Happy New Year

The conversation around the large holiday dinner table seemed to come out of the blue. Heidi and I were blindsided by it. Somehow, the discussion of “what we accomplished” in 2012 came up. And so, the elder statesman of the family (not me, FYI) decided to go around the table, imploring everyone to address their “accomplishments” for 2012. High school graduation. College graduation. Acceptance to a new college. A new job. Simply surviving another year well into old age. Good grades in school. All admirable accomplishments. When our turn came around, Heidi and I were stunned. Speechless. We each covered for each other, barely, and haltingly moved the conversation down the line.

The whole exercise left me a bit bewildered. It stuck with me for days. What had I accomplished in 2012? I talked to Heidi about it, and we were both left scratching our heads trying to figure out this puzzle. What had we accomplished in 2012? Geez. Day to day, minute to minute, our lives are so busy and hectic as to not allow for time for reflection – to stand back, pause and mull the “big picture.”

By conventional standards, one could surmise that we have not accomplished much in 2012. We did not make a lot of money. We did not earn big raises. We did not achieve a big bonus (or a little one, for that matter). We did not win any professional accolades or awards. We did not complete an Ironman Triathlon. We did not write or publish a book. We did not buy a new car, nor move into a dream house. Heck, we did not even refinance our mortgage (that’s on the 2013 to-do list). For heaven’s sake, we did not even get new cell phones! We did not cross something off our Bucket Lists. We did not even take the time to create a Bucket List.

So, what is it that we accomplished in 2012? I have thought long and hard about this, for close to a week. Here’s what I have come up with. It’s not much, and it’s certainly not grandiose, but it will have to do. Here goes. We did a seemingly infinite number of ordinary tasks, on a daily basis, to keep our lives and the lives around us moving along with efficiency. That's it; nothing profound. Maybe it was filling up a cooler with Gatorade for practice, or washing that Little League uniform, bowling league shirt or track singlet, in time for the next game or competition; perhaps it was getting a fresh hard roll every morning at the deli so there would be a more satisfied kid at the lunch room, or picking up a 20-ounce Pepsi and a scratch-off lottery ticket to brighten Heidi’s mood; playing a family game of Monopoly; a quick e-mail or text to an old friend. Little tasks, every day: Listening intently. Working hard, praying for others and continuing to smile. Adding a few more stickers to an already cluttered old car. We did not move mountains, we did not even climb any big hills, but we tried to keep the ball moving in the right direction.

If faced with the same vexing question around the holiday dinner table in December of 2013, I may not have much more to add, but maybe I’ll be better prepared to answer quickly and deflect the conversation away from me. Looking ahead to 2013, there are no resolutions -- other than to keep up with the ordinary tasks on a daily basis, in the hopes that those around us can create and accomplish extraordinary things.

Happy New Year.

The landscape has changed to winter

It took awhile, but winter has finally arrived in the form of about 6 inches of snow and a nice, crusty coating of ice. As I type this, the snow has started falling again -- wraparound moisture -- and there is more snow forecast for Saturday. And beyond that, cold temperatures. Sounds like late December spilling into the New Year.

We hope you had a blessed Christmas. Our children enjoyed a great Christmas. In particular, our youngest child James is at that magical age where Christmas is a major highlight of his year. He was not disappointed. Maybe a little post-holiday letdown now, but nothing a little frolicking in the snow and sleigh riding can't cure.

Silent night. Holy night.

It took our youngest son James nearly 2 hours to fall asleep tonight. He is SO EXCITED for the big day. Oh, to be 7 years old and feel that enthusiasm and sheer joy for Christmas. Here's hoping that we adults can grab just a sliver of that spirit and let it capture our hearts. Merry Christmas to everyone.

Notes from the couch

Yeah. I've watched way too much TV the past several days. With a pounding, throbbing head, my favorite non-physical pastime of reading is not even that enjoyable. So, I've had to stick with the most passive of activities: Staring at the boob tube. A few random observations from the world of sports and politics:

--Men's basketball players, college and pro, have an inordinate amount of tattoos on their bodies. Wow.
--Jason KIDD? How old is HE? 50? Damn. Around 20 years ago, when I still cared about basketball, he was a good player, I think. Now, he's bald (well, I guess he has been for a while) and on the Knicks. But here's the kicker: He's still REALLY GOOD (and so are the Knicks). Who knew?
--The NYC Marathon refund policy is actually better than I thought it would be. They couldn't make everyone happy, but I think this is about as fair as you can make it.
--I was in a half-asleep haze when that NRA guy spoke yesterday. I swear I thought it was a Saturday Night Live parody skit or something. This guy's serious? Wow.
--Anyone that follows politics even remotely has to have little confidence in all our elected officials -- both parties -- that they cannot figure out this fiscal cliff thing. This isn't some ego-game, guys; this is our LIVES. Figure it out, already!

There you go. If I offended anyone, sorry; I can still blame it on this insidious illness. Did I mention I'll get the flu shot next year?

