud of you all nonetheless.
Nicely done all around!
Keep training hard in the slush, muck and melting snow. If you train in the middle of the day, when the sun is high in the sky, ice will not be an issue (pre-dawn morons like me have to deal with black ice and the like).
And if you have not updated me on your grades, feel free to text me with the good news!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Laps in the "old gym"
Thanks to loyal Marist Track Alum Marty McGowan for his reply to the McCann Marathon post. Marty’s historic Marist insights are always entertaining and welcome. Here is Marty’s story about another guy who liked to run laps around a gym …
This post really got to me (here he goes again, another Dark Ages story). One of the nicest teachers up at Marist was Bob Norman. I never had him for a class, but saw him every day my senior year in the old gym. Bob Norman wasn't a tall guy, but weighed well over 200 pounds by 1972.
Apparently, Mr. Norman had gotten a health scare report from a doctor or two and decided to jog in the gym to lose some weight. This was a revolutionary concept back then. But what he did and when he did it are part of the story.
Mr. Norman cleared his plan with Doc Goldman and Ron Petro, the basketball coach. He was going to run laps in the gym! He began at 3 in the afternoon. Around the ONE basketball court that was in that tiny gym. While students were playing. And he did, day after day.
This big, jovial guy going 94 feet up, 50 feet over, 94 feet back down, 50 feet over. And over and over again, lap after lap. In the spring when April came and outside running was tolerable, he stayed indoors, saying that this was where he felt comfortable. By graduation, Bob Norman had lost well over 60 pounds.
Mr. Norman made it a point to know everyone that came into the gym that year. Yeah, we were young, tough and strong. No way could we do lap after lap around that court. The Marist faculty gave you inspiration even when you weren't looking for it.
When Bob Norman took his sabbatical he went down to Manhattan to work for CBS. While he was there
he met Lowell Thomas, who was ready to retire from broadcasting and was looking for a place to keep his papers. Bob mentioned Marist on the Hudson. You know, that's the building where the outdoor swimming pool used to be … but that's another Dark Ages story.
Editor’s note: The “old gym” that Marty refers to is now Marian Hall. When I first attended Marist in 1982, the “old gym” was called, oddly enough, the “old gym” and was a storage shed for the building and grounds department. My second year at Marist, the “old gym” became Marian Hall.
Editor’s note #2: Bob Norman was a great guy. He passed away several years ago, but was always loyal to Marist in so many ways. He was the original “voice of the Red Foxes” on the radio and was an incredibly avid follower of Marist Athletics. He had a silky smooth radio voice, was an excellent professor of communication with many contacts in the industry (he was instrumental in forming and growing the internship program) and basically was just an all-around good man. One of his sons, Jim "Norm" Norman, was the original Fox mascot (now called "Shooter"); Norm lives in our town, we see him at Little League and Pop Warner games, and he is a season ticket holder at Marist basketball games too. Good stuff!
Editor’s note #3: Marty’s last sentence is of course about the Lowell Thomas building. Many of you probably do not know that there was an old swimming pool on the site of the LT building. I do not remember that, but I do remember the construction of LT, which was completed shortly after I graduated in 1986.
Thanks, Marty, for the great memories …
This post really got to me (here he goes again, another Dark Ages story). One of the nicest teachers up at Marist was Bob Norman. I never had him for a class, but saw him every day my senior year in the old gym. Bob Norman wasn't a tall guy, but weighed well over 200 pounds by 1972.
Apparently, Mr. Norman had gotten a health scare report from a doctor or two and decided to jog in the gym to lose some weight. This was a revolutionary concept back then. But what he did and when he did it are part of the story.
Mr. Norman cleared his plan with Doc Goldman and Ron Petro, the basketball coach. He was going to run laps in the gym! He began at 3 in the afternoon. Around the ONE basketball court that was in that tiny gym. While students were playing. And he did, day after day.
This big, jovial guy going 94 feet up, 50 feet over, 94 feet back down, 50 feet over. And over and over again, lap after lap. In the spring when April came and outside running was tolerable, he stayed indoors, saying that this was where he felt comfortable. By graduation, Bob Norman had lost well over 60 pounds.
Mr. Norman made it a point to know everyone that came into the gym that year. Yeah, we were young, tough and strong. No way could we do lap after lap around that court. The Marist faculty gave you inspiration even when you weren't looking for it.
When Bob Norman took his sabbatical he went down to Manhattan to work for CBS. While he was there
he met Lowell Thomas, who was ready to retire from broadcasting and was looking for a place to keep his papers. Bob mentioned Marist on the Hudson. You know, that's the building where the outdoor swimming pool used to be … but that's another Dark Ages story.
Editor’s note: The “old gym” that Marty refers to is now Marian Hall. When I first attended Marist in 1982, the “old gym” was called, oddly enough, the “old gym” and was a storage shed for the building and grounds department. My second year at Marist, the “old gym” became Marian Hall.
Editor’s note #2: Bob Norman was a great guy. He passed away several years ago, but was always loyal to Marist in so many ways. He was the original “voice of the Red Foxes” on the radio and was an incredibly avid follower of Marist Athletics. He had a silky smooth radio voice, was an excellent professor of communication with many contacts in the industry (he was instrumental in forming and growing the internship program) and basically was just an all-around good man. One of his sons, Jim "Norm" Norman, was the original Fox mascot (now called "Shooter"); Norm lives in our town, we see him at Little League and Pop Warner games, and he is a season ticket holder at Marist basketball games too. Good stuff!
Editor’s note #3: Marty’s last sentence is of course about the Lowell Thomas building. Many of you probably do not know that there was an old swimming pool on the site of the LT building. I do not remember that, but I do remember the construction of LT, which was completed shortly after I graduated in 1986.
Thanks, Marty, for the great memories …
One of our "finest" alums
I went down to New York City with the family on Saturday. We had a lot of fun cruising around Manhattan on foot. The city was jammed with people; not a surprise, considering it was the Saturday before Christmas.
Toward the end of our long but fun day in the city, I was able to meet up briefly with Ned Kenyon (Class of 1999), who is now a member of the NYPD – as you can see in this photo taken on 42nd Street near Grand Central. Ned was a loyal member of our program for four years, and he has been an equally loyal alum of the program. It was great to see him, even for a short time.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
McCann Marathon
For a while now, I have had this silly idea -- along with my coffee buddy Krys -- of running a 26.2-mile marathon on the 160-meter McCann Center track. I was even seriously considering this "idea" for New Year's Morning.
But alas, with the home basketball schedule being what it is, the bleachers will be pulled out and a New Year's McCann Marathon will have to wait another year at least.
Here's the thing, though: Somebody you know may have just done a McCann Marathon!
That's right. Our old pal and recent alum David Raucci was at practice on Wednesday. He wanted to see the guys, his old coach and get a few miles in. Well, maybe more than a few.
David ran for 3 hours in the gym. Three hours.
Due to circumstances beyond his control, though, it was not a continuous three-hour run. After 1 hour, 43 minutes, the Student Section bleachers had to be pulled out for about a half-hour. The architects for the upcoming McCann Expansion Project were in the building and they needed to see the bleachers pulled out for whatever reason.
Unfazed, David hung out with the arriving team members, most of whom were stressed out from finals and looking to get a stress-busting run or workout in.
After the bleachers were pushed back in, David resumed his laps and laps and laps and laps for the remaining 1 hour, 17 minutes. He was running in his trusty old Nike Frees, a black pair that was so worn and ripped that the entire side of his feet were exposed. Might as well have been barefoot ...
Later, while lounging in my office eating a sandwich ("I'm starving, coach," he said ... gee, I wonder why?), he said his run probably started at around 7-minute pace but that he picked it up progressively to the point where the last hour or so was at about 6:00 to 6:10 pace.
It did not dawn on me till much later, but our pal had just run the first McCann Marathon -- albeit not continuous, again through no fault of his own.
David is training hard for the spring marathon season. He's putting in mega-mileage.
Please note: Whenever David has the time and inclination to put in high-mileage, mostly aerobic training, the end result is usually a string of eye-popping races. Stay tuned.
Programming note: With the holiday season upon us, and family commitments aplenty, the posts may be a bit more sporadic the next few weeks. I'll try to keep them coming, but there may be some gaps. Sorry, Schabby, I'll do my best.
But alas, with the home basketball schedule being what it is, the bleachers will be pulled out and a New Year's McCann Marathon will have to wait another year at least.
Here's the thing, though: Somebody you know may have just done a McCann Marathon!
That's right. Our old pal and recent alum David Raucci was at practice on Wednesday. He wanted to see the guys, his old coach and get a few miles in. Well, maybe more than a few.
David ran for 3 hours in the gym. Three hours.
Due to circumstances beyond his control, though, it was not a continuous three-hour run. After 1 hour, 43 minutes, the Student Section bleachers had to be pulled out for about a half-hour. The architects for the upcoming McCann Expansion Project were in the building and they needed to see the bleachers pulled out for whatever reason.
Unfazed, David hung out with the arriving team members, most of whom were stressed out from finals and looking to get a stress-busting run or workout in.
After the bleachers were pushed back in, David resumed his laps and laps and laps and laps for the remaining 1 hour, 17 minutes. He was running in his trusty old Nike Frees, a black pair that was so worn and ripped that the entire side of his feet were exposed. Might as well have been barefoot ...
Later, while lounging in my office eating a sandwich ("I'm starving, coach," he said ... gee, I wonder why?), he said his run probably started at around 7-minute pace but that he picked it up progressively to the point where the last hour or so was at about 6:00 to 6:10 pace.
It did not dawn on me till much later, but our pal had just run the first McCann Marathon -- albeit not continuous, again through no fault of his own.
David is training hard for the spring marathon season. He's putting in mega-mileage.
Please note: Whenever David has the time and inclination to put in high-mileage, mostly aerobic training, the end result is usually a string of eye-popping races. Stay tuned.
Programming note: With the holiday season upon us, and family commitments aplenty, the posts may be a bit more sporadic the next few weeks. I'll try to keep them coming, but there may be some gaps. Sorry, Schabby, I'll do my best.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Nice addition to office!
The next time you are in the Track Office here in the McCann Center – with the break coming up, that could be a while – be sure to check out one of the nicest gifts I have ever received. It is a wood carving, sketch and painting done by junior distance runner Ryan Fitzsimons.
On the front, it has the new Marist logo and fox, beautifully illustrated and painted. The logo is flanked on the left by the words “cross country” and on the right by “T&F.” On the back, it reads: “Anything is possible.”
Right now, it is on display, leaning on a big box fan, until I can figure out a better and more permanent way to display it in the office.
Fitz said he had been working on this since the summer months, and it shows. It is truly beautiful, and it means a lot to have it in the office.
Fitz is leaving for home in rural Maine this week, and then departing for London in early January for his semester abroad. The experience – academically, professionally, socially – should be a great one for him.
He will be back in the States in late April, and we look forward to seeing him again. Until then, a daily reminder of his presence on the team will be on the nicest piece of wood I have ever seen.
On the front, it has the new Marist logo and fox, beautifully illustrated and painted. The logo is flanked on the left by the words “cross country” and on the right by “T&F.” On the back, it reads: “Anything is possible.”
Right now, it is on display, leaning on a big box fan, until I can figure out a better and more permanent way to display it in the office.
Fitz said he had been working on this since the summer months, and it shows. It is truly beautiful, and it means a lot to have it in the office.
Fitz is leaving for home in rural Maine this week, and then departing for London in early January for his semester abroad. The experience – academically, professionally, socially – should be a great one for him.
He will be back in the States in late April, and we look forward to seeing him again. Until then, a daily reminder of his presence on the team will be on the nicest piece of wood I have ever seen.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Colin Johnson: Racing in Shanghai
It might not be the record for furthest away from Poughkeepsie racing with a Marist Alumni Racing Team singlet, but 2010 grad Colin Johnson sure gets bonus points for spreading the name of Marist Running to faraway places.
Here is Colin's race report, sent via e-mail ...
Hey Pete,
So I ran the Shanghai International Half Marathon last weekend. The race didn't go exactly as planned. For starters, I was so far away from the starting line that it took me eight minutes from the start of the race just to reach it. After that it was pretty much bumper to bumper traffic for the first 10k.
Once I got some room to run I tried to make up for lost time, and had a pretty decent negative split for the last half of the race, but I still ended up running 1:26. All things considered not too bad, but I felt like I was in shape for 1:17-1:18, so it was a bit of a let down. Given better conditions, I know I would have been able to go sub 1:20 but oh well, there,s always another race!
There's a marathon on the Great Wall in May, which I have been thinking about entering!
I think this is probably a close second to the longest distance from New York that the Alumni Racing singlet has made an appearance. Joe T's race in Australia is definitely a bit further!
I sent you a picture of me post race, with the medal and singlet of course, and some women I met before the race! (Editor's note: NICELY DONE!) Also, another one with a random Chinese guy who stopped us to take a picture with him. That's pretty common here; the Chinese love to pose with pictures of foreigners ... haha its a little weird.
I hope all is well Pete. If I don't talk to you before the holidays then have a great Christmas/New Year!
Colin
Flipper feet
Forgot to post this last week when it was fresh material, but here goes anyway ...
Leave it to fifth-year senior Conor Shelley to exasperate me with yet another "great idea" from the Conor files.
Last week, the stressed-out Conor -- who continues to plug away at his massive Capping Project -- took a little break from his studies to do a workout at the McCann Track.
Conor's Bright Idea For The Day: In order to mimic the barefoot running he so loves during his summers lifeguarding at the beach on Long Island, our guy decided to warm up and cool down from his workout in swim shoes. You know, the kind that middle-aged schmoes like me wear while on vacation in Lake George.
Swim shoes.
And remember, Conor has flipper feet to start with, size 14 or 15, depending on the model he buys.
Flop, flop, flop, flop ... those swimmy shoes slapped their way across the ancient floor in the McCann Arena for 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after his fancy workout.
Our conversation before he flopped around was comical. I expressed my displeasure with the idea, if only to make sure that the rest of the possibly impressionable team didn't think I thought it was a GOOD IDEA.
In truth, I was pretty neutral on the whole thing. While it was silly, it was most likely harmless. He switched over to his trusty Nike Frees for the workout. I would have, uh, put my foot down if Conor decided to flop his way through the workout in my vacation footwear.
I guess you could say this barefoot running idea has gained some "traction" for Conor in the McCann Center.
Sorry. Couldn't resist. That one was for you, Krupka!
Leave it to fifth-year senior Conor Shelley to exasperate me with yet another "great idea" from the Conor files.
Last week, the stressed-out Conor -- who continues to plug away at his massive Capping Project -- took a little break from his studies to do a workout at the McCann Track.
Conor's Bright Idea For The Day: In order to mimic the barefoot running he so loves during his summers lifeguarding at the beach on Long Island, our guy decided to warm up and cool down from his workout in swim shoes. You know, the kind that middle-aged schmoes like me wear while on vacation in Lake George.
Swim shoes.
And remember, Conor has flipper feet to start with, size 14 or 15, depending on the model he buys.
Flop, flop, flop, flop ... those swimmy shoes slapped their way across the ancient floor in the McCann Arena for 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after his fancy workout.
Our conversation before he flopped around was comical. I expressed my displeasure with the idea, if only to make sure that the rest of the possibly impressionable team didn't think I thought it was a GOOD IDEA.
In truth, I was pretty neutral on the whole thing. While it was silly, it was most likely harmless. He switched over to his trusty Nike Frees for the workout. I would have, uh, put my foot down if Conor decided to flop his way through the workout in my vacation footwear.
I guess you could say this barefoot running idea has gained some "traction" for Conor in the McCann Center.
Sorry. Couldn't resist. That one was for you, Krupka!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Joe Mac's insane plan
Thanks to Geist for the head’s up about Joe McElhoney’s very public quest to run a sub-5:00 mile each day consecutively for 26.2 (27, really) days. You can read all about it (WARNING: The language is quite salty) at Joe Mac’s wildly entertaining blog at this link.
I was aware of Joe Mac’s “Mecca Marathon,” because I like to keep tabs with our boy through his rambling, X-rated blog. But I hadn’t checked it in about a week, and I was not aware of the somewhat cult following this crazy challenge now has -- Geist said it’s front-page news on Let’s Run (LRC link here).
What I love about Joe Mac’s deal is that he is not letting this very public challenge get to his training. He could, but he is not. Mac is cranking the mileage, and I’m proud of him. He’s doing the sub-5:00 at the end of the prescribed day’s leg-thrashing. He could make it easier on himself. But he’s not. Of course, I’d like to see him take a “down” day each week – you know, maybe a light 6-7 miler followed by his Mecca Mile – but Joe Mac knows one gear: Full tilt. If there is something worth doing, it’s worth over-doing. That’s pretty much how Joe Mac operates.
I’m all about streaks, so I fully endorse this bizarrely masochistic plan. Bless his crazy heart. I hope he pulls it off. He’s got the cajones to do it. Stay tuned over in the Land of Bennu …
I was aware of Joe Mac’s “Mecca Marathon,” because I like to keep tabs with our boy through his rambling, X-rated blog. But I hadn’t checked it in about a week, and I was not aware of the somewhat cult following this crazy challenge now has -- Geist said it’s front-page news on Let’s Run (LRC link here).
