Wrapping up Paul Short: Clarification and crunching numbers

Coach Emeritus Phil Kelly left me a voice message earlier today to point out that we finished 19th in the women's race at Paul Short in 2001, which would be our best finish at the meet in school history. Back in 2001, there was a Championship (varsity) race and an Open (non-varsity/unattached) race. Our 20th-place finish from yesterday represents the best finish in school history since the meet switched to its multiple race format -- Brown, Gold, White, Open, etc. -- several years ago.

Such a clarification is important to note, since the fine history of our program needs to be remembered and honored. In his message, Phil acknowledged that the performances from this year's team were probably superior to that 2001 showing. But no matter; the teams back in that era were wonderful, and we have fond memories of the fantastic athletes and young ladies we had in our team back in that time. Most of those athletes were part of MAAC championship efforts in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2004.

Anyway ... back to 2012 ... while on the subject of history ... here is some number crunching with regard to individual times. Now, when comparing times from year to year in cross country, it is always tricky as weather and course conditions vary from season to season. As noted previously, Paul Short is almost always a true slop-fest, although I do remember a few years in which the conditions were favorable for fast times -- 2009 is the most recent, if I am remembering correctly.

With that in mind, and with my penchant to sometimes have some gaps in memory when regarding history, here are yesterday's results, along with past years' results for each individual, with each individual's Paul Short personal-best time highlighted in BOLD.
Men’s individual results, Gold Race (8,000 meters)
88. Arquimedes DelaCruz 25:21 (25:20, 2011; 26:01, 2010; 25:29, 2009)

103. Ken Walshak 25:29 (26:05, 2011; 25:25, 2010)

112. Ryan Colabella 25:33 (debut)

137. John Lee 25:47 (debut)

163. Mark Valentino 25:56 (27:37, 2011)

167. Joel Moss 25:57 (26:53, 2011; 27:07, 2010; 27:20, 2009)

174. Patrick Rynkowski 25:59 (debut)

310. Ryan Scrudato 27:35 (27:27, 2010)

317. Mark Vuono 27:53 (debut)

Men’s individual results, Open Race (8,000 meters)

35. Nick Salek 26:06 (27:55, 2011)

69. Ty Gamble 26:35 (debut)

70. Mike Nicoletti 26:36 (27:18, 2011; 27:00, 2010; 26:39, 2009)

80. Ian Dorset 26:42 (27:45, 2011)

89. Kevin O’Sullivan 26:46 (27:47, 2011; 26:59, 2010)

93. Mike Keegan 26:49 (26:51, 2011; 27:23, 2009)

94. Charlie Ropes 26:50 (debut)

104. Billy Hild 26:54 (debut)

109. Justin Tampellini 26:57 (26:38, 2011)

129. Tommy Lappas 27:11 (29:09, 2011)

131. Chris Reynolds 27:19 (debut)

146. David Marthy 27:22 (debut)

176. Matt Panebianco 27:39 (27:59, 2011; 28:07, 2010; 26:56, 2009)

186. Nick Hughes 27:48 (26:43, 2010)

189. Will Schanz 27:49 (debut)

199. Isaiah Miller 27:53 (debut)

224. Omar Perez 28:11 (debut)

270. Ricky Willi 28:47 (debut)

Women’s individual results, Gold Race (6,000 meters)

60. Michelle Gaye 21:37 (22:04, 2011)

114. Kristen Traub 22:12 (debut)

144. Erin Thompson 22:30 (23:05, 2011)

154. Katie Messina 22:36 (23:15, 2011; 22:57, 2010; 22:44, 2009)

197. Christine Coughlin 22:56 (debut)

214. Rebecca Denise 23:08 (23:51, 2011; 24:38, 2010)

237. Nicki Nesi 23:20 (debut)

271. Erin O’Reilly 23:45 (24:11, 2011; 23:06, 2010; 23:02, 2009)

301. Brianna Freestone 24:09 (23:22, 2011)

311. Rachel Bremer 24:19 (debut)

Women’s Individual results, Open Race (6,000 meters)