One FLU over cuckoo's nest

OK! Well, I certainly am NOT going to go back and re-read the previous three posts, since they were written in a disease laden state. I just got back from the doctor. Verdict: Severe sinus infection AND the flu. Nicely done! The conversation with the friendly, bearded nurse practictioner went something like this.

FBNP: Soooooo … did you get a flu shot this year?

IDIOT COACH: Uh. No.

FBNP: Really? Have you ever HAD the flu?

IC: Yes.

FBNP: Did you ENJOY having the flu?

IC: No.

FBNP: Well. You won’t be needing the flu shot this year! Hahahahaha. You’ve got all the immunity you need now.

Great. Wonderful! But hey. Being a glass half-full guy, there are several positives to take out of having the flu now:

--No practice or meets, so I do not need to risk infecting our student-athletes.

--I can “work from home” … translation: Laptop on the couch while I am huddled under blankets and hoodies.

--Our kids got THEIR flu shots, so in theory they should be immune. We can only hope.

--God willing, although we’ve had illness in our house the past two weeks, no one else has had the flu. I would gladly take every illness from every one, any time. Better me than them! Any parent would agree with that.

--Remember that silly running streak I used to have? Well, no worries about huffing and puffing through a miserable mile with the flu. Been there, done that.

So, there are many blessings in the bad news. And again, any posts from the past few days … if they seem convoluted and error prone and poorly written … well, for once, I have a legitimate excuse! Pass the Lysol …

Thoughts on thoughts, part 3

The final thought in this trilogy has to do with an NPR report I heard several months ago, probably in the early morning after one of my pre-dawn jogs with the boys. It made reference to a state called “continuous partial attention’’ – read that, think about it and digest it for a moment. Continuous. Partial. Attention. Essentially, this means that we live in a state of constant distraction!

Again, this is not groundbreaking thought we’re talking about here. However, here’s the kicker. The report about continuous partial attention had to do with doctors working in a children’s hospital. Between their iPhones and their iPads – both of which they were using for work – these doctors have been known to not exactly be 100 percent attentive to their patients. Worse, they have prescribed medicines and/or procedures that might not have been warranted – because of continuous partial attention.

Listen. I’m as guilty as anyone here, and we all are for that matter. I have my cell phone in my pocket, and it is constantly buzzing and ringing. When I meet with recruits, I often excuse myself if the phone rings or buzzes – my rule being, I will only interrupt our meeting if it is a call from my wife or from one of our kids’ schools. But simply in the checking of the phone, there is an interruption. There is continuous partial attention.

I submit to you from the New York Times (surprise, surprise) the following article entitled “The Power of Concentration” that I found interesting and thought provoking. See if you can read it from start to finish without clicking on another link, or checking your phone for texts of Facebook status updates. Go ahead. I dare you.

Thoughts on thoughts, part 2

Philosophy post #2 comes from a quote I heard back in college basketball season last spring, from ESPN analyst Jay Bilas. I do not remember the exact context or intent of the quote, but it probably came after some coach or athlete posted some inappropriate, thoughtless or insensitive comment on their Twitter feed. Bilas said: “It’s OK to have an unexpressed thought every now and again.’’ Amen to that, brother.

Of course, this post – and perhaps, even this very blog itself! – flies in the faces of that quote. Last year, I had 388 posts on this blog. This year, which is rapidly coming to a close, I am around the same number and probably will exceed it slightly. So basically, most of my thoughts do not go unexpressed. However, unlike Twitter and other social media, it could be argued that a blog post like this takes a bit more thought processing time – debatable, but generally my posts exceed 140 characters and generally I will let them sit for a short time and perhaps even rewrite them before posting them.

But again, Bilas has a point. The current Social Media Generation has no problem living their entire lives in cyber-public. In fact, such behavior is embraced. I’m not saying it’s entirely a bad thing. Twitter and Facebook are excellent sources for breaking news for the media, and they can be a veritable gold mine for leads in criminal investigations. But do we really need to know what is going on in everybody’s life, every minute of the day? Maybe my opinion on this topic will change if and when I get an iPhone and start a Twitter or Tumblr account …

Thoughts on thoughts, part 1

Please forgive me and allow me the next few posts. Two of my “hobbies” -- if you can call it that -- are reading the New York Times and thinking about the articles I read and anything else that I can think of. One of my former runners from many years ago described me in the following way: “Pete, you analyze.” OK! Guilty as charged. I like to think about thinking. Whatever that means. And so, please allow me to empty my vault of thoughts and quotations that I have collected during the past several months.

This first post has to do with the following line I read in a Times article about a reluctant guy who was dreading a family visit during the holidays: “The problem is that great divide between intent and action. It’s where we all live, a lot of the time, and somehow this is supposed to be comforting yet is not.”

Here’s how I read that quote: The fine line between doing something, and not doing something, and figuring out whether the doing or the not doing, is very difficult to ascertain. More often than not, it’s in the doing that you feel better ultimately. But what if you decide to fire off a reply e-mail with what you really think … and that ends up hurting feelings