What I love about Joe Mac’s deal is that he is not letting this very public challenge get to his training. He could, but he is not. Mac is cranking the mileage, and I’m proud of him. He’s doing the sub-5:00 at the end of the prescribed day’s leg-thrashing. He could make it easier on himself. But he’s not. Of course, I’d like to see him take a “down” day each week – you know, maybe a light 6-7 miler followed by his Mecca Mile – but Joe Mac knows one gear: Full tilt. If there is something worth doing, it’s worth over-doing. That’s pretty much how Joe Mac operates.
I’m all about streaks, so I fully endorse this bizarrely masochistic plan. Bless his crazy heart. I hope he pulls it off. He’s got the cajones to do it. Stay tuned over in the Land of Bennu …
Alumni at USATF XC today
Thanks to Mike G for sharing this photo of Marist Running Alums (left to right) Matt Walsh, Mike Guarascio and Sean Hopkins from Saturday’s USATF National Club Championships in North Carolina.
Check these results – there were some amazing runners there!
As for our Marist Alums … Hopkins (Sayville Runners) led the way with his 181st place finish in 32:46.7 for the 10km course. Walsh (Bellmore Striders) considered it an “off” race for him, but still got another XC PR with his time of 33:43.7. Mike G (Greater Boston) had a strong showing with his 35:46.4.
Nicely done, men!
Billy the Marine?
Sir, yes sir.
Can you picture freshman Billy Hild – yes, the same Billy Hild whose idea of the “bench press” is “benching the bar” – as a Marine? The few, the proud?
Apparently, one Marine recruitment guy thought so. He stopped Young Freshington and tried to get him to join – WHILE BILLY WAS ON A RUN!
Billy likes to carry on the Bucket Tradition of bringing back trinkets from his daily mileage. Back in the day, his old Spartan coach Mr. B used to bring back such treasures as Marlboro Miles (of course!), tools (including a pretty sweet Swiss Army knife), books (including The Bible), a sideview mirror and even (with the help of Dirt Baird) an entire bulletin board, which hung in my old office for years.
So far, Billy’s contributions had been admirable but a bit less creative. However, the business card of a Marine recruiter who tried to solicit him to join them while he was running … well, that’s a good start, and a good story.
If Billy starts doing 100 push-ups a day (that would be approximately 100 more than he currently does …), maybe he can become part of the few and the proud. For now, he should probably stick with distance running, going after Schab’s Tower record (48 + 5, for those keeping score at home), and bringing back conversation-piece items.
So far, so good.
Can you picture freshman Billy Hild – yes, the same Billy Hild whose idea of the “bench press” is “benching the bar” – as a Marine? The few, the proud?
Apparently, one Marine recruitment guy thought so. He stopped Young Freshington and tried to get him to join – WHILE BILLY WAS ON A RUN!
Billy likes to carry on the Bucket Tradition of bringing back trinkets from his daily mileage. Back in the day, his old Spartan coach Mr. B used to bring back such treasures as Marlboro Miles (of course!), tools (including a pretty sweet Swiss Army knife), books (including The Bible), a sideview mirror and even (with the help of Dirt Baird) an entire bulletin board, which hung in my old office for years.
So far, Billy’s contributions had been admirable but a bit less creative. However, the business card of a Marine recruiter who tried to solicit him to join them while he was running … well, that’s a good start, and a good story.
If Billy starts doing 100 push-ups a day (that would be approximately 100 more than he currently does …), maybe he can become part of the few and the proud. For now, he should probably stick with distance running, going after Schab’s Tower record (48 + 5, for those keeping score at home), and bringing back conversation-piece items.
So far, so good.
Winter mode, part 2
Whoops. Spoke too soon.
Two days after my previous post, our group morning jog took place on a bone-numbing 8-degree morning. Yikes! I guess winter’s arriving early around these parts.
This morning, I met Fast Tony for a great run! We started later than normal (7 a.m.) and ran across the Walkway bridge – something our team does almost daily, but a rare treat for this pre-dawn runner. I had no idea how beautiful that Walkway extension over on the Highland side is. Wow! Great stuff! Reminds me of the Mohawk Hudson Marathon course. Straight and mostly flat. My kind of running.
Two days after my previous post, our group morning jog took place on a bone-numbing 8-degree morning. Yikes! I guess winter’s arriving early around these parts.
This morning, I met Fast Tony for a great run! We started later than normal (7 a.m.) and ran across the Walkway bridge – something our team does almost daily, but a rare treat for this pre-dawn runner. I had no idea how beautiful that Walkway extension over on the Highland side is. Wow! Great stuff! Reminds me of the Mohawk Hudson Marathon course. Straight and mostly flat. My kind of running.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Winter mode
This morning, my usual jog had to be extra early because my wife and daughter were going on a field trip to NYC for some chilly holiday fun. As I was fumbling in the 5 a.m. predawn darkness for my jogging clothes, I could not find as many layers as I was hoping for in the laundry room. Too lazy to go back upstairs for more layers, I headed out the door.
My first reaction in the dark: Hmmm. Not bad. Not too cold. No wind. Plus, I was only doing a short half-hour jog, so the extra layers wouldn't be necessary.
Upon returning, I checked the temperature: 26 degrees.
You know you are in "winter running mode" when 26 degrees is "not bad."
While on the subject of cold-weather winter running: While shivering outside in a fire drill at the McCann Center last night, another Marist coach asked me if our athletes were "done running outside for the season." She meant well, really. I kept my "inner Hopkins" at bay, avoided sarcasm and explained to her nicely that it really isn't that bad running out in the cold.
And then I told her what I will tell you, about our winter running policy: Athletes that choose to run on the treadmill or the McCann track for their distance are welcome whenever either is available.
And this: Runners who prefer to run outside in all conditions are permitted to do so, as long as it is safe. This means: If the roads are slick, icy and snow-covered, no one can run off campus. If it is unsafe to drive cars, it is really unsafe to run on roads that you share with those same cars.
For the hard-core, Schab-types that just HAVE to run outside, even in blizzards, we will allow this provided no one leaves the safe confines of the Marist campus. For most, this means multiple repeats of the Campus Mile. The grounds team at Marist keeps the roads in tip-top shape, even during storms, during the winter months.
So bundle up, layer up and get ready for several months of cold-weather runs.
My first reaction in the dark: Hmmm. Not bad. Not too cold. No wind. Plus, I was only doing a short half-hour jog, so the extra layers wouldn't be necessary.
Upon returning, I checked the temperature: 26 degrees.
You know you are in "winter running mode" when 26 degrees is "not bad."
While on the subject of cold-weather winter running: While shivering outside in a fire drill at the McCann Center last night, another Marist coach asked me if our athletes were "done running outside for the season." She meant well, really. I kept my "inner Hopkins" at bay, avoided sarcasm and explained to her nicely that it really isn't that bad running out in the cold.
And then I told her what I will tell you, about our winter running policy: Athletes that choose to run on the treadmill or the McCann track for their distance are welcome whenever either is available.
And this: Runners who prefer to run outside in all conditions are permitted to do so, as long as it is safe. This means: If the roads are slick, icy and snow-covered, no one can run off campus. If it is unsafe to drive cars, it is really unsafe to run on roads that you share with those same cars.
For the hard-core, Schab-types that just HAVE to run outside, even in blizzards, we will allow this provided no one leaves the safe confines of the Marist campus. For most, this means multiple repeats of the Campus Mile. The grounds team at Marist keeps the roads in tip-top shape, even during storms, during the winter months.
So bundle up, layer up and get ready for several months of cold-weather runs.
Monday, December 6, 2010
More on the Yale meet
As promised, here are some more random notes and commentary on Saturday’s season-opening track meet at Yale.
Men’s meet:
Weight a minute!: Hey! Whaddya know? We have a Weight Thrower! That’s right. Freshman Sean Ellman, a local kid from Arlington HS, threw the 35-pound weight for the first time on Saturday. And, when I say “first time,” I really mean “first time.”
We ordered Sean a new 35-pound implement from MF Athletics a few weeks ago. It sat in its shipping box in my hopelessly cluttered office. Until Saturday. Sean brought the box, opened it up, and threw it at the meet. Note: Practicing such an event at the McCann Center is not an easy task. But we have some potential solutions!
Anyway, Sean did well. He has a pretty good one-turn throw in the circle. We will need to get that up to at least two turns. Marist alum, school record holder and loyal blog follower Peter VanAken has graciously offered his expertise in helping Sean. Talk about selflessness: About 7-8 years ago, Peter – a longtime coworker of mine from my days at the Poughkeepsie Journal – volunteered to teach Adam Waterbury, perhaps our best thrower in D1 program history, how to throw the 35-pound weight. The teacher did a pretty good job: Adam went on to break Peter’s longtime SR in the event!
Hopefully, he can have similar success with Sean, who is a great guy to have on the team. We’ll get him working hard in the weight room, and working with Peter in any nook and cranny in McCann that we can find. Note to Peter and Sean: We may even be able to secure the racquetball court for practice?!?! We’ll “weight” and see. Ha! Couldn’t resist …
--Losing his lunch: Junior sprinter Mike McCloskey had a pleasant surprise in the 60-meter dash. After a strong dash in which he had one of the better starts I have seen in quite a while, he contentedly returned to the bleachers to have his lunch. Much to his surprise, just as he was digging in, it was announced that his time was the fourth fastest and that he had qualified for the finals!
So much for lunch! He scurried back to the infield, put on his spikes, and proceeded to rip out a 7.31-second time, a PR of .01. As teammate Dan Conklin astutely pointed out, if Mike does that for 100 more meets, he’ll have improved by a full second. Thanks for the math lesson, Dan. Nicely done, Mike!
--Strong day for Josh: Kudos to junior sprinter Josh Lopez for his strong day. Josh ran well in the 500-meter dash (note: I erroneously noted this as a PR, it was not; my bad), and then ran a strong 400 relay leg on the 4x400. Josh is one of the hardest workers we’ve got, and it was great to see.
--No style points: Countering McCloskey’s great start, freshman Taylor Bombard had one of the poorest starts I have ever seen, in the 60-meter hurdles. Despite this, he ran a solid race and has transitioned up to the higher hurdle height pretty well. Taylor needs to get over the fact that even the fastest hurdlers bang those things around. It’s a noisy event. There are no style points. My oldest son Joey, who for the third year in a row acted as my assistant coach for the day at this meet, asked if “points were taken off” for knocking down the hurdles. They are not. And so Taylor, bash away. Just get to the finish line as fast as you can.
--Let’s make a deal: The above photo, taken by distance runner Ryan Fitzsimons (side note: Our deal was that I would not post his rather desultory 5,000 race splits in exchange for this really cool photo!), is of fifth-year senior Conor Shelley and freshman Isaiah Miller, in the 800-meter run. Isaiah took the old guy to school, beating him by two seconds. In fairness to Conor: He was running on a double, after a decent mile; and, as he pointed out to me this morning, Go-Saiah cut him off shortly after this photo was taken. I do not recall that. But hey, all is fair in racing. Thank you, Fitz, for this awesome photo – one of the coolest track photos from our team that I have seen.
--Pick up the pace!: I have never seen the usually mild-mannered freshman distance runner Mike Clausen so pissed off than he was after his 3,000 race – which, all things considered, was a strong effort. Clausen had good reason. The early pace was ridiculously slow. In fact, after 100 meters, I commented to Fitz or whoever was standing next to me that it looked like the start of a marathon. Very slow. The pace remained rather pedestrian through 1600, when like a bolt out of the blue the lead runners shifted gears, leaving poor Clausen high and dry.
Now, Clausen’s a good runner. But he cannot go from 36-second laps to 31-second laps, which is what the leaders did. Mike hung on gamely in no-man’s land. We’re hoping to get him in a more reasonable race later in the winter.
Most importantly, this was a great comeback effort. Just two weeks prior to Yale, Mike was lying in a hospital bed with meningitis – now, before I start a major health scare, it was VIRAL meningitis, the much less severe form of the terrible illness. This obviously cost him his final XC race (IC4A), but he obviously bounced back quickly, too. Good stuff.
Women’s meet:
--Welcome back, Jackie!: Great to see sophomore Jackie Gamboli back on the track and running fast again. Jackie has had a lot of bumps in the road. She ran all of last winter season with mono. Her second-place finish Saturday in the 800 in 2:18.61 was not a PR, but it was faster than she ran all last winter, and shows she is well on her way back. She redshirted XC this fall, too, so it has been a long time coming for Jackie. Great stuff!
--Old vs. new: Speaking of great stuff, the women’s 3,000 race was awesome. We welcomed back graduate student Brittany Burns for the beginning of her fifth and final year of eligibility. Britt ran a strong and consistent race and had a nice kick en route to her first-place finish in 10:15.00. She caught and passed our freshman phenom Kiersten Anderson, who had a strong second-place finish as well. Kiersten was upset at her race. But really, she was coming off a long and hard XC season in which she was as dominant and consistent a lead runner as our program has ever had. Making that transition to the track is difficult, but she ran a time that was just a few ticks off the Junior National qualifying time, which she most certainly should get at some point in the winter.
The really cool thing was seeing the time-tested veteran and fifth-year grad student working hard in the same race as our next generation of Lady Foxes. Britt has had a great career here and has been a wonderful team leader. I’m sure we will be talking the same way about Kiersten in a few years. For me, it’s just neat seeing the past and present coming together in the same race, and we’re fortunate that we’ll probably see that a few more times in the next 5 months or so.
--Who's who: OK, here we go again. It took this old coach about 2.5 years to figure out the difference between twins Tom and Bryan Dixon, who graduated last year. I was able to decipher twins Elizabeth and Allyson O’Brien (current junior distance runners) a little quicker. Now, we have the jumping twins of Kristen and Shannon Vogel, who hopelessly I will confuse for quite a while, I am certain! Both ladies are great long and triple jumpers, and that will add variety and points to our team. Just don’t ask me who is who – at least for a few more years.
Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading, as always.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Best line of the day
Again, I promise: I will post some analysis, anecdotes and other random thoughts from today's meet, at some point on Sunday/Monday and beyond. Right now, I'm too tired to delve into this.
Plus, I want to check out all the New York newspaper sports sections to read about the new Jeter contract! It's quite creative!
Anyway, before doing this, I had to share with you all the best line of the day, uttered innocently enough by Coach Terry Horton as the long day was reaching its conclusion with our multiple, seemingly haphazard but fun 4x400s for men.
Fifth-year senior Conor Shelley -- already sleep deprived from working on his capping project, and whipped from his mile/800 double -- was pressed into duty as a filler leg in a 4x400. Like most guys, Conor was delighted to play sprinter for a little while.
He got all excited when he realized that he decided that he could/would split a 56-second leg. Certainly not a desirable goal. But why 56 seconds? Because the number 56 holds a special place for Conor, since that was the address of that dreadful abomination of an off-campus house -- now rightfully unoccupied and abandoned -- known as "Sunset."
All during his extended warmup in the infield, he was flashing hand signals indicating his desire to run "56." When I explained this whole story to Terry, his simple line made me laugh:
"Geez, I wish he lived at 49 Sunset."
Indeed.
Plus, I want to check out all the New York newspaper sports sections to read about the new Jeter contract! It's quite creative!
Anyway, before doing this, I had to share with you all the best line of the day, uttered innocently enough by Coach Terry Horton as the long day was reaching its conclusion with our multiple, seemingly haphazard but fun 4x400s for men.
Fifth-year senior Conor Shelley -- already sleep deprived from working on his capping project, and whipped from his mile/800 double -- was pressed into duty as a filler leg in a 4x400. Like most guys, Conor was delighted to play sprinter for a little while.
He got all excited when he realized that he decided that he could/would split a 56-second leg. Certainly not a desirable goal. But why 56 seconds? Because the number 56 holds a special place for Conor, since that was the address of that dreadful abomination of an off-campus house -- now rightfully unoccupied and abandoned -- known as "Sunset."
All during his extended warmup in the infield, he was flashing hand signals indicating his desire to run "56." When I explained this whole story to Terry, his simple line made me laugh:
"Geez, I wish he lived at 49 Sunset."
Indeed.
Holiday Hild runs a nice PR!
Congrats to freshman Billy Hild for his fantastic third-place finish at today's Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club's Holiday Run 5-mile race in Wappingers Falls.
The pride of Mr. Bucket's Spackenkill Spartans ran a personal-best time of 28:05 for the 5-mile course. He was hoping for faster. But a quick glance at the results and you'll see that he was truly in no-man's land. All things considered, a fine performance from my most loyal blog follower on the team.
Also, check this link to see Billy Fresh in the awards photos.
Nicely done, Mr. Freshington!
The pride of Mr. Bucket's Spackenkill Spartans ran a personal-best time of 28:05 for the 5-mile course. He was hoping for faster. But a quick glance at the results and you'll see that he was truly in no-man's land. All things considered, a fine performance from my most loyal blog follower on the team.
Also, check this link to see Billy Fresh in the awards photos.
Nicely done, Mr. Freshington!
60 seasons, and counting ...
Don't know why I thought of this ... with the beginning of yet another season -- indoor track -- I decided to count up how many distinct seasons I have now coached since Phil and I embarked on our grand adventure back in the spring of 1991 with our first meet at the remote locale of Mansfield University in Pennsylvania.