25. Kathryn Sheehan (unattached) 22:36 (23:43, 2010; 21:43, 2009; 22:12, 2008)

119. Jackie Gamboli 24:23 (24:13, 2011; 23:03, 2009)

146. Kelley Gould 24:49 (24:28, 2010)

153. Tara Nuccitelli 24:56 (24:37, 2011; 25:18, 2010)

175. Annie Gould 25:17 (debut)

192. Rachel Lichtenwalner 25:42 (26:18, 2011; 27:20, 2010)

238. Catherine Ferreri 26:55 (debut)

239. Lizzy Peper 26:59 (debut)

Paul Short Run: Women's results

The women ran well, posting our highest finish in school history in the Gold Race (20th overall out of 40 teams). Previous best was 22nd in 2009. Last year, we ran in the Brown Race and got third overall. Michelle Gaye had an excellent race and time in the slop, and just missed Britt Burns' 6km SR from Paul Short two years ago (21:30). Despite the ragged conditions, most ladies improved a lot on their previous Paul Short times. Great to see!
Paul Short XC Run

Friday, September 28, 2012

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

Women’s team results, Gold Race

1-Cornell 55, 2-William and Mary 102, 3-Georgetown 106, 4-Yale 147, 5-Dartmouth 149, 6-Providence 167, 7-Villanova 184, 8-Brown 196, 9-New Hampshire 331, 10-Navy 332, 11-Stony Brook 343, 12-Vermont 383, 13-Harvard 414, 14-Duquesne 449, 15-Johns Hopkins 450, 16-Penn 490, 17-Shippensburg 556, 18-Quinnipiac 593, 19-Delaware 615, 20-Tennessee 617, 21-Marist 624, 22-Rice 633, 23-Army 654, 24-St. Lawrence 692, 25-Maryland 700, 26-Boston University 740, 27-St. Joseph’s 751, 28-Stonehill 769, 29-Buffalo 770, 30-Lehigh 840, 31-Loyola 861, 32-VMI 871, 33-Colgate 884, 34-UMass 891, 35-Rider 934, 36-Binghamton 977, 37-Holy Cross 980, 38-Miami 1097, 39-USC Upstate 1186, 40-VCU 1329

Women’s individual results, Gold Race (6,000 meters)

60. Michelle Gaye 21:37

114. Kristen Traub 22:12

144. Erin Thompson 22:30

154. Katie Messina 22:36

197. Christine Coughlin 22:56

214. Rebecca Denise 23:08

237. Nicki Nesi 23:20

271. Erin O’Reilly 23:45

301. Brianna Freestone 24:09

311. Rachel Bremer 24:19

Women’s Individual results, Open Race (6,000 meters)

25. Kathryn Sheehan (unattached) 22:36

119. Jackie Gamboli 24:23

146. Kelley Gould 24:49

153. Tara Nuccitelli 24:56

175. Annie Gould 25:17

192. Rachel Lichtenwalner 25:42

238. Catherine Ferreri 26:55

239. Lizzy Peper 26:59

Paul Short Run: Men's results

Below are results from today at Paul Short. Another soggy, slick and muddy day on the course. Top-5 spread was 35 seconds. Top-7 men finished under 26:00. A fair number of men ran personal-best times. And an improvement in team standing over 2011.
Paul Short XC Run

Friday, September 28, 2012

Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA

Men’s team results, Gold Race

1-Villanova 69, 2-William and Mary 100, 3-Georgetown 101, 4-Dartmouth 175, 5-Providence 194, 6-Cornell 202, 7-Yale 255, 8-Columbia 309, 9-Lehigh 312, 10-St. Joseph’s 332, 11-Tennessee 392, 12-Duquesne 419, 13-Harvard 421, 14-Brown 454, 15-Boston University 497, 16-Boston College 504, 17-Haverford 511, 18-Buffalo 517, 19-Temple 518, 20-Marist 553, 21-Stonehill 623, 22-Queen’s 624, 23-Army 653, 24-Lock Haven 690, 25-USC Upstate 696, 26-UMass 731, 27-VMI 746, 28-Johns Hopkins 775, 29-VCU 818, 30-Rider 836, 31-St. Lawrence 875, 32-Amherst and New Hampshire 882, 34-Miami 898, 35-Binghamton 899, 36-Adelphi 910, 37-Princeton 1044.

Men’s individual results, Gold Race (8,000 meters)

88. Arquimedes DelaCruz 25:21

103. Ken Walshak 25:29

112. Ryan Colabella 25:33

137. John Lee 25:47

163. Mark Valentino 25:56

167. Joel Moss 25:57

174. Patrick Rynkowski 25:59

310. Ryan Scrudato 27:35

317. Mark Vuono 27:53

Men’s individual results, Open Race (8,000 meters)

35. Nick Salek 26:06

69. Ty Gamble 26:35

70. Mike Nicoletti 26:36

80. Ian Dorset 26:42

89. Kevin O’Sullivan 26:46

93. Mike Keegan 26:49

94. Charlie Ropes 26:50

104. Billy Hild 26:54

109. Justin Tampellini 26:57

129. Tommy Lappas 27:11

131. Chris Reynolds 27:19

146. David Marthy 27:22

176. Matt Panebianco 27:39

186. Nick Hughes 27:48

189. Will Schanz 27:49

199. Isaiah Miller 27:53

224. Omar Perez 28:11

270. Ricky Willi 28:47

Paul Short Run: A soggy start to the day

We are about to board a dark bus headed for Lehigh University, and as I type this it is pouring rain outside. Somehow, through the years, I seem to remember it almost always rains for this particular early morning departure. Weird how these weather cycles work.