Counting that truncated club season that spring, this marks the beginning of my 60th season of coaching. Wow. That's a lot of bus rides, van trips, meal money, etc.
My oldest son wondered aloud if I would make it to 100 seasons. Good question, bro! The short answer: If I live long enough and if Marist is nice enough to keep renewing my contract for the next 13-plus years, I'll make it to season 100 sometime close to my 60th birthday.
In the meantime, all this talk is nonsense when compared to Assistant Coach (and longtime Arlington coach) Terry Horton. If Terry were to dare count up all the seasons he has coached -- cross country, track, football maybe? -- it's a pretty safe bet it would be close to or exceeding 100.
It never ends.
Counting that truncated club season that spring, this marks the beginning of my 60th season of coaching. Wow. That's a lot of bus rides, van trips, meal money, etc.
My oldest son wondered aloud if I would make it to 100 seasons. Good question, bro! The short answer: If I live long enough and if Marist is nice enough to keep renewing my contract for the next 13-plus years, I'll make it to season 100 sometime close to my 60th birthday.
In the meantime, all this talk is nonsense when compared to Assistant Coach (and longtime Arlington coach) Terry Horton. If Terry were to dare count up all the seasons he has coached -- cross country, track, football maybe? -- it's a pretty safe bet it would be close to or exceeding 100.
It never ends.
Yale results from today
Here are results from today.
Not a bad season-opener!
More highlights and commentary soon.
Just wanted to post these quickly.
Yale Invitational
Coxe Cage, Yale University
Saturday, December 4, 2010
60-meter dash
7. Mike McCloskey 7.31
14. Darren Bushey 7.43
21. Neal Viets 7.93
22. Brian Lochner 8.06
200 dash
11. Mike McCloskey 23.87
13. Mike Clifford 24.12
15. Darren Bushey 24.23
17. Neal Viets 24.89
18. Taylor Bombard 25.07
400 dash
13. John Kristie 52.96
14. Connor Dodge 53.06
16. Chris Coscio 53.21
18. Dan Conklin 53.52
500 dash
6. Josh Lopez 1:09.27
800 run
5. Isaiah Miller 2:00.74
27, 57 (30), 1:29 (32), 2:00.74 (31.74)
7. Conor Shelley 2:02.03
29, 58 (29), 1:29 (31), 2:02.03 (33.03)
9. Andrew James 2:04.77
27, 58 (31), 1:29 (31), 2:04.77 (35.77)
Mile run
5. Conor Shelley 4:26.48
32.7, 65.2 (32.5), 1:39.2 (34.0), 2:12.3 (33.1), 2:45.4 (33.1), 3:19.4 (34.0, 3:53.5 (34.1), 4:26.48 (32.98)
3,000 run
3. Mike Clausen 9:23.56
41.6, 78.0 (36.4), 1:54.6 (36.6), 2:30.9 (36.3), 3:06.8 (35.8)
3:43.7 (36.9), 4:20.1 (36.4), 4:57.4 (37.3), 5:34.0 (36.6), 6:11.8 (37.8)
6:50.4 (38.6), 7:29.7 (39.3), 8:08.7 (39.0), 8:46.9 (38.2), 9:23.56 (36.66)
1km: 3:06.8; 2km: 6:11.8 (3:05.0); 3km: 9:23.56 (3:11.76)
5,000 run
4. Ryan Fitzsimons 16:35.46
No splits posted at request of the athlete.
60 hurdles
9. Taylor Bombard 9.47
4x400 relay:
Marist A (Chris Coscio 54.17, John Kristie 52.95, Connor Dodge 52.49, Isaiah Miller 54.53) 3:34.16
Marist B (Josh Lopez 53.27, Phil Krupka 53.89, Alex Cuesta 54.12, Conor Shelley 56.38) 3:37.96
Marist C (Mike McCloskey 56.71, Darren Bushey 56.57, Mike Clifford 56.02, Andrew James 54.63) 3:44.09
Weight throw
10. Sean Ellman 10.52 meters (34 feet, 6.25 inches)
Women’s results
60 dash
11. Amanda Luccarelli 8.42
13. Meghann Cocca 8.66
200 dash
18. Christina Turigiano 28.50
19. Amanda Luccarelli 28.51
21. Meghann Cocca 28.60
400 dash
8. Hayley Harnett 62.89
500 dash
11. Nicole Weir 1:24.69
12. Ailish Rowley 1:26.46
800 run
2. Jackie Gamboli 2:18.61
32, 67 (35), 1:42 (35), 2:18.61 (36.61)
8. Rachael Peterson 2:37.53
36, 75 (39), 1:56 (41), 2:37.53 (41.53)
3,000-meter run
1-Brittany Burns 10:15.00
39, 81 (42), 2:03 (42), 2:45 (42), 3:27 (42)
4:08 (41), 4:49 (41), 5:31 (42), 6:13 (42), 6:54 (41)
7:35 (41), 8:16 (41), 8:57 (41), 9:36 (39), 10:15.00 (39.00)
1km: 3:27; 2km: 6:54 (3:27); 3km: 10:15.00 (3:21)
2-Kiersten Anderson 10:19.73
38, 79 (41), 2:00 (41), 2:41 (41), 3:22 (41)
4:04 (42), 4:46 (42), 5:28 (42), 6:10 (42), 6:52 (42)
7:35 (43), 8:16 (41), 8:57 (41), 9:39 (42), 10:19.73 (40.73)
1km: 3:22; 2km: 6:52 (3:30); 3km: 10:19.73 (3:28.73)
4x400 relay:
9. Marist A (Hayley Harnett 61.49, Christina Turigiano 65.48, Nicole Weir 64.46, Jackie Gamboli 61.38) 4:13.05
Long jump
7. Kristen Vogel 4.81 meters (15-9.5)
9. Shannon Vogel 4.37 meters (14-4)
Triple jump
10. Kristen Vogel 9.96 meters (32-8.25)
12. Shannon Vogel 9.68 meters (31-9.25)
Not a bad season-opener!
More highlights and commentary soon.
Just wanted to post these quickly.
Yale Invitational
Coxe Cage, Yale University
Saturday, December 4, 2010
60-meter dash
7. Mike McCloskey 7.31
14. Darren Bushey 7.43
21. Neal Viets 7.93
22. Brian Lochner 8.06
200 dash
11. Mike McCloskey 23.87
13. Mike Clifford 24.12
15. Darren Bushey 24.23
17. Neal Viets 24.89
18. Taylor Bombard 25.07
400 dash
13. John Kristie 52.96
14. Connor Dodge 53.06
16. Chris Coscio 53.21
18. Dan Conklin 53.52
500 dash
6. Josh Lopez 1:09.27
800 run
5. Isaiah Miller 2:00.74
27, 57 (30), 1:29 (32), 2:00.74 (31.74)
7. Conor Shelley 2:02.03
29, 58 (29), 1:29 (31), 2:02.03 (33.03)
9. Andrew James 2:04.77
27, 58 (31), 1:29 (31), 2:04.77 (35.77)
Mile run
5. Conor Shelley 4:26.48
32.7, 65.2 (32.5), 1:39.2 (34.0), 2:12.3 (33.1), 2:45.4 (33.1), 3:19.4 (34.0, 3:53.5 (34.1), 4:26.48 (32.98)
3,000 run
3. Mike Clausen 9:23.56
41.6, 78.0 (36.4), 1:54.6 (36.6), 2:30.9 (36.3), 3:06.8 (35.8)
3:43.7 (36.9), 4:20.1 (36.4), 4:57.4 (37.3), 5:34.0 (36.6), 6:11.8 (37.8)
6:50.4 (38.6), 7:29.7 (39.3), 8:08.7 (39.0), 8:46.9 (38.2), 9:23.56 (36.66)
1km: 3:06.8; 2km: 6:11.8 (3:05.0); 3km: 9:23.56 (3:11.76)
5,000 run
4. Ryan Fitzsimons 16:35.46
No splits posted at request of the athlete.
60 hurdles
9. Taylor Bombard 9.47
4x400 relay:
Marist A (Chris Coscio 54.17, John Kristie 52.95, Connor Dodge 52.49, Isaiah Miller 54.53) 3:34.16
Marist B (Josh Lopez 53.27, Phil Krupka 53.89, Alex Cuesta 54.12, Conor Shelley 56.38) 3:37.96
Marist C (Mike McCloskey 56.71, Darren Bushey 56.57, Mike Clifford 56.02, Andrew James 54.63) 3:44.09
Weight throw
10. Sean Ellman 10.52 meters (34 feet, 6.25 inches)
Women’s results
60 dash
11. Amanda Luccarelli 8.42
13. Meghann Cocca 8.66
200 dash
18. Christina Turigiano 28.50
19. Amanda Luccarelli 28.51
21. Meghann Cocca 28.60
400 dash
8. Hayley Harnett 62.89
500 dash
11. Nicole Weir 1:24.69
12. Ailish Rowley 1:26.46
800 run
2. Jackie Gamboli 2:18.61
32, 67 (35), 1:42 (35), 2:18.61 (36.61)
8. Rachael Peterson 2:37.53
36, 75 (39), 1:56 (41), 2:37.53 (41.53)
3,000-meter run
1-Brittany Burns 10:15.00
39, 81 (42), 2:03 (42), 2:45 (42), 3:27 (42)
4:08 (41), 4:49 (41), 5:31 (42), 6:13 (42), 6:54 (41)
7:35 (41), 8:16 (41), 8:57 (41), 9:36 (39), 10:15.00 (39.00)
1km: 3:27; 2km: 6:54 (3:27); 3km: 10:15.00 (3:21)
2-Kiersten Anderson 10:19.73
38, 79 (41), 2:00 (41), 2:41 (41), 3:22 (41)
4:04 (42), 4:46 (42), 5:28 (42), 6:10 (42), 6:52 (42)
7:35 (43), 8:16 (41), 8:57 (41), 9:39 (42), 10:19.73 (40.73)
1km: 3:22; 2km: 6:52 (3:30); 3km: 10:19.73 (3:28.73)
4x400 relay:
9. Marist A (Hayley Harnett 61.49, Christina Turigiano 65.48, Nicole Weir 64.46, Jackie Gamboli 61.38) 4:13.05
Long jump
7. Kristen Vogel 4.81 meters (15-9.5)
9. Shannon Vogel 4.37 meters (14-4)
Triple jump
10. Kristen Vogel 9.96 meters (32-8.25)
12. Shannon Vogel 9.68 meters (31-9.25)
Monday, November 29, 2010
Track schedule
Ready or not, here comes track!
The first meet of the indoor season is Saturday. Here is the complete indoor schedule. Pretty similar to past years ...
Sat, 12.4.10: Yale Season Opener
Fri, 1.7.11: Metro Coaches Collegiate at the NYC Armory
Fri, 1.14: NYC Gotham Cup, Armory
Sun, 1.23: GBTC Invitational, Harvard (still awaiting acceptance from GBTC to participate in this event?)
Fri/Sat, 1.28-1.29: Terrier Invitational, Boston University (mostly men's team, some women)
Saturday, 1.29: Metropolitan Championships, Armory (women only)
Fri/Sat, 2.4-2.5: New Balance Invitational, Armory
Fri/Sat, 2.11-2.12: Valentine Invitational, BU
Fri, 2.18: MAAC Championships, Armory
Fri, 2.25: Armory Collegiate, Armory
Sat/Sun, March 5-6: IC4A at BU; ECAC at Reggie Lewis
The first meet of the indoor season is Saturday. Here is the complete indoor schedule. Pretty similar to past years ...
Sat, 12.4.10: Yale Season Opener
Fri, 1.7.11: Metro Coaches Collegiate at the NYC Armory
Fri, 1.14: NYC Gotham Cup, Armory
Sun, 1.23: GBTC Invitational, Harvard (still awaiting acceptance from GBTC to participate in this event?)
Fri/Sat, 1.28-1.29: Terrier Invitational, Boston University (mostly men's team, some women)
Saturday, 1.29: Metropolitan Championships, Armory (women only)
Fri/Sat, 2.4-2.5: New Balance Invitational, Armory
Fri/Sat, 2.11-2.12: Valentine Invitational, BU
Fri, 2.18: MAAC Championships, Armory
Fri, 2.25: Armory Collegiate, Armory
Sat/Sun, March 5-6: IC4A at BU; ECAC at Reggie Lewis
Gobble, gobble
Speaking of leftovers, here are a few road race morsels from Long Island ...
On Thursday at the Garden City Turkey Trot 5-miler, Marist Running was well-represented. Our own Quimes DelaCruz, fresh off his stellar XC season, was second in 25:19.5. Running right up his heels and running like he was 10 years younger and still in college, 30-year-old Marist alum (class of 2002) Mike Nehr was third overall and won his age group in 25:20.5 -- an amazing run from the ageless star.
Setting the early pace was current team captain Pat Duggan, who came in sixth overall in 26:19.5 -- much like Quimes, Duggan was coming off a great XC season.
On Sunday at Rob's Run XC 5km in Syosset, Marist Alum Matt Walsh was second overall in 15:44, overcoming a very fast opening mile. He trailed only Chris Mammone, one of the best runners on the Island, who won in 15:31.
On Thursday at the Garden City Turkey Trot 5-miler, Marist Running was well-represented. Our own Quimes DelaCruz, fresh off his stellar XC season, was second in 25:19.5. Running right up his heels and running like he was 10 years younger and still in college, 30-year-old Marist alum (class of 2002) Mike Nehr was third overall and won his age group in 25:20.5 -- an amazing run from the ageless star.
Setting the early pace was current team captain Pat Duggan, who came in sixth overall in 26:19.5 -- much like Quimes, Duggan was coming off a great XC season.
On Sunday at Rob's Run XC 5km in Syosset, Marist Alum Matt Walsh was second overall in 15:44, overcoming a very fast opening mile. He trailed only Chris Mammone, one of the best runners on the Island, who won in 15:31.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Luke's updated splits
Hello and happy post-Thanksgiving to all. Hope your holiday was a nice one.
A quick update on Luke Shane's phenomenal marathon run last week at Philadelphia. Our guy did NOT run the crazy negative splits as advertised and posted on the preliminary results, but he DID run an incredibly even effort -- which is just as good, if not better!
Here are the numbers:
First 13.1: 1:21:15
Second 13.1: 1:21:37
Final time: 2:42:52
Pretty sweet stuff.
This is basically an "off" week here at Blog Central. However, we will be down at Bowdoin Park on Saturday for the NXN Regionals. It will be cold, but sunny.
Enjoy your leftovers. Back to work on Monday.
A quick update on Luke Shane's phenomenal marathon run last week at Philadelphia. Our guy did NOT run the crazy negative splits as advertised and posted on the preliminary results, but he DID run an incredibly even effort -- which is just as good, if not better!
Here are the numbers:
First 13.1: 1:21:15
Second 13.1: 1:21:37
Final time: 2:42:52
Pretty sweet stuff.
This is basically an "off" week here at Blog Central. However, we will be down at Bowdoin Park on Saturday for the NXN Regionals. It will be cold, but sunny.
Enjoy your leftovers. Back to work on Monday.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
IC4A/ECAC in pictures
Thanks to Kathy Gould for these fine photos from Saturday of our lead runners (Matt Flint, Kiersten Anderson -- both from Section 2!), our women's team huddle, and some old coach with Girma and Vess -- that's a lot of school records in one small photo.
If I do not post again in a few days ... Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
If I do not post again in a few days ... Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Luke rocks in Philly!
Big, big congrats to junior Luke Shane of the Marist College cross country team!
Our guy Luke ran a huge PR this morning at the Philadelphia Marathon.
Luke ran 2:42:52, a 15-minute improvement over his race at Vermont in May. And get this: It was basically 1 minute per mile faster than his 3:08 at Philly in 2009.
More stats:
--Luke was 53rd overall out of 8695 finishers so far.
--Luke was 7th in the 20-24 age group.
--Luke ran a major negative split. First half in 1:23:57. Second half in 1:18:55. Nicely done!
Luke has already signed up for the 2011 Boston Marathon. After recovering from this stellar effort, he will start his buildup for that.
Good stuff.
Our guy Luke ran a huge PR this morning at the Philadelphia Marathon.
Luke ran 2:42:52, a 15-minute improvement over his race at Vermont in May. And get this: It was basically 1 minute per mile faster than his 3:08 at Philly in 2009.
More stats:
--Luke was 53rd overall out of 8695 finishers so far.
--Luke was 7th in the 20-24 age group.
--Luke ran a major negative split. First half in 1:23:57. Second half in 1:18:55. Nicely done!
Luke has already signed up for the 2011 Boston Marathon. After recovering from this stellar effort, he will start his buildup for that.
Good stuff.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Hello there, Mr. Schab
Kudos to loyal alums Mike Schab (2005) and Colleen Ryan (2009) for their extraordinary effort to come and see the team on Saturday!
A bleary-eyed Schabby was coming off an insanely long work shift as a stage hand on some Top Secret Celebrity Project that I’m not supposed to talk about. And he’s got another extended gig coming up later tonight! Sleep was never a big priority for the Schabster, anyway.
Here’s an interesting Schab fact. In his last days of college, he was one of the last hold-out dinosaurs who refused to get a cell phone. Our boy has made a complete about-face now, and has some fancy Blackberry with all the bells and whistles, and Internet – of course. Schab told me today that his “home page” on his mobile device is this very blog. So naturally, that deserves a mention here.
As does Our Favorite Babysitter Colleen, who basically drove through the night from Kentucky to come to Vanny and see us. Honestly, this might have been the best surprise of the day! The stunned reaction and hugs that Col received from her former teammates was great.
A bleary-eyed Schabby was coming off an insanely long work shift as a stage hand on some Top Secret Celebrity Project that I’m not supposed to talk about. And he’s got another extended gig coming up later tonight! Sleep was never a big priority for the Schabster, anyway.
Here’s an interesting Schab fact. In his last days of college, he was one of the last hold-out dinosaurs who refused to get a cell phone. Our boy has made a complete about-face now, and has some fancy Blackberry with all the bells and whistles, and Internet – of course. Schab told me today that his “home page” on his mobile device is this very blog. So naturally, that deserves a mention here.
As does Our Favorite Babysitter Colleen, who basically drove through the night from Kentucky to come to Vanny and see us. Honestly, this might have been the best surprise of the day! The stunned reaction and hugs that Col received from her former teammates was great.
10 years after ...
The IC4A cross country meet means a lot to me. Actually, all IC4A meets are loaded with significance – in all three seasons.
The cross country meet is tinged with bittersweet feelings, as it is the end of the line for graduating seniors in a sport they have probably done for 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 years. And while there are two more seasons of track, there is nothing like the team-bonding camaraderie that is fostered with cross country. I have had many a graduating senior shed a tear or three at the finish line at Vanny on IC4A Saturday.
Today, there were no tears that I could find. Instead, there was nothing but goofing, smiling and food. Oh man. The food was great! Thanks again, Loyal Parents of Marist Running!!!
One of my fondest memories in my earlier coaching career with the men’s team came at the IC4A Championships in 2000 at Van Cortlandt Park. We had come off a disappointing finish at the MAAC meet in Disney (not a Magical trip!) a few weeks earlier. But we knew we had a GREAT team. We just needed to prove it. At the 2000 IC4A meet, we proved it.
We were in the University Race back then. I knew we had a chance to do well. Imagine my surprise when, off in the distance, I saw Mikey Nehr – my brash and confident junior out of West Babylon – coming out of the woods in first place! He was followed closely by several of his teammates who were running in the top 10. And then P-Diddy (Pat Driscoll) topped it off with the race of his XC race of his life as our fifth man … and we won the meet! Awesome!
Somewhere on my office wall, I have a wrinkled and fading picture of the top 7 from that day, next to the first-place plaque that will forever hang in there. While the memory of that fine day lingers, what’s more rewarding is that, 10 years later, there is still a strong bond with those guys.
In fact, of the 7 runners on that championship team, no fewer than four of them were at Vanny today to cheer on the 2010 Running Red Foxes: Chris and Greg Salamone, Mike Nehr and Pat Driscoll. Awesome. The other three guys were Kirk Dornton, with whom I talk and see frequently, and whose wedding I will gladly attend next summer; Jason Grady, now a successful local coach and with whom I see and talk frequently at meets; and Jamal Padgett, who not surprisingly fell off the face of the earth … but with whom I still have random and bizarre contact, and whose wedding I was invited to but was unable to attend, a few summers ago.
I’ll never forget Reese’s (that’s Greg Salamone, by the way) comments after we won. He said something to the effect of: “Pete, you should just quit now, how can it get any better than this?” Well, 10 years later, I am reporting to you that it does get better, and not just because the team is running strong. It gets better because you guys stay in touch and keep coming back, and you were joined by other alums on Saturday, and family, and friends.
Now in the Championship Division, the men did not win today. But they ran pretty darn well, and finished off an excellent season, a season in which one alum asked me over the phone if it was our “best team ever.” That’s a debate for another day, if at all.
This much is not subject to debate: If I am fortunate enough to be alive and coaching our program in 2020, at the IC4A meet, it is my fervent hope and desire that graduating seniors Duggan, Keegan, Web, Zak, Vess, Hink and all the other 2010 XC men come back to see their gray-bearded coach doing his thing with a crop of athletes that are currently in grade school – which is where they were back in 2000. And maybe the 2000 champions, older and perhaps grayer themselves, will still be in the house as well.
More than any trophies, records and the like, that’s what this is all about, isn’t it?
The cross country meet is tinged with bittersweet feelings, as it is the end of the line for graduating seniors in a sport they have probably done for 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 years. And while there are two more seasons of track, there is nothing like the team-bonding camaraderie that is fostered with cross country. I have had many a graduating senior shed a tear or three at the finish line at Vanny on IC4A Saturday.
Today, there were no tears that I could find. Instead, there was nothing but goofing, smiling and food. Oh man. The food was great! Thanks again, Loyal Parents of Marist Running!!!
One of my fondest memories in my earlier coaching career with the men’s team came at the IC4A Championships in 2000 at Van Cortlandt Park. We had come off a disappointing finish at the MAAC meet in Disney (not a Magical trip!) a few weeks earlier. But we knew we had a GREAT team. We just needed to prove it. At the 2000 IC4A meet, we proved it.
We were in the University Race back then. I knew we had a chance to do well. Imagine my surprise when, off in the distance, I saw Mikey Nehr – my brash and confident junior out of West Babylon – coming out of the woods in first place! He was followed closely by several of his teammates who were running in the top 10. And then P-Diddy (Pat Driscoll) topped it off with the race of his XC race of his life as our fifth man … and we won the meet! Awesome!
Somewhere on my office wall, I have a wrinkled and fading picture of the top 7 from that day, next to the first-place plaque that will forever hang in there. While the memory of that fine day lingers, what’s more rewarding is that, 10 years later, there is still a strong bond with those guys.
In fact, of the 7 runners on that championship team, no fewer than four of them were at Vanny today to cheer on the 2010 Running Red Foxes: Chris and Greg Salamone, Mike Nehr and Pat Driscoll. Awesome. The other three guys were Kirk Dornton, with whom I talk and see frequently, and whose wedding I will gladly attend next summer; Jason Grady, now a successful local coach and with whom I see and talk frequently at meets; and Jamal Padgett, who not surprisingly fell off the face of the earth … but with whom I still have random and bizarre contact, and whose wedding I was invited to but was unable to attend, a few summers ago.
I’ll never forget Reese’s (that’s Greg Salamone, by the way) comments after we won. He said something to the effect of: “Pete, you should just quit now, how can it get any better than this?” Well, 10 years later, I am reporting to you that it does get better, and not just because the team is running strong. It gets better because you guys stay in touch and keep coming back, and you were joined by other alums on Saturday, and family, and friends.
Now in the Championship Division, the men did not win today. But they ran pretty darn well, and finished off an excellent season, a season in which one alum asked me over the phone if it was our “best team ever.” That’s a debate for another day, if at all.
This much is not subject to debate: If I am fortunate enough to be alive and coaching our program in 2020, at the IC4A meet, it is my fervent hope and desire that graduating seniors Duggan, Keegan, Web, Zak, Vess, Hink and all the other 2010 XC men come back to see their gray-bearded coach doing his thing with a crop of athletes that are currently in grade school – which is where they were back in 2000. And maybe the 2000 champions, older and perhaps grayer themselves, will still be in the house as well.
More than any trophies, records and the like, that’s what this is all about, isn’t it?
Reflections on women's meet and season
Reflections on women’s meet and season
Seeing freshman Kiersten Anderson entering the Back Hills on Saturday in the lead – IN THE LEAD! – gave me goosebump chill flashbacks to that 2000 meet when Mike Nehr won the University Division race for the men. Kiersten wound up second in yet another amazing performance.
While I am not admittedly the “keeper of the numbers” for the women’s team as I am for the men’s team, I think it’s safe to say that Kiersten had one of the best freshman XC seasons of any women’s runner we’ve had. And she did that despite battling through early- and mid-season injuries that nearly curtailed the whole season. It was great to see.
This fall’s season was a rough one for our ladies, it really was. We had a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and in some cases the results were less than what we were hoping for. But, from my glass-half-full perspective, here’s what I saw: Effort. Strong effort, in pretty much every meet and every race.
Despite the bad breaks, the ladies that ran gave it their all and rarely got discouraged by what we were enduring. And that was gratifying to see. Nothing is guaranteed for the future, but I believe it is bright for our women’s program. Coach Chuck is recruiting hard to build up our depth, and our luck is already improving in the injury department.
Hopefully, this will start to manifest itself in track, and then big-time next fall. I have faith that’s exactly what will happen.
Seeing freshman Kiersten Anderson entering the Back Hills on Saturday in the lead – IN THE LEAD! – gave me goosebump chill flashbacks to that 2000 meet when Mike Nehr won the University Division race for the men. Kiersten wound up second in yet another amazing performance.
While I am not admittedly the “keeper of the numbers” for the women’s team as I am for the men’s team, I think it’s safe to say that Kiersten had one of the best freshman XC seasons of any women’s runner we’ve had. And she did that despite battling through early- and mid-season injuries that nearly curtailed the whole season. It was great to see.
This fall’s season was a rough one for our ladies, it really was. We had a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and in some cases the results were less than what we were hoping for. But, from my glass-half-full perspective, here’s what I saw: Effort. Strong effort, in pretty much every meet and every race.
Despite the bad breaks, the ladies that ran gave it their all and rarely got discouraged by what we were enduring. And that was gratifying to see. Nothing is guaranteed for the future, but I believe it is bright for our women’s program. Coach Chuck is recruiting hard to build up our depth, and our luck is already improving in the injury department.
Hopefully, this will start to manifest itself in track, and then big-time next fall. I have faith that’s exactly what will happen.
Crunching some IC4A numbers
As I said in a previous post, I definitely have more of a records database stored for our men’s team. Here is some historical perspective and analysis of our IC4A history as a team, and our current VCP history on the “construction course,” and why the 2010 meet on balance was a strong effort top to bottom for the men.
Team history
Since our win in the University Division at this meet in 2000, here is what we have done each year since.
2001: 11th place, 391 points
2002: 12th place, 313 points (All-East, Kirk Dornton, 20th place, 25:50)
2003: 11th place, 263 points
2004: 5th in University Division with 145 points
2005: 2nd in University Division with 98 points
2006: 5th place, 161 points (All-East: David Raucci, 13th place, 25:32.9; Girma Segni, 15th place, 25:37.5)
2007: 8th place, 216 points (All-East: Girma Segni, 14th place, 25:36; David Raucci, 15th place, 25:38)
2008: 3rd place, 102 points (All-East: David Raucci, 2nd place, 25:13; Girma Segni, 16th place, 25:43; Tim Keegan, 22nd place, 25:49; Will Griffin, 25th place, 25:54)
2009: 6th place, 153 points (All-East: Matt Flint, 12th place, 25:48.5; Will Griffin, 23rd place, 26:07.7)
2010 Men’s team standings
1-Duke 44, 2-Duquesne 141, 3-Harvard and Central Connecticut 147, 5-Marist 162, 6-George Mason 189, 7-Columbia 190, 8-Albany 201, 9-William & Mary 209, 10-Syracuse 239, 11-Iona 273, 12-Princeton 318, 13-Delaware 340, 14-Boston College 344, 15-La Salle and Rider 346, 17-U Mass 446, 18-St. Joseph’s 489, 19-Boston University 551
Individual results analysis:
This year’s “construction course” was much better than last year. However, I will still consider it “more difficult” than the Original VCP course in this regard: The amount of flat terrain between the Back Hills and Cemetery Hill is significantly shorter than the original. That makes the back end of the course harder.
Having said that, the Championship Division race today was as deep and as fast as I can ever remember it! The conditions were pretty good; the strong winds that were forecast never materialized. It was chilly, but it was above average racing weather, in my opinion.
IC4As is an odd meet. It’s a week after Regionals, which for most is a tough and draining race. Some programs do not bring their “A game” squads. We usually choose to bring our best team. Once again, we were without the services of Adam Vess. Today, Vess’ absence was finally felt, as our gap from 4 man to 5 man was larger than we would have liked. Such is life, and this is how it is during a long cross country season.
Again, though, look at these numbers below, and you’ll see significant improvement for almost every member of the team. Listed here are today’s results again, with the previous VCP “construction course” personal-best times in parenthesis. In many cases, there is a startling improvement in performance, which is exactly what we are looking for (**indicates a (in most cases, significant) VCP construction PR)
7-Matt Flint 25:11.5 (25:48.5)**
14-Arquimedes DelaCruz 25:26.4 (27:00.2)**
26-Will Griffin 25:32.6 (26:07.7)**
34-Ken Walshak 25:47.8 (26:25.28)**
84-Tim Keegan 26:32.6 (26:26.2)
90-Pat Duggan 26:38.7 (26:57.98)**
98-Nick Webster 26:45.1 (26:47.22)**
114-Joel Moss 26:58.3 (27:37.75)**
124-Ryan Scrudato 27:08.9 (first time at VCP)
129-Mike Nicoletti 27:14.5 (27:38.04)**
148-Nick Hughes 27:49.4 (27:12.90). Note: Knee injury.
Coaches Association race
5-Brian Townsend 27:05.1 (28:46.0)**
7-Nick Salek 27:16.6 (28:31)**
8-Isaiah Miller 27:22.9 (28:01)**
12-Ryan Brown 27:30.9 (28:40.7)**
14-Kevin O’Sullivan 27:41.1 (first time at VCP)
15-Mike Keegan 27:42.4 (28:35)**
17-Billy Posch 27:44.1 (27:26.92). Note: Foot injury.
21-Ryan Fitzsimons 27:56.2 (29:54.2)**
22-Zak Smetana 28:04.7 (27:04.5)
28-Ben Windisch 28:16.0 (first time at VCP)
32-Pat Deedy 28:24.2 (28:13)
35-Will Schanz 28:31.3 (28:25)
37-Billy Hild 28:36.9 (30:18)**
44-Doug Ainscow 28:48.3 (28:48)
49-Brendan Green 29:55.8 (30:53.4)**
Team history
Since our win in the University Division at this meet in 2000, here is what we have done each year since.
2001: 11th place, 391 points
2002: 12th place, 313 points (All-East, Kirk Dornton, 20th place, 25:50)
2003: 11th place, 263 points
2004: 5th in University Division with 145 points
2005: 2nd in University Division with 98 points
2006: 5th place, 161 points (All-East: David Raucci, 13th place, 25:32.9; Girma Segni, 15th place, 25:37.5)
2007: 8th place, 216 points (All-East: Girma Segni, 14th place, 25:36; David Raucci, 15th place, 25:38)
2008: 3rd place, 102 points (All-East: David Raucci, 2nd place, 25:13; Girma Segni, 16th place, 25:43; Tim Keegan, 22nd place, 25:49; Will Griffin, 25th place, 25:54)
2009: 6th place, 153 points (All-East: Matt Flint, 12th place, 25:48.5; Will Griffin, 23rd place, 26:07.7)
2010 Men’s team standings
1-Duke 44, 2-Duquesne 141, 3-Harvard and Central Connecticut 147, 5-Marist 162, 6-George Mason 189, 7-Columbia 190, 8-Albany 201, 9-William & Mary 209, 10-Syracuse 239, 11-Iona 273, 12-Princeton 318, 13-Delaware 340, 14-Boston College 344, 15-La Salle and Rider 346, 17-U Mass 446, 18-St. Joseph’s 489, 19-Boston University 551
Individual results analysis:
This year’s “construction course” was much better than last year. However, I will still consider it “more difficult” than the Original VCP course in this regard: The amount of flat terrain between the Back Hills and Cemetery Hill is significantly shorter than the original. That makes the back end of the course harder.
Having said that, the Championship Division race today was as deep and as fast as I can ever remember it! The conditions were pretty good; the strong winds that were forecast never materialized. It was chilly, but it was above average racing weather, in my opinion.
IC4As is an odd meet. It’s a week after Regionals, which for most is a tough and draining race. Some programs do not bring their “A game” squads. We usually choose to bring our best team. Once again, we were without the services of Adam Vess. Today, Vess’ absence was finally felt, as our gap from 4 man to 5 man was larger than we would have liked. Such is life, and this is how it is during a long cross country season.
Again, though, look at these numbers below, and you’ll see significant improvement for almost every member of the team. Listed here are today’s results again, with the previous VCP “construction course” personal-best times in parenthesis. In many cases, there is a startling improvement in performance, which is exactly what we are looking for (**indicates a (in most cases, significant) VCP construction PR)
7-Matt Flint 25:11.5 (25:48.5)**
14-Arquimedes DelaCruz 25:26.4 (27:00.2)**
26-Will Griffin 25:32.6 (26:07.7)**
34-Ken Walshak 25:47.8 (26:25.28)**
84-Tim Keegan 26:32.6 (26:26.2)
90-Pat Duggan 26:38.7 (26:57.98)**
98-Nick Webster 26:45.1 (26:47.22)**
114-Joel Moss 26:58.3 (27:37.75)**
124-Ryan Scrudato 27:08.9 (first time at VCP)
129-Mike Nicoletti 27:14.5 (27:38.04)**
148-Nick Hughes 27:49.4 (27:12.90). Note: Knee injury.