A quick check at the hourly weather forecast for Bethlehem, PA, shows that it is raining there now, but that the rain should stop mid-morning. The course will be wet, but it should not be saturated as in the past -- mostly because we haven't had any hurricanes lately. In past years, this race was preceded by hurricane-force rain and wind. So although it should be wet, it shouldn't be too bad. Doesn't matter. We'll spike up and see what happens.

For those interested in seeing how the Running Red Foxes will do today, results of the meet will be posted at www.paushortxcrun.com. I will post Marist results when I get back to campus in the late afternoon/early evening.

Paul Short XC Run: Meet schedule

Here is the schedule of events for Marist men's and women's XC on Friday at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University.

Women's Open 6km race: 10 a.m.
Men's Open 8km race: 10:10 a.m.
Men's Gold varsity 8km race: 11 a.m.
Women's Gold varsity 6km race: 11:45 a.m.

Congrats to Michelle Gaye, MAAC Runner of the Week

Check out this link to the MAAC Web site and the story of sophomore Michelle Gaye, who was named MAAC Performer of the Week for women's cross country. Nicely done! It's a great tribute to a hard-working athlete, and the leader of our team on a fantastic day in program history. We look forward to continued success the rest of this season!

Holding a new baby boy can make a guy think

On Saturday night, I witnessed one of God’s miracles up close and personal. I held a new baby boy, and rocked him to sleep. OK. I know this isn’t exactly groundbreaking material here, but still … There we were at our dear friend’s house – my wife’s best friend for more than 30 years, her husband and her ever-growing family, which now has three young children. I was asked to hold the baby for a few minutes. I do not have many skills, but holding a baby? I can do that.

As I stared into this little boy’s eyes, all 5 days old of him, I saw him staring back at me. Now, I know all he could make out was shadows and vague colors – good thing too, as he doesn’t need to be focusing in on some unshaven older dude in a runner’s cap. So I started talking quietly to the baby. I described the chaotic and noisy scene around him – our three kids, his two older sisters, the adults clattering in the dining room and the kitchen. I told him what a wonderful world he was entering, and how much noise he would be surrounded with, and how much love he would be surrounded with.

And then I looked up and I saw my daughter, Natalie, practicing her violin for the school orchestra and putting on a small show for us all. I stared at my daughter, now 10, and stared at the 5-day-old baby, and I started to cry. Yeah, that’s right, a guy admitting that he cries. I have three children, and I love them all, but for some reason I remember holding my daughter the most when she was a baby. I remember staring into her eyes and talking softly to her, and calling her “pretty girl” and kissing her forehead gently as she tried to fall asleep. I looked at the baby, and I looked at my 10-year-old girl, and it struck me how fast it all goes. Maybe in 10 years, I’ll be attending this 5-day-old boy’s Little League games as “Uncle Pete.” But sheesh, by then Natalie will be a grown-up woman at 20. Yikes!

At the Central Connecticut meet earlier that same day, I saw Marist Running Alums Brian Perrella and Susan Golden. They are married and they were at the meet with their two young boys. Brian graduated 10 years ago, in 2002. His “alumni weekend” consisted and seeing his old coach and his old program, not far from his Connecticut home; their presence was very much appreciated. Ten years ago. When Brian graduated, Natalie was not yet even born! Ten years later, she is a violin-playing girl, and Brian and Sue have a young family of their own.

How does this relate to the team and this blog? When I see the parents of our current athletes now, I realize that perhaps they might be experiencing similar feelings at times. Their children -- the babies they used to hold in their arms, those helpless creatures who relied on their parents for everything – are no longer children. They are grown up. They are in college. They are real-life D1 athletes, runners, students. They no longer rely on their parents for everything. But in their parents’ eyes, even amid the fast pace of adult life and their children growing into quality young adults, a part of them will always be the baby they held in their arms 20 or so years ago.

On a Saturday night at a friend’s house, witnessing first-hand God’s greatest miracle, this was a good reminder and refresher course on the cycles of life.