Coaches Association race
5-Brian Townsend 27:05.1 (28:46.0)**
7-Nick Salek 27:16.6 (28:31)**
8-Isaiah Miller 27:22.9 (28:01)**
12-Ryan Brown 27:30.9 (28:40.7)**
14-Kevin O’Sullivan 27:41.1 (first time at VCP)
15-Mike Keegan 27:42.4 (28:35)**
17-Billy Posch 27:44.1 (27:26.92). Note: Foot injury.
21-Ryan Fitzsimons 27:56.2 (29:54.2)**
22-Zak Smetana 28:04.7 (27:04.5)
28-Ben Windisch 28:16.0 (first time at VCP)
32-Pat Deedy 28:24.2 (28:13)
35-Will Schanz 28:31.3 (28:25)
37-Billy Hild 28:36.9 (30:18)**
44-Doug Ainscow 28:48.3 (28:48)
49-Brendan Green 29:55.8 (30:53.4)**
ECAC/IC4A results from today
What a great day at Van Cortlandt Park!
The weather was awesome -- the forecasted strong winds never really materialized.
The post-race parents' tailgate was incredible -- alumni and athletes from other teams even crashed it. The more the merrier! Thanks to all who contributed the great bounty of food.
And oh yeah ... the teams ran pretty well, too.
Individually for the women, freshman Kiersten Anderson had a banner day. She was 2nd in the ECAC University Division race in 18:10.3 on the 5K course. Coach Chuck provided me with the following highlights:
--She earned ECAC University All-East honors (goes to top-25 finishers)
--She tied the best individual finish in school history (Addie DiFrancesco from 2008)
--Her 18:10.3 breaks Liza Grudzinski's VCP school record of 18:23, set in 2002. Nicely done!!
In addition:
--Erin O'Reilly ran a VCP personal-best time
--Briana Crowe ran an overall 5km cross country personal-best time
Here is the complete stats for the women.
ECAC University Division Championships
Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx
5-kilometer course
Women’s team standings:
1-U Albany 49, 2-Monmouth 99, 3-Towson 104, 4-St. John’s 161, 5-Marist 179, 6-Binghamton 209, 7-Sacred Heart 219, 8-Bucknell 281, 9-Pittsburgh 288, 10-Fordham 307, 11-Holy Cross 321, 12-Rider 323, 13-Central Connecticut 330, 14-New Hampshire 346, 15-Robert Morris 358, 16-Fairfield 361, 17-Temple 447, 18-Hofstra 464, 19-Manhattan 491, 20-Seton Hall 548, 21-NJIT 575, 22-Siena 614, 23-Longwood 619
Individual results
2-Kiersten Anderson 18:10.3 *ECAC University Division All-East
35-Erin O’Reilly 19:16.6
40-Briana Crowe 19:20.9
50-Katie Messina 19:35.0
53-Kathryn Sheehan 19:36.3
77-Julie Hudak 20:00.4
79-Kara Lightowler 20:03.3
96-Jillian Corley 20:16.5
97-Kelley Hanifin 20:17.0
110-Kelley Gould 20:25.5
139-Dayna McLaughlin 20:53.0
152-Allyson O’Brien 21:08.7
Coaches Association Race results
7-Tara Nuccitelli 20:18.1
14-Elizabeth O’Brien 20:36.3
15-Miy Mahran 20:44.9
18-Becca Denise 21:00.9
26-Kim Bartlett 21:34.7
27-Laura Lindsley 21:39.7
29-Colleen Smith 21:44.4
39-Natalie Rowland 23:01.4
44-Ashley Jensen 23:15.7
The men had a pretty strong day as well. Our gap from 4 to 5 hurt us, but overall everyone ran great with a lot of current VCP personal-best times (as you will see). More number-crunching analysis of that in a future post.
The fifth-place finish was the second highest in school history (we were 2nd in 2008) and we were just 21 points out of second place today.
Matt Flint and a hard-charging Quimes DelaCruz earned All-East honors and both ran big PRs. Will Griffin and Fab Freshman Kenny Walshak finished out strong varsity seasons with big PRs as well.
The guys in the Coaches Association race really rocked it too. In particular, Big Blog Follower Billy Hild improved his time from Mets by 1:48. Nicely done, Mr. Fresh!
It was a great way for this awesome senior class to go out.
More analysis later ...
Men’s team standings
1-Duke 44, 2-Duquesne 141, 3-Harvard and Central Connecticut 147, 5-Marist 162, 6-George Mason 189, 7-Columbia 190, 8-Albany 201, 9-William & Mary 209, 10-Syracuse 239, 11-Iona 273, 12-Princeton 318, 13-Delaware 340, 14-Boston College 344, 15-La Salle and Rider 346, 17-U Mass 446, 18-St. Joseph’s 489, 19-Boston University 551
Individual results
7-Matt Flint 25:11.5 *IC4A Championship All-East (personal best)
14-Arquimedes DelaCruz 25:26.4 *IC4A Championship All-East (personal best)
26-Will Griffin 25:32.6 (personal best)
34-Ken Walshak 25:47.8 (personal best)
84-Tim Keegan 26:32.6
90-Pat Duggan 26:38.7 (personal best)
98-Nick Webster 26:45.1 (personal best)
114-Joel Moss 26:58.3 (personal best)
124-Ryan Scrudato 27:08.9 (personal best)
129-Mike Nicoletti 27:14.5 (personal best)
148-Nick Hughes 27:49.4
Coaches Association race
5-Brian Townsend 27:05.1 (personal best)
7-Nick Salek 27:16.6 (personal best)
8-Isaiah Miller 27:22.9 (personal best)
12-Ryan Brown 27:30.9 (personal best)
14-Kevin O’Sullivan 27:41.1 (personal best)
15-Mike Keegan 27:42.4 (personal best)
17-Billy Posch 27:44.1
21-Ryan Fitzsimons 27:56.2 (personal best)
22-Zak Smetana 28:04.7
28-Ben Windisch 28:16.0 (personal best)
32-Pat Deedy 28:24.2
35-Will Schanz 28:31.3
37-Billy Hild 28:36.9 (personal best)
44-Doug Ainscow 28:48.3 (personal best)
49-Brendan Green 29:55.8 (personal best)
The weather was awesome -- the forecasted strong winds never really materialized.
The post-race parents' tailgate was incredible -- alumni and athletes from other teams even crashed it. The more the merrier! Thanks to all who contributed the great bounty of food.
And oh yeah ... the teams ran pretty well, too.
Individually for the women, freshman Kiersten Anderson had a banner day. She was 2nd in the ECAC University Division race in 18:10.3 on the 5K course. Coach Chuck provided me with the following highlights:
--She earned ECAC University All-East honors (goes to top-25 finishers)
--She tied the best individual finish in school history (Addie DiFrancesco from 2008)
--Her 18:10.3 breaks Liza Grudzinski's VCP school record of 18:23, set in 2002. Nicely done!!
In addition:
--Erin O'Reilly ran a VCP personal-best time
--Briana Crowe ran an overall 5km cross country personal-best time
Here is the complete stats for the women.
ECAC University Division Championships
Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx
5-kilometer course
Women’s team standings:
1-U Albany 49, 2-Monmouth 99, 3-Towson 104, 4-St. John’s 161, 5-Marist 179, 6-Binghamton 209, 7-Sacred Heart 219, 8-Bucknell 281, 9-Pittsburgh 288, 10-Fordham 307, 11-Holy Cross 321, 12-Rider 323, 13-Central Connecticut 330, 14-New Hampshire 346, 15-Robert Morris 358, 16-Fairfield 361, 17-Temple 447, 18-Hofstra 464, 19-Manhattan 491, 20-Seton Hall 548, 21-NJIT 575, 22-Siena 614, 23-Longwood 619
Individual results
2-Kiersten Anderson 18:10.3 *ECAC University Division All-East
35-Erin O’Reilly 19:16.6
40-Briana Crowe 19:20.9
50-Katie Messina 19:35.0
53-Kathryn Sheehan 19:36.3
77-Julie Hudak 20:00.4
79-Kara Lightowler 20:03.3
96-Jillian Corley 20:16.5
97-Kelley Hanifin 20:17.0
110-Kelley Gould 20:25.5
139-Dayna McLaughlin 20:53.0
152-Allyson O’Brien 21:08.7
Coaches Association Race results
7-Tara Nuccitelli 20:18.1
14-Elizabeth O’Brien 20:36.3
15-Miy Mahran 20:44.9
18-Becca Denise 21:00.9
26-Kim Bartlett 21:34.7
27-Laura Lindsley 21:39.7
29-Colleen Smith 21:44.4
39-Natalie Rowland 23:01.4
44-Ashley Jensen 23:15.7
The men had a pretty strong day as well. Our gap from 4 to 5 hurt us, but overall everyone ran great with a lot of current VCP personal-best times (as you will see). More number-crunching analysis of that in a future post.
The fifth-place finish was the second highest in school history (we were 2nd in 2008) and we were just 21 points out of second place today.
Matt Flint and a hard-charging Quimes DelaCruz earned All-East honors and both ran big PRs. Will Griffin and Fab Freshman Kenny Walshak finished out strong varsity seasons with big PRs as well.
The guys in the Coaches Association race really rocked it too. In particular, Big Blog Follower Billy Hild improved his time from Mets by 1:48. Nicely done, Mr. Fresh!
It was a great way for this awesome senior class to go out.
More analysis later ...
Men’s team standings
1-Duke 44, 2-Duquesne 141, 3-Harvard and Central Connecticut 147, 5-Marist 162, 6-George Mason 189, 7-Columbia 190, 8-Albany 201, 9-William & Mary 209, 10-Syracuse 239, 11-Iona 273, 12-Princeton 318, 13-Delaware 340, 14-Boston College 344, 15-La Salle and Rider 346, 17-U Mass 446, 18-St. Joseph’s 489, 19-Boston University 551
Individual results
7-Matt Flint 25:11.5 *IC4A Championship All-East (personal best)
14-Arquimedes DelaCruz 25:26.4 *IC4A Championship All-East (personal best)
26-Will Griffin 25:32.6 (personal best)
34-Ken Walshak 25:47.8 (personal best)
84-Tim Keegan 26:32.6
90-Pat Duggan 26:38.7 (personal best)
98-Nick Webster 26:45.1 (personal best)
114-Joel Moss 26:58.3 (personal best)
124-Ryan Scrudato 27:08.9 (personal best)
129-Mike Nicoletti 27:14.5 (personal best)
148-Nick Hughes 27:49.4
Coaches Association race
5-Brian Townsend 27:05.1 (personal best)
7-Nick Salek 27:16.6 (personal best)
8-Isaiah Miller 27:22.9 (personal best)
12-Ryan Brown 27:30.9 (personal best)
14-Kevin O’Sullivan 27:41.1 (personal best)
15-Mike Keegan 27:42.4 (personal best)
17-Billy Posch 27:44.1
21-Ryan Fitzsimons 27:56.2 (personal best)
22-Zak Smetana 28:04.7
28-Ben Windisch 28:16.0 (personal best)
32-Pat Deedy 28:24.2
35-Will Schanz 28:31.3
37-Billy Hild 28:36.9 (personal best)
44-Doug Ainscow 28:48.3 (personal best)
49-Brendan Green 29:55.8 (personal best)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Potter mania
The new Harry Potter movie debuts tonight. This is a BIG DEAL for many people, including many members of the Marist Running Family. I had no idea what a big deal this is. Until today.
Remember that I am a total pop-culture illiterate. I don't watch movies. Other than baseball and weather, I do not watch TV. In the car, I listen to NPR and sports talk -- not necessarily in that order. (By the way, don't even GET ME STARTED on the AL Cy Young Award winner announcement today ... but that's another story!)
This new Harry Potter movie is also a BIG DEAL in my house. On Friday night, my wife and two older kids are going to see the new movie in the theater. James (the youngest) and I are staying home, hosting a bunch of men's cross country runners/video game enthusiasts that you might know, for a night of pizza and Mario Kart. James will be thrilled to be surrounded by a bunch of overgrown children with whom he can play.
Tonight, as I type this, we are hosting a mini-Harry Potter party in our den. Along with our children, we have several neighborhood kids and friends over to watch the sixth (I think?) HP movie -- the most recent one before the new one -- as a primer for the Big Night at the Movies tomorrow night.
The quest for this HP movie basically consumed me during practice time today. Sophomore Billy Posch, a huge Potter fan, said he had the movie we needed. Great! He brought it down to practice on Wednesday. However, upon further investigation, all he had was Disc 2 -- you know, out-take, special effects, and the like. Not good.
And then, as I was teaching class this morning, the alarming text from Posch came: "Pete having a little prblem cant find the movie ill keep looking though."
Immediately, panic set in. What to do? We have a mini-Potter Party planned in the den ... and no movie! What, am I gonna put in my Yankeeography DVDs? Sure, that would go over great with the kids!
Posch kept looking. Word spread around the men's and women's teams. Urgent, urgent, coach Pete needs Harry Potter DVD. Texts were exchanged. Rooms were searched. Fortunately, a "friend of Andrew James" came through with a somewhat sketchy version of the video. Good enough, bro! We are about 40 minutes into it, and everyone is happy.
Final note: I am not mad at Posch. In fact, I am touched (but not surprised) but his incredible kindness. After failing to come up with the elusive movie, Billy offered to go to Blockbuster and rent it for us! A sweet sentiment, a generous offer, that will not be forgotten.
And now ... back to ignoring the movie and stewing over the AL Cy Young Award ...
Remember that I am a total pop-culture illiterate. I don't watch movies. Other than baseball and weather, I do not watch TV. In the car, I listen to NPR and sports talk -- not necessarily in that order. (By the way, don't even GET ME STARTED on the AL Cy Young Award winner announcement today ... but that's another story!)
This new Harry Potter movie is also a BIG DEAL in my house. On Friday night, my wife and two older kids are going to see the new movie in the theater. James (the youngest) and I are staying home, hosting a bunch of men's cross country runners/video game enthusiasts that you might know, for a night of pizza and Mario Kart. James will be thrilled to be surrounded by a bunch of overgrown children with whom he can play.
Tonight, as I type this, we are hosting a mini-Harry Potter party in our den. Along with our children, we have several neighborhood kids and friends over to watch the sixth (I think?) HP movie -- the most recent one before the new one -- as a primer for the Big Night at the Movies tomorrow night.
The quest for this HP movie basically consumed me during practice time today. Sophomore Billy Posch, a huge Potter fan, said he had the movie we needed. Great! He brought it down to practice on Wednesday. However, upon further investigation, all he had was Disc 2 -- you know, out-take, special effects, and the like. Not good.
And then, as I was teaching class this morning, the alarming text from Posch came: "Pete having a little prblem cant find the movie ill keep looking though."
Immediately, panic set in. What to do? We have a mini-Potter Party planned in the den ... and no movie! What, am I gonna put in my Yankeeography DVDs? Sure, that would go over great with the kids!
Posch kept looking. Word spread around the men's and women's teams. Urgent, urgent, coach Pete needs Harry Potter DVD. Texts were exchanged. Rooms were searched. Fortunately, a "friend of Andrew James" came through with a somewhat sketchy version of the video. Good enough, bro! We are about 40 minutes into it, and everyone is happy.
Final note: I am not mad at Posch. In fact, I am touched (but not surprised) but his incredible kindness. After failing to come up with the elusive movie, Billy offered to go to Blockbuster and rent it for us! A sweet sentiment, a generous offer, that will not be forgotten.
And now ... back to ignoring the movie and stewing over the AL Cy Young Award ...
Quick notes on Saturday
Looking forward to our season-ending IC4A/ECAC meet at Van Cortlandt Park ...
1. Team Parents are planning a post-race feed (I'm trying to secure a Marist tent, but it may become a flying hazard ... more on that next) at the park. Thanks in advance to all that are contributing. Should be fun.
2. Just checked Accuweather.com. It will be sunny. It will be windy. Very windy. As in, exclamation point windy, on that site. So maybe that tent isn't a good idea?
The wind is coming out of the west, which is not great but not terrible either. The worst wind at Vanny is from the south, because it is in your face a lot. West wind is a crosswind for some of the race. Advice to racers: Don't break the wind for your fellow competitors. Draft.
See you soon ...
1. Team Parents are planning a post-race feed (I'm trying to secure a Marist tent, but it may become a flying hazard ... more on that next) at the park. Thanks in advance to all that are contributing. Should be fun.
2. Just checked Accuweather.com. It will be sunny. It will be windy. Very windy. As in, exclamation point windy, on that site. So maybe that tent isn't a good idea?
The wind is coming out of the west, which is not great but not terrible either. The worst wind at Vanny is from the south, because it is in your face a lot. West wind is a crosswind for some of the race. Advice to racers: Don't break the wind for your fellow competitors. Draft.
See you soon ...
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Fan mail from across the river
Received this email earlier this week ...
"Pete, congratulations on another successful season. I am not surprised because your runners are just a hard working bunch. I see them running through Highland, especially on Tillson and Vineyard avenues. They have run completely uphill since getting off the Walkway and they do not seem the least bit tired. Keep up the good work and see you at the Mid-Hudson Bridge tolls."
The person who sent the e-mail is a toll collector on the bridge, and a loyal Red Fox supporter. I see him at Marist basketball games all the time.
It's nice for our athletes to be recognized in a positive fashion by members of the community.
Each year, without fail, we usually get one complaint call about "those damn Marist runners hogging the road and getting in the way of cars."
So positive e-mail about our running on the roads is always nice.
"Pete, congratulations on another successful season. I am not surprised because your runners are just a hard working bunch. I see them running through Highland, especially on Tillson and Vineyard avenues. They have run completely uphill since getting off the Walkway and they do not seem the least bit tired. Keep up the good work and see you at the Mid-Hudson Bridge tolls."
The person who sent the e-mail is a toll collector on the bridge, and a loyal Red Fox supporter. I see him at Marist basketball games all the time.
It's nice for our athletes to be recognized in a positive fashion by members of the community.
Each year, without fail, we usually get one complaint call about "those damn Marist runners hogging the road and getting in the way of cars."
So positive e-mail about our running on the roads is always nice.
IC4A/ECAC information
Hello all. Here is information regarding Saturday's races at Van Cortlandt Park.
9:30 a.m.: ECAC (women's) Coaches' race. We will have several ladies running in this race.
9:40 a.m.: IC4A (men's) Coaches' race. We will have MANY men running in this race
10:30 a.m.: ECAC Championship race. We will NOT be in this race.
11 a.m.: IC4A Championship race. We will run 12 men in the varsity in this race.
11:45 a.m.: ECAC University Division race. We will run 12 women in the varsity in this race.
12:15 p.m.: IC4A University Division race. We will NOT be in this race.
The weather forecast is calling for a sunny and breezy day, highs in the upper 40s to near 50. Not too shabby for November 20.
Hope to see you there.
9:30 a.m.: ECAC (women's) Coaches' race. We will have several ladies running in this race.
9:40 a.m.: IC4A (men's) Coaches' race. We will have MANY men running in this race
10:30 a.m.: ECAC Championship race. We will NOT be in this race.
11 a.m.: IC4A Championship race. We will run 12 men in the varsity in this race.
11:45 a.m.: ECAC University Division race. We will run 12 women in the varsity in this race.
12:15 p.m.: IC4A University Division race. We will NOT be in this race.
The weather forecast is calling for a sunny and breezy day, highs in the upper 40s to near 50. Not too shabby for November 20.
Hope to see you there.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Regionals in pictures
Thanks to Mr. Anderson (Kiersten's dad) and Mr. Webster (Nick's dad) for providing the above photos from a sunny Saturday in Connecticut.
The best/worst action photo has to be Quimes (Crazy Q) DelaCruz, stunningly leading the pack!
Saturday, November 13, 2010
NCAA Regionals: A perfect 10th
It was certainly a memorable day at the regionals on Saturday. So many things made this a day that this old coach will recall for a long time. Here’s a random list of post-weekend thoughts from a record-breaking day for the Running Red Foxes …
--Entering the meet, our men’s team was ranked 14th in the region. Although I believed we were better than that, I also felt it was a fair ranking in that all the teams in front of us – not to mention a few behind us and even a couple that were unranked – are extremely solid programs.
In my humble opinion, the region was the deepest it had ever been. As always, the Ivy League teams were strong. This was one of those years where I felt every Ivy League team could have finished ahead of us, even if we were at our best. Add to that the fact that there were three America East schools that were ranked ahead of us, not to mention the usual front-running suspects with the national rankings, and it was getting very crowded up there trying to nudge our way back into the top 10. Realistically, we could have run our very best race and finished no higher than 12th.
Of course, things happen – to us, to all teams. It is the nature of the pressure-cooker race that is NCAA Regionals. I cannot analyze other teams' performances because I do not have enough information on them. In our case, our tough-luck, top-flight runner – Adam Vess – DNFed despite giving it a valiant effort. He blacked out on the course, but fortunately did no major damage to his body (we hope).
It’s how your team reacts to these difficulties that makes it worth it, and our varsity men really answered the call.
--For four years (2005 through 2008), we always discussed the potent 1-2 punch of Girma Segni and David Raucci. Quietly and steadily, the 1-2 punch of juniors Matt Flint and Will Griffin have done what I thought could not be repeated so soon in my coaching tenure. And, they have done it with toughness and consistency that is so appreciated. Today was no different.
--At one point, relatively early in the race, I was freaking out because I could not see Will (after the mile) and could not see Flint (around 4km). I wasn’t the only one that missed Flint, which of course led to a panic attack on my part. It was crowded out there, and they were plugging away with the best runners in our region. A couple of frantic cell calls to Tommy Lipari, who told me they were both running great, calmed my nerves.
--Sophomore Quimes DelaCruz inexplicably went out like a bat out of hell. He was in the top 10 early in the race, and I was convinced our boy Q had lost his mind once and for all. I could hear his crazed voice in my head. He was probably thinking: “Das right, das right, I’m the Greatest and I’m gonna show the world I’m the Greatest.” Oh boy. He did fade a bit, but he recovered late in the race and passed many runners from 8km to 10km – as instructed. He might be nuts, but he does listen, Most of the time, anyway.
--Ken Walshak ran his usual solid race that we have come to expect of him. He is a freshman, but Kenny runs with the tenacity, toughness and consistency of upperclassmen like Will and Flint. And he does not scare on a big stage like this.
--Senior Nick Webster made the day. He ran tough and smart early, and he had an eye-popping kick. This was clearly his finest hour as a collegiate cross country runner. It is particularly gratifying for me, because Web was our alternate for the past two regional meets – at best, a difficult proposition (Side note: Freshman Nick Hughes filled this role today in a classy manner; his time will come). Being the Fine Citizen of our program for four years, Web never complained about his fate and always supported the team. For him to nail this race perfectly and fill that crucial 5th scoring spot for us is something I will never forget.
--While senior captain Timmy Keegan did not score, he went out hard, raced tough and really pushed our team to perform well. I fully expect Tim to finish his XC career with a flourish on a course (VCP) that he has had plenty of success on during his great four-year run.
--The team support was phenomenal. I was so glad to see about a dozen of our guys make the long road trip on Saturday morning to support the varsity men. I vaguely remember body-slamming Ryan Scrudato and Joel Moss (and maybe others?) in excitement toward the end of the meet.
--Freshman Billy Hild boldly predicted a ninth-place finish by our men before the race. While I felt that anything was possible, that was certainly a pie-in-the-sky goal. I told Billy if our men did that, I would kiss him on the cheek for his great faith in our team. We were pretty close to his pre-race prediction, but thankfully I did not have to smooch his prickly, unshaven face.
--The family support was great, as usual. It is never taken for granted. Thank you all!
A quick note on the women’s race: From my perspective, I felt our ladies competed well and visually to me seemed to compete better than at MAACs. Kiersten Anderson went out very hard and hung tough for a strong placement. According to my calculations, she was the ninth freshman in the field – very excellent! The rest of our scoring ladies finished in a tight pack and ran reasonably well – but our region is very deep, and those places piled up quickly in front of us.
The XC season wraps up next Saturday at the IC4A/ECAC meet. We hope to see many family, friends and alumni there. More on that early next week.
NCAA Northeast Regional
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Hammonasset State Park, Madison, CT
Men’s team standings:
1-Syracuse 56, 2-Iona 63, 3-Providence 113, 4-Dartmouth 138, 5-Columbia 146, 6-Cornell 232, 7-Boston U 239, 8-Brown 240, 9-U Mass 264, 10-Marist 288, 11-Yale 304, 12-Harvard 327, 13-U Albany 357, 14-Binghamton 397, 15-Northeastern 399, 16-Central Connecticut 403, 17-Buffalo 459, 18-Army 478, 19-Boston College 487, 20-Stony Brook 510, 21-Maine 596, 22-Fordham 617, 23-Vermont 649, 24-Connecticut 659, 25-Colgate 662, 26-Hartford 748, 27-Sacred Heart 754, 28-Wagner 770, 29-New Hampshire 778, 30-Manhattan 788, 31-Niagara 832, 32-Hofstra 873, 33-Fairfield 941, 34-Quinnipiac 1032, 35-Siena 1046
Marist finishers
10,000 meters
30. Matt Flint 30:52.7
38. Will Griffin 31:04.9
61. Arquimedes DelaCruz 31:29.5
72. Ken Walshak 31:42.8
87. Nick Webster 31:56.6
128. Tim Keegan 32:38.3
DNF – Adam Vess
Women’s team standings
1-Syracuse 78, 2-Stony Brook 83, 3-Providence 87, 4-Boston College 92, 5-Columbia 206, 6-Cornell 209, 7-Brown 226, 8-Dartmouth 271, 9-New Hampshire 273, 10-Boston U 315, 11-Yale 323, 12-Iona 332, 13-Connecticut 353, 14-Harvard 389, 15-Colgate 394, 16-Maine 395, 17-Army 480, 18-Vermont 482, 19-U Mass 493, 20-Quinnipiac 536, 21-Holy Cross 613, 22-Rhode Island 700, 23-Marist 712, 24-Northeastern 729, 25-Binghamton 753, 26-Buffalo 754, 27-Central Connecticut 854, 28-St. John’s 860, 29-Fordham 870, 30-Sacred Heart 900, 31-Niagara 901, 32-Fairfield 923, 33-Manhattan 952, 34-Hofstra 1011, 35-Siena 1078
Marist finishers
6,000 meters
52-Kiersten Anderson 21:29.6
153-Briana Crowe 23:01.7
162-Katie Messina 23:08.2
176-Erin O’Reilly 23:18.4
177-Kathryn Sheehan 23:20.5
184-Jillian Corley 23:39.8
DNF – Julie Hudak
--Entering the meet, our men’s team was ranked 14th in the region. Although I believed we were better than that, I also felt it was a fair ranking in that all the teams in front of us – not to mention a few behind us and even a couple that were unranked – are extremely solid programs.
In my humble opinion, the region was the deepest it had ever been. As always, the Ivy League teams were strong. This was one of those years where I felt every Ivy League team could have finished ahead of us, even if we were at our best. Add to that the fact that there were three America East schools that were ranked ahead of us, not to mention the usual front-running suspects with the national rankings, and it was getting very crowded up there trying to nudge our way back into the top 10. Realistically, we could have run our very best race and finished no higher than 12th.
Of course, things happen – to us, to all teams. It is the nature of the pressure-cooker race that is NCAA Regionals. I cannot analyze other teams' performances because I do not have enough information on them. In our case, our tough-luck, top-flight runner – Adam Vess – DNFed despite giving it a valiant effort. He blacked out on the course, but fortunately did no major damage to his body (we hope).
It’s how your team reacts to these difficulties that makes it worth it, and our varsity men really answered the call.
--For four years (2005 through 2008), we always discussed the potent 1-2 punch of Girma Segni and David Raucci. Quietly and steadily, the 1-2 punch of juniors Matt Flint and Will Griffin have done what I thought could not be repeated so soon in my coaching tenure. And, they have done it with toughness and consistency that is so appreciated. Today was no different.
--At one point, relatively early in the race, I was freaking out because I could not see Will (after the mile) and could not see Flint (around 4km). I wasn’t the only one that missed Flint, which of course led to a panic attack on my part. It was crowded out there, and they were plugging away with the best runners in our region. A couple of frantic cell calls to Tommy Lipari, who told me they were both running great, calmed my nerves.
--Sophomore Quimes DelaCruz inexplicably went out like a bat out of hell. He was in the top 10 early in the race, and I was convinced our boy Q had lost his mind once and for all. I could hear his crazed voice in my head. He was probably thinking: “Das right, das right, I’m the Greatest and I’m gonna show the world I’m the Greatest.” Oh boy. He did fade a bit, but he recovered late in the race and passed many runners from 8km to 10km – as instructed. He might be nuts, but he does listen, Most of the time, anyway.
--Ken Walshak ran his usual solid race that we have come to expect of him. He is a freshman, but Kenny runs with the tenacity, toughness and consistency of upperclassmen like Will and Flint. And he does not scare on a big stage like this.
--Senior Nick Webster made the day. He ran tough and smart early, and he had an eye-popping kick. This was clearly his finest hour as a collegiate cross country runner. It is particularly gratifying for me, because Web was our alternate for the past two regional meets – at best, a difficult proposition (Side note: Freshman Nick Hughes filled this role today in a classy manner; his time will come). Being the Fine Citizen of our program for four years, Web never complained about his fate and always supported the team. For him to nail this race perfectly and fill that crucial 5th scoring spot for us is something I will never forget.
--While senior captain Timmy Keegan did not score, he went out hard, raced tough and really pushed our team to perform well. I fully expect Tim to finish his XC career with a flourish on a course (VCP) that he has had plenty of success on during his great four-year run.
--The team support was phenomenal. I was so glad to see about a dozen of our guys make the long road trip on Saturday morning to support the varsity men. I vaguely remember body-slamming Ryan Scrudato and Joel Moss (and maybe others?) in excitement toward the end of the meet.
--Freshman Billy Hild boldly predicted a ninth-place finish by our men before the race. While I felt that anything was possible, that was certainly a pie-in-the-sky goal. I told Billy if our men did that, I would kiss him on the cheek for his great faith in our team. We were pretty close to his pre-race prediction, but thankfully I did not have to smooch his prickly, unshaven face.
--The family support was great, as usual. It is never taken for granted. Thank you all!
A quick note on the women’s race: From my perspective, I felt our ladies competed well and visually to me seemed to compete better than at MAACs. Kiersten Anderson went out very hard and hung tough for a strong placement. According to my calculations, she was the ninth freshman in the field – very excellent! The rest of our scoring ladies finished in a tight pack and ran reasonably well – but our region is very deep, and those places piled up quickly in front of us.
The XC season wraps up next Saturday at the IC4A/ECAC meet. We hope to see many family, friends and alumni there. More on that early next week.
NCAA Northeast Regional
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Hammonasset State Park, Madison, CT
Men’s team standings:
1-Syracuse 56, 2-Iona 63, 3-Providence 113, 4-Dartmouth 138, 5-Columbia 146, 6-Cornell 232, 7-Boston U 239, 8-Brown 240, 9-U Mass 264, 10-Marist 288, 11-Yale 304, 12-Harvard 327, 13-U Albany 357, 14-Binghamton 397, 15-Northeastern 399, 16-Central Connecticut 403, 17-Buffalo 459, 18-Army 478, 19-Boston College 487, 20-Stony Brook 510, 21-Maine 596, 22-Fordham 617, 23-Vermont 649, 24-Connecticut 659, 25-Colgate 662, 26-Hartford 748, 27-Sacred Heart 754, 28-Wagner 770, 29-New Hampshire 778, 30-Manhattan 788, 31-Niagara 832, 32-Hofstra 873, 33-Fairfield 941, 34-Quinnipiac 1032, 35-Siena 1046
Marist finishers
10,000 meters
30. Matt Flint 30:52.7
38. Will Griffin 31:04.9
61. Arquimedes DelaCruz 31:29.5
72. Ken Walshak 31:42.8
87. Nick Webster 31:56.6
128. Tim Keegan 32:38.3
DNF – Adam Vess
Women’s team standings
1-Syracuse 78, 2-Stony Brook 83, 3-Providence 87, 4-Boston College 92, 5-Columbia 206, 6-Cornell 209, 7-Brown 226, 8-Dartmouth 271, 9-New Hampshire 273, 10-Boston U 315, 11-Yale 323, 12-Iona 332, 13-Connecticut 353, 14-Harvard 389, 15-Colgate 394, 16-Maine 395, 17-Army 480, 18-Vermont 482, 19-U Mass 493, 20-Quinnipiac 536, 21-Holy Cross 613, 22-Rhode Island 700, 23-Marist 712, 24-Northeastern 729, 25-Binghamton 753, 26-Buffalo 754, 27-Central Connecticut 854, 28-St. John’s 860, 29-Fordham 870, 30-Sacred Heart 900, 31-Niagara 901, 32-Fairfield 923, 33-Manhattan 952, 34-Hofstra 1011, 35-Siena 1078
Marist finishers
6,000 meters
52-Kiersten Anderson 21:29.6
153-Briana Crowe 23:01.7
162-Katie Messina 23:08.2
176-Erin O’Reilly 23:18.4
177-Kathryn Sheehan 23:20.5
184-Jillian Corley 23:39.8
DNF – Julie Hudak
NCAA Regionals results
Below are regionals results from today, a freakishly beautiful day weather-wise. The men set a program-best by placing 10th overall with 288 points (in 2008, we were 10th with 294 points). The guys ran really well.
More commentary and notes from the weekend when I can, just wanted to get this out there in the blogosphere quickly ...
NCAA Northeast Regional
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Hammonasset State Park, Madison, CT
Men’s team standings:
1-Syracuse 56, 2-Iona 63, 3-Providence 113, 4-Dartmouth 138, 5-Columbia 146, 6-Cornell 232, 7-Boston U 239, 8-Brown 240, 9-U Mass 264, 10-Marist 288, 11-Yale 304, 12-Harvard 327, 13-U Albany 357, 14-Binghamton 397, 15-Northeastern 399, 16-Central Connecticut 403, 17-Buffalo 459, 18-Army 478, 19-Boston College 487, 20-Stony Brook 510, 21-Maine 596, 22-Fordham 617, 23-Vermont 649, 24-Connecticut 659, 25-Colgate 662, 26-Hartford 748, 27-Sacred Heart 754, 28-Wagner 770, 29-New Hampshire 778, 30-Manhattan 788, 31-Niagara 832, 32-Hofstra 873, 33-Fairfield 941, 34-Quinnipiac 1032, 35-Siena 1046
Marist finishers
10,000 meters
30. Matt Flint 30:52.7
38. Will Griffin 31:04.9
61. Arquimedes DelaCruz 31:29.5
72. Ken Walshak 31:42.8
87. Nick Webster 31:56.6
128. Tim Keegan 32:38.3
DNF – Adam Vess
Women’s team standings
1-Syracuse 78, 2-Stony Brook 83, 3-Providence 87, 4-Boston College 92, 5-Columbia 206, 6-Cornell 209, 7-Brown 226, 8-Dartmouth 271, 9-New Hampshire 273, 10-Boston U 315, 11-Yale 323, 12-Iona 332, 13-Connecticut 353, 14-Harvard 389, 15-Colgate 394, 16-Maine 395, 17-Army 480, 18-Vermont 482, 19-U Mass 493, 20-Quinnipiac 536, 21-Holy Cross 613, 22-Rhode Island 700, 23-Marist 712, 24-Northeastern 729, 25-Binghamton 753, 26-Buffalo 754, 27-Central Connecticut 854, 28-St. John’s 860, 29-Fordham 870, 30-Sacred Heart 900, 31-Niagara 901, 32-Fairfield 923, 33-Manhattan 952, 34-Hofstra 1011, 35-Siena 1078
Marist finishers
6,000 meters
52-Kiersten Anderson 21:29.6
153-Briana Crowe 23:01.7
162-Katie Messina 23:08.2
176-Erin O’Reilly 23:18.4
177-Kathryn Sheehan 23:20.5
184-Jillian Corley 23:39.8
DNF – Julie Hudak
More commentary and notes from the weekend when I can, just wanted to get this out there in the blogosphere quickly ...
NCAA Northeast Regional
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Hammonasset State Park, Madison, CT
Men’s team standings:
1-Syracuse 56, 2-Iona 63, 3-Providence 113, 4-Dartmouth 138, 5-Columbia 146, 6-Cornell 232, 7-Boston U 239, 8-Brown 240, 9-U Mass 264, 10-Marist 288, 11-Yale 304, 12-Harvard 327, 13-U Albany 357, 14-Binghamton 397, 15-Northeastern 399, 16-Central Connecticut 403, 17-Buffalo 459, 18-Army 478, 19-Boston College 487, 20-Stony Brook 510, 21-Maine 596, 22-Fordham 617, 23-Vermont 649, 24-Connecticut 659, 25-Colgate 662, 26-Hartford 748, 27-Sacred Heart 754, 28-Wagner 770, 29-New Hampshire 778, 30-Manhattan 788, 31-Niagara 832, 32-Hofstra 873, 33-Fairfield 941, 34-Quinnipiac 1032, 35-Siena 1046
Marist finishers
10,000 meters
30. Matt Flint 30:52.7
38. Will Griffin 31:04.9
61. Arquimedes DelaCruz 31:29.5
72. Ken Walshak 31:42.8
87. Nick Webster 31:56.6
128. Tim Keegan 32:38.3
DNF – Adam Vess
Women’s team standings
1-Syracuse 78, 2-Stony Brook 83, 3-Providence 87, 4-Boston College 92, 5-Columbia 206, 6-Cornell 209, 7-Brown 226, 8-Dartmouth 271, 9-New Hampshire 273, 10-Boston U 315, 11-Yale 323, 12-Iona 332, 13-Connecticut 353, 14-Harvard 389, 15-Colgate 394, 16-Maine 395, 17-Army 480, 18-Vermont 482, 19-U Mass 493, 20-Quinnipiac 536, 21-Holy Cross 613, 22-Rhode Island 700, 23-Marist 712, 24-Northeastern 729, 25-Binghamton 753, 26-Buffalo 754, 27-Central Connecticut 854, 28-St. John’s 860, 29-Fordham 870, 30-Sacred Heart 900, 31-Niagara 901, 32-Fairfield 923, 33-Manhattan 952, 34-Hofstra 1011, 35-Siena 1078
Marist finishers
6,000 meters
52-Kiersten Anderson 21:29.6
153-Briana Crowe 23:01.7
162-Katie Messina 23:08.2
176-Erin O’Reilly 23:18.4
177-Kathryn Sheehan 23:20.5
184-Jillian Corley 23:39.8
DNF – Julie Hudak
Bowdoin Park workout on Friday
Thanks to Head Coach For A Day Tommy Lipari for organizing this very fine report of Friday's workout for the men's XC runners who are training hard for next week's IC4A meet.
11/12/2010 Bowdoin Park
3x Back Hills 3x 1000's
Name 1000 #1 (Slow way) 1000 #2 1000 #3 (Slow Way)
Duggan 3:02 3:00 3:05
Nicoletti 3:11 3:06 3:06
Windisch 3:10 2:57 3:05
Salek 3:04 3:03 3:04
Scrudato 3:06 3:06 3:05
Moss 3:10 3:06 3:07
Schanz 3:13 3:08 3:09
Clausen 3:15 3:06 3:03
Meegan 3:11 3:06 3:05
Havard 3:10 3:08 3:07
Izzy 3:08 2:57 3:02
Brown 3:09 3:06 3:05
O'sullivan 3:13 3:09 3:08
Hild 3:14 3:11 3:14
Doug 3:12 3:10 3:09
Green 3:17 3:12 3:14
Deedy 3:13 3:10 3:14
Zak 3:14 3:12 3:16
Townsend DNF Leg Pain
Reynolds DNS Blood Test
Head Coach Thomas Lipari
Assistant Curtis Jensen
Assistant Andrew James
11/12/2010 Bowdoin Park
3x Back Hills 3x 1000's
Name 1000 #1 (Slow way) 1000 #2 1000 #3 (Slow Way)
Duggan 3:02 3:00 3:05
Nicoletti 3:11 3:06 3:06
Windisch 3:10 2:57 3:05
Salek 3:04 3:03 3:04
Scrudato 3:06 3:06 3:05
Moss 3:10 3:06 3:07
Schanz 3:13 3:08 3:09
Clausen 3:15 3:06 3:03
Meegan 3:11 3:06 3:05
Havard 3:10 3:08 3:07
Izzy 3:08 2:57 3:02
Brown 3:09 3:06 3:05
O'sullivan 3:13 3:09 3:08
Hild 3:14 3:11 3:14
Doug 3:12 3:10 3:09
Green 3:17 3:12 3:14
Deedy 3:13 3:10 3:14
Zak 3:14 3:12 3:16
Townsend DNF Leg Pain
Reynolds DNS Blood Test
Head Coach Thomas Lipari
Assistant Curtis Jensen
Assistant Andrew James
Dinner with a coach
Friday was a pretty hectic day of travel.
After a romper-room like ride with the team from Marist to the park, they ran the course. And then it was time to take them to our hotel, which was nowhere near the course. We hit New Haven at rush hour (swell). I dropped off the team and then had to head right back out into rush hour traffic for the mandatory coaches meeting.
After the meeting, I was sitting in my van, answering text messages before driving back to the hotel. Christian Morrison, the Sacred Heart coach, was in another van and saw what I was doing. He invited me to dinner. It dawned on me that I was starving.
Christian was my college roommate for 3 years at Marist. We see each other often at meets, but we are usually busy attending to our teams. We talk at meets, but it's usually in passing. It was great to catch up with him in a quiet setting, over some NE clam chowder.
By the time I got back to the hotel, it was pretty late and it had been a long day. But at least the weather for today's meet looks pretty nice.
After a romper-room like ride with the team from Marist to the park, they ran the course. And then it was time to take them to our hotel, which was nowhere near the course. We hit New Haven at rush hour (swell). I dropped off the team and then had to head right back out into rush hour traffic for the mandatory coaches meeting.
After the meeting, I was sitting in my van, answering text messages before driving back to the hotel. Christian Morrison, the Sacred Heart coach, was in another van and saw what I was doing. He invited me to dinner. It dawned on me that I was starving.
Christian was my college roommate for 3 years at Marist. We see each other often at meets, but we are usually busy attending to our teams. We talk at meets, but it's usually in passing. It was great to catch up with him in a quiet setting, over some NE clam chowder.
By the time I got back to the hotel, it was pretty late and it had been a long day. But at least the weather for today's meet looks pretty nice.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Regionals information
I will be leaving tomorrow midday for the NCAA Regional meet, which is on Saturday.
Many team members are planning on making the 2-plus hour journey from Poughkeepsie to Madison, CT, to watch the races on Saturday. For those keeping score at home ...
--Women's race is at noon
--Men's race is at 1:15 p.m.
--For GPS, Mapquest or other unreliable navigation devices, the address for the meet is as follows:
Hammonassett State Park
1288 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT 06443
IC4A/ECAC athletes that are not racing at Regionals will be doing a workout tomorrow. Coach Chuck will touch base with the women before he leaves for CT in the afternoon.
The men have their workout (I handed it out today), which will be at Bowdoin Park. Tommy Lipari will be Acting Coach for the day. I trust Tom will do a great job in my role. Memo to Tom: Driving slowly, drinking coffee and complaining about the cold and the wind are optional.
See you all soon.
Many team members are planning on making the 2-plus hour journey from Poughkeepsie to Madison, CT, to watch the races on Saturday. For those keeping score at home ...
--Women's race is at noon
--Men's race is at 1:15 p.m.
--For GPS, Mapquest or other unreliable navigation devices, the address for the meet is as follows:
Hammonassett State Park
1288 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT 06443
IC4A/ECAC athletes that are not racing at Regionals will be doing a workout tomorrow. Coach Chuck will touch base with the women before he leaves for CT in the afternoon.
The men have their workout (I handed it out today), which will be at Bowdoin Park. Tommy Lipari will be Acting Coach for the day. I trust Tom will do a great job in my role. Memo to Tom: Driving slowly, drinking coffee and complaining about the cold and the wind are optional.
See you all soon.
Ice cream social
Will "Shaker Forever" Schanz hosted a Gartland Ice Cream Social this evening at his fine E-5 house on the north end of campus. Schanz, a Gartland RA extraordinaire, gave me and my kids a special invitation because he "needed to get a faculty member" to attend to his sugary shindig.
What a hoot! Last year, when I "just" taught the fancy 2-credit Track and Field Coaching science elective, I did not "qualify" as a "faculty member." But, now that I teach the upper-level "Sports Reporting" course, I "count" as a "faculty member." Whatever. Spare me the details. If there is free food, chances are I'll find my way there, one way or another.
Schanz did not come through on my request for Chocolate Cream Pie, but I must admit I was impressed by his fine gathering. He was nice enough to save some ice cream for my three kids, and even got sugar cookies and apple pie for my chocolate-challenged oldest son (a rare 11-year-old who foregoes ice cream and chocolate).
My youngest son was uncharacteristically shy at first. But then when Curtis showed up, and I told him that Curt lived with Conor, he emerged from his coccoon and started rough-housing with Curtis -- who he somehow equated as "Conor's brother."
Thanks for sugaring up my kids before bedtime, Schanz. A nice parting shot!
What a hoot! Last year, when I "just" taught the fancy 2-credit Track and Field Coaching science elective, I did not "qualify" as a "faculty member." But, now that I teach the upper-level "Sports Reporting" course, I "count" as a "faculty member." Whatever. Spare me the details. If there is free food, chances are I'll find my way there, one way or another.
Schanz did not come through on my request for Chocolate Cream Pie, but I must admit I was impressed by his fine gathering. He was nice enough to save some ice cream for my three kids, and even got sugar cookies and apple pie for my chocolate-challenged oldest son (a rare 11-year-old who foregoes ice cream and chocolate).
My youngest son was uncharacteristically shy at first. But then when Curtis showed up, and I told him that Curt lived with Conor, he emerged from his coccoon and started rough-housing with Curtis -- who he somehow equated as "Conor's brother."
Thanks for sugaring up my kids before bedtime, Schanz. A nice parting shot!
Remembering Hodge
I can hear his gravelly, New Jersey-accented voice in my head, as if it were yesterday: “Pee-da! How are the Running Red Foxes doin’?”
The passionate, in-your-face coach, almost always wearing a shirt-and-tie in the Armory, is someone that Phil and I knew well from his Robert Morris days and then more recently and more memorably during his days as Rider’s head coach.
When he was at Robert Morris, Bill Hodge was an amazing coach and a bit abrasive at the same time. When he moved to Rider at about the same time we joined the MAAC, Hodge was still quite amazing – his teams always seemed to peak for the MAAC Championship meets in all seasons – but we began to see a softer, more human side to him. Through the years we always respected Hodge; at Rider, we grew to really like him to the point where he was a true friend in the coaching ranks.
The news came to me this week that Bill Hodge, now at Belmont Abbey in North Carolina, died suddenly of a heart attack while coaching his teams at their conference championships. He was just a week or so shy of his 60th birthday, and he leaves behind a wife and 4 kids. Of course, this is sad, sad news.
It hits home in this regard, too: As coaches, we spend so much time away from home. We are with our teams on the endless days and nights, and that forges a closeness. But we are also with our fellow coaches, many of whom we see week after week, year after year, at these meets. In season, it is not a stretch to think that we spend as much time in the presence of our teams and other teams and coaches, as we do with our own families. So you cannot help but build connections with these people.
Hodge left Rider a few years ago. As I said, we became fond of him in a way that was not the case in the mid-1990s, when the thought of getting on a Northeast Conference coaches conference call was not pleasant at all. Hodge had had some health issues toward the end of his tenure at Rider, but we had heard that he was doing well down South – first at Mount Olive and now at Belmont Abbey.
In many ways, Hodge (and he was one of those guys you always referred to by his last name, for some reason) reminded me of Steve Lurie, my eccentric old college coach. He was a coaching lifer, fully dedicated to his teams, bopping from one school to the next, achieving success at every stop.
What I’ll remember about Hodge was that he was an intense coach. He was passionate, with a capital P. He parlayed that intensity to the teams he coached. They were ALWAYS ready for Conference Championship meets. Always. The collegiate track coaching ranks lost a good coach, and a good man.
The passionate, in-your-face coach, almost always wearing a shirt-and-tie in the Armory, is someone that Phil and I knew well from his Robert Morris days and then more recently and more memorably during his days as Rider’s head coach.
When he was at Robert Morris, Bill Hodge was an amazing coach and a bit abrasive at the same time. When he moved to Rider at about the same time we joined the MAAC, Hodge was still quite amazing – his teams always seemed to peak for the MAAC Championship meets in all seasons – but we began to see a softer, more human side to him. Through the years we always respected Hodge; at Rider, we grew to really like him to the point where he was a true friend in the coaching ranks.
The news came to me this week that Bill Hodge, now at Belmont Abbey in North Carolina, died suddenly of a heart attack while coaching his teams at their conference championships. He was just a week or so shy of his 60th birthday, and he leaves behind a wife and 4 kids. Of course, this is sad, sad news.
It hits home in this regard, too: As coaches, we spend so much time away from home. We are with our teams on the endless days and nights, and that forges a closeness. But we are also with our fellow coaches, many of whom we see week after week, year after year, at these meets. In season, it is not a stretch to think that we spend as much time in the presence of our teams and other teams and coaches, as we do with our own families. So you cannot help but build connections with these people.
Hodge left Rider a few years ago. As I said, we became fond of him in a way that was not the case in the mid-1990s, when the thought of getting on a Northeast Conference coaches conference call was not pleasant at all. Hodge had had some health issues toward the end of his tenure at Rider, but we had heard that he was doing well down South – first at Mount Olive and now at Belmont Abbey.
In many ways, Hodge (and he was one of those guys you always referred to by his last name, for some reason) reminded me of Steve Lurie, my eccentric old college coach. He was a coaching lifer, fully dedicated to his teams, bopping from one school to the next, achieving success at every stop.
What I’ll remember about Hodge was that he was an intense coach. He was passionate, with a capital P. He parlayed that intensity to the teams he coached. They were ALWAYS ready for Conference Championship meets. Always. The collegiate track coaching ranks lost a good coach, and a good man.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Flu shots for athletes
Hello all:
Please share this information with the entire team -- including athletes that don't normally read this fancy blog:
The athletic department will sponsor a flu shot clinic for student-athletes only on Wednesday, November 17 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:45 p.m. in the dance studio (McCann Center). Athletes DO NOT need to pre-register and do not have to pay anything out of pocket. However, they must complete a form upon their arrival requiring a signature only.
I received this information above in an e-mail message today.
Hope this helps.
Please share this information with the entire team -- including athletes that don't normally read this fancy blog:
The athletic department will sponsor a flu shot clinic for student-athletes only on Wednesday, November 17 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:45 p.m. in the dance studio (McCann Center). Athletes DO NOT need to pre-register and do not have to pay anything out of pocket. However, they must complete a form upon their arrival requiring a signature only.
I received this information above in an e-mail message today.
Hope this helps.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Girma 25th at NYC
Marist alum Girma Segni was 25th overall in Sunday's NYC Marathon, in his marathon debut. Girm ran 2:26:39. His first half was run in 1:10, so he struggled quite a bit over the last 13.1 miles.
Girm called me a few hours after his finish and he sounded great! He said the last 10 miles really trashed his legs. He said the biggest issue was that he was by himself -- no runners near him in front or in back. As a result, he was exposed to the strong crosswinds that are so common in NYC. Girm especially struggled on the bridges with the wind, he said.
Girma was running for West Side Runners, but (bless his heart) he was wearing his Marist Alumni Racing Team jersey. His high placement in such a high profile race does wonders for the Marist Alumni Racing Team in terms of exposure, and his loyalty to us is appreciated and never forgotten.
But it must be noted that this caps quite an excellent fall for men's Marist Alumni marathoners -- remember Mike Rolek's 2:23 at Steamtown and David Raucci's 2:24 at Atlantic City? GREAT STUFF!!! Rolek and I were surmising that maybe his great friend Girma would once again snatch away a Marist record from him, as Girma did in the spring of 2008 when Rolek owned the SR in the 10,000 (30:36) for a scant few weeks before Girma bettered it with a 30:22 (Girm eventually lowered that to 30:08 before graduating). Anyway, Mike, you've got the alumni marathon record for a little while now!
Marist Running and Rowing alum Lisa D'Aniello ran a strong negative-split effort in her first marathon. Lisa ran 3:39:03 (1:50:03/1:49:00). This was a Boston qualifier for Lisa. Lisa's race once again proves her amazing versatility as an athlete. She was a national-caliber rower, and then when she switched to track she ran SR times in the mile and was competitive at every distance she ran. And now, she can count herself among the ranks of marathon finishers.
Lisa wrote in a text afterwards: "Hardest thing I've ever done but it was incredible."
Great way to sum up the day.
Girm called me a few hours after his finish and he sounded great! He said the last 10 miles really trashed his legs. He said the biggest issue was that he was by himself -- no runners near him in front or in back. As a result, he was exposed to the strong crosswinds that are so common in NYC. Girm especially struggled on the bridges with the wind, he said.
Girma was running for West Side Runners, but (bless his heart) he was wearing his Marist Alumni Racing Team jersey. His high placement in such a high profile race does wonders for the Marist Alumni Racing Team in terms of exposure, and his loyalty to us is appreciated and never forgotten.
But it must be noted that this caps quite an excellent fall for men's Marist Alumni marathoners -- remember Mike Rolek's 2:23 at Steamtown and David Raucci's 2:24 at Atlantic City? GREAT STUFF!!! Rolek and I were surmising that maybe his great friend Girma would once again snatch away a Marist record from him, as Girma did in the spring of 2008 when Rolek owned the SR in the 10,000 (30:36) for a scant few weeks before Girma bettered it with a 30:22 (Girm eventually lowered that to 30:08 before graduating). Anyway, Mike, you've got the alumni marathon record for a little while now!
Marist Running and Rowing alum Lisa D'Aniello ran a strong negative-split effort in her first marathon. Lisa ran 3:39:03 (1:50:03/1:49:00). This was a Boston qualifier for Lisa. Lisa's race once again proves her amazing versatility as an athlete. She was a national-caliber rower, and then when she switched to track she ran SR times in the mile and was competitive at every distance she ran. And now, she can count herself among the ranks of marathon finishers.
Lisa wrote in a text afterwards: "Hardest thing I've ever done but it was incredible."
Great way to sum up the day.
Alumni coaching success on Friday
I was down at Bear Mountain on Friday to watch a little bit of the Section 9 State Qualifying meet. I had to leave earlier than I wanted to get back in time for practice.
But I was there long enough to see the stirring girls Class B race in which Marist Running Alum Mr. Bucket (some know him as “David Swift”) had his top girl runner finish in first place in an outstanding time. Mr. B has been coaching at Spackenkill for a long time now, and this had to be one of his all-time coaching highlights. It was a thrilling race and he was choked up with emotion, according to this excellent report in Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper.
It was a great day for Marist Running Alums who are now coaches, as several of our former guys saw their teams run to sectional titles and/or have state qualifiers, or simply fielded competitive teams. Along with Mr. Bucket, the following Marist Running Alums were proud coaches on Friday: Timmy Russo (Harborfields, Section 11); Pat Driscoll (Tappan Zee, Section 1); Joe Scelia (Brewster, Section 1); Matt Pool (Dover, Section 1); Jason Grady (Rhinebeck, Section 9). Jason’s good friend and friend of our program, Jeremy Perrotta (Onteora, Section 9), has also proven to be a successful high school coach.
Nicely done, men!
Programming note: The NYC Marathon starts soon, with a few Marist Alums set to tackle the five-borough course. Check back later or Monday for updates on how they did.
But I was there long enough to see the stirring girls Class B race in which Marist Running Alum Mr. Bucket (some know him as “David Swift”) had his top girl runner finish in first place in an outstanding time. Mr. B has been coaching at Spackenkill for a long time now, and this had to be one of his all-time coaching highlights. It was a thrilling race and he was choked up with emotion, according to this excellent report in Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper.
It was a great day for Marist Running Alums who are now coaches, as several of our former guys saw their teams run to sectional titles and/or have state qualifiers, or simply fielded competitive teams. Along with Mr. Bucket, the following Marist Running Alums were proud coaches on Friday: Timmy Russo (Harborfields, Section 11); Pat Driscoll (Tappan Zee, Section 1); Joe Scelia (Brewster, Section 1); Matt Pool (Dover, Section 1); Jason Grady (Rhinebeck, Section 9). Jason’s good friend and friend of our program, Jeremy Perrotta (Onteora, Section 9), has also proven to be a successful high school coach.
Nicely done, men!
Programming note: The NYC Marathon starts soon, with a few Marist Alums set to tackle the five-borough course. Check back later or Monday for updates on how they did.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Remembering Doc Goldman
This morning at the beautiful and historic Cornell Boathouse on the Marist Riverfront, I attended the Memorial Service for former Marist Athletic Director and Physical Education Department Chair Howard “Doc” Goldman, who passed away last week at the age of 79, after a 2.5-year battle with leukemia.
When I was a student at Marist in the mid-1980s (1982 to 1986, to be exact), I really only knew Doc as the guy who taught phys ed classes and as the men’s soccer coach. I never had him for class. When I started coaching back in 1991, I got to know Doc much better. By that point, he was an old but proud soccer coach. He struck me as a thoughtful, extremely intelligent man.
As Professor Emeritus Dr. Louis Zuccarello said today, “Howie” (that’s what he called him) was one of the “sequoias” and “pillars” of the “old Marist,” who are slowly but steadily succumbing to the relentless hands of time. Several of those Marist pioneers have left us lately – Brother Joe Belanger, Old Professors like Casey and LaPiedra and Dr. George Sommer, the old-school English guy whose rigid rules gave me a greater appreciation for correct grammar and spelling. (Yeah, yeah, I know: Read this blog enough, and I’m sure you could find things that old Dr. Sommer would cringe at. Such as ending a sentence with a preposition. Or writing in fragments. Yikes!)
Anyway, Doc Goldman was one of those Marist Pioneers. He hits a little closer to home, because he was the Godfather and architect of Marist Athletics. The McCann Center was built under his watch. Please note that the McCann Center fieldhouse DOES have a track around it. Sure, it’s a hideous, 160-meter layout … but it IS a track, and it DOES beat doing intervals in the parking lot, or running circles around Donnelly Hall (as Rich Stevens had his pre-McCann Center teams doing back in the day). And, you may not know this, but the first indoor state track championship for girls in New York was held at … the James J. McCann Recreation Center track. Amazing, huh? Thanks, Doc.
I also remember Doc telling me, more than once, that he had the blueprint plans for an outdoor track to circle his beloved patch of soccer pitch known as Leonidoff Field. It never happened, of course, but I always sensed it was not for a lack of trying from Doc Goldman.
Look, I know ours is a sport that always seems to get the short shrift from athletic administrators – in high school, in college, everywhere. We always tend to have a collective chip on our shoulders – even now, in the days of traveling to meets in coach busses and a lot more meal money than we used to get. Long-ago Marist Running alums may not have the fondest memories of Doc Goldman, Athletic Director. I know that former coach Rich Stevens always spoke to me of battles in terms of budgets and getting vans for travel and practice, etc. In short, the usual.
Here’s what I know: Under Doc Goldman’s watch, the program that I now direct was created. When I was a young and insecure coach back in the early 1990s, Doc Goldman took an interest in my program, and was always supportive and encouraging. In his retirement, Doc was always gracious to me, with a smile, a handshake, a genuine interest in our program, and usually an extended conversation about something or other when I ran into him in town while running errands and such.
At today’s Memorial Service, a lot of folks spoke. It was really cool to see former Marist basketball coach and athletic director Ron Petro, who came all the way from Oregon for the services. Several of Doc’s former players spoke. They talked of a hard-ass coach with a soft side. They talked of a coach who made a lasting impact in their lives. Like many of us, they talked about the most memorable 4 years of their lives, when they were on a collegiate sports team.
Marist Running alum Jim McCasland (Class of 1975) gave an impromptu speech after Mr. Petro opened the floor for anyone else to speak. It was great to see Jim, and it took a lot of guts for him to go up there and speak in front of a large group of people who had no idea who he was.
Kudos to my Marist classmate Valerie Hall of the Advancement Office for putting together this fine event so quickly, and current Marist AD (and my boss) Tim Murray and his staff for doing their usual professional job in hosting this meaningful event.
The boathouse was filled with Doc Goldman photos and memorabilia. There were nearly 30 team pictures from old soccer teams, which gave me an idea – maybe a decade too late, but what the heck. We need to start taking team pictures every year, and I need to begin collecting them. That way, God willing, when I am an old and proud coach like Doc, I can look back at all the teams I have coached and have a smile. As I’m sure old Doc Goldman had today from above, as he saw how many lives he touched over his four decades in Marist Athletics.
When I was a student at Marist in the mid-1980s (1982 to 1986, to be exact), I really only knew Doc as the guy who taught phys ed classes and as the men’s soccer coach. I never had him for class. When I started coaching back in 1991, I got to know Doc much better. By that point, he was an old but proud soccer coach. He struck me as a thoughtful, extremely intelligent man.
As Professor Emeritus Dr. Louis Zuccarello said today, “Howie” (that’s what he called him) was one of the “sequoias” and “pillars” of the “old Marist,” who are slowly but steadily succumbing to the relentless hands of time. Several of those Marist pioneers have left us lately – Brother Joe Belanger, Old Professors like Casey and LaPiedra and Dr. George Sommer, the old-school English guy whose rigid rules gave me a greater appreciation for correct grammar and spelling. (Yeah, yeah, I know: Read this blog enough, and I’m sure you could find things that old Dr. Sommer would cringe at. Such as ending a sentence with a preposition. Or writing in fragments. Yikes!)
Anyway, Doc Goldman was one of those Marist Pioneers. He hits a little closer to home, because he was the Godfather and architect of Marist Athletics. The McCann Center was built under his watch. Please note that the McCann Center fieldhouse DOES have a track around it. Sure, it’s a hideous, 160-meter layout … but it IS a track, and it DOES beat doing intervals in the parking lot, or running circles around Donnelly Hall (as Rich Stevens had his pre-McCann Center teams doing back in the day). And, you may not know this, but the first indoor state track championship for girls in New York was held at … the James J. McCann Recreation Center track. Amazing, huh? Thanks, Doc.
I also remember Doc telling me, more than once, that he had the blueprint plans for an outdoor track to circle his beloved patch of soccer pitch known as Leonidoff Field. It never happened, of course, but I always sensed it was not for a lack of trying from Doc Goldman.
Look, I know ours is a sport that always seems to get the short shrift from athletic administrators – in high school, in college, everywhere. We always tend to have a collective chip on our shoulders – even now, in the days of traveling to meets in coach busses and a lot more meal money than we used to get. Long-ago Marist Running alums may not have the fondest memories of Doc Goldman, Athletic Director. I know that former coach Rich Stevens always spoke to me of battles in terms of budgets and getting vans for travel and practice, etc. In short, the usual.
Here’s what I know: Under Doc Goldman’s watch, the program that I now direct was created. When I was a young and insecure coach back in the early 1990s, Doc Goldman took an interest in my program, and was always supportive and encouraging. In his retirement, Doc was always gracious to me, with a smile, a handshake, a genuine interest in our program, and usually an extended conversation about something or other when I ran into him in town while running errands and such.
At today’s Memorial Service, a lot of folks spoke. It was really cool to see former Marist basketball coach and athletic director Ron Petro, who came all the way from Oregon for the services. Several of Doc’s former players spoke. They talked of a hard-ass coach with a soft side. They talked of a coach who made a lasting impact in their lives. Like many of us, they talked about the most memorable 4 years of their lives, when they were on a collegiate sports team.
Marist Running alum Jim McCasland (Class of 1975) gave an impromptu speech after Mr. Petro opened the floor for anyone else to speak. It was great to see Jim, and it took a lot of guts for him to go up there and speak in front of a large group of people who had no idea who he was.
Kudos to my Marist classmate Valerie Hall of the Advancement Office for putting together this fine event so quickly, and current Marist AD (and my boss) Tim Murray and his staff for doing their usual professional job in hosting this meaningful event.
The boathouse was filled with Doc Goldman photos and memorabilia. There were nearly 30 team pictures from old soccer teams, which gave me an idea – maybe a decade too late, but what the heck. We need to start taking team pictures every year, and I need to begin collecting them. That way, God willing, when I am an old and proud coach like Doc, I can look back at all the teams I have coached and have a smile. As I’m sure old Doc Goldman had today from above, as he saw how many lives he touched over his four decades in Marist Athletics.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Back to Mills hills
Today's workout for the men took us back to Ogden Mills, where we do our traditional season-opening workout. It was an interesting juxtaposition, returning to the scene of our first practice after more than two months.
The first practice was damp and humid, a little chilly for late August, but it was still summer.
Today? The rain subsided, but it was still November, which meant several layers and a winter hat. For me, that is. The men powered up the hills nicely, in far fewer layers of clothing.
The women whipped through some threshold 1,000s at Bowdoin Park today, and by all accounts it went well. Only a few weeks left in the cross country season, with:
1. NCAA Regionals at Hammonasset on Saturday, Nov. 13.
2. IC4A/ECAC at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday, Nov. 20.
Hope to see alumni, friends and family out in full force at either or both of these meets.
The first practice was damp and humid, a little chilly for late August, but it was still summer.
Today? The rain subsided, but it was still November, which meant several layers and a winter hat. For me, that is. The men powered up the hills nicely, in far fewer layers of clothing.
The women whipped through some threshold 1,000s at Bowdoin Park today, and by all accounts it went well. Only a few weeks left in the cross country season, with:
1. NCAA Regionals at Hammonasset on Saturday, Nov. 13.
2. IC4A/ECAC at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday, Nov. 20.
Hope to see alumni, friends and family out in full force at either or both of these meets.
Coach Pete curriculum
As many of you know, for the past four fall semesters, I have taught a 2-credit science/phys ed elective entitled "Track and Field Coaching." Before all of you out in the blogosphere snicker at this "course," consider the following:
--All students must write 10 1-page papers reviewing in-class discussions.
--There are 15 in-class quizzes on the topics discussed.
--There is a 5-page midterm research paper.
--There is an extensive final project, in which each student must organize and map out a training plan for a segment of a track team for an entire season.
--Attendance is MANDATORY. Any unexcused absences result in a lowering of the final grade.
So yeah. It's not exactly Badminton or Lawn Darts. These students have to work.
But there is no reason that cannot include a little FUN at times as well. To wit:
On Thursday, our class topic was the triple jump. I asked each student to provide a link to a video of the event. With the field events, it's sometimes a lot easier to see what I'm talking about -- especially in events that I do not have strong area of expertise. Like the triple jump.
Class member (and team member) Zak Smetana sent the following link to Super Mario's excellent triple jump form. What a hoot, huh?
To Zak's credit, he also sent an actual human triple jumping to the World Record.
But I think the class enjoyed Mario a lot more.
--All students must write 10 1-page papers reviewing in-class discussions.
--There are 15 in-class quizzes on the topics discussed.
--There is a 5-page midterm research paper.
--There is an extensive final project, in which each student must organize and map out a training plan for a segment of a track team for an entire season.
--Attendance is MANDATORY. Any unexcused absences result in a lowering of the final grade.
So yeah. It's not exactly Badminton or Lawn Darts. These students have to work.
But there is no reason that cannot include a little FUN at times as well. To wit:
On Thursday, our class topic was the triple jump. I asked each student to provide a link to a video of the event. With the field events, it's sometimes a lot easier to see what I'm talking about -- especially in events that I do not have strong area of expertise. Like the triple jump.
Class member (and team member) Zak Smetana sent the following link to Super Mario's excellent triple jump form. What a hoot, huh?
To Zak's credit, he also sent an actual human triple jumping to the World Record.
But I think the class enjoyed Mario a lot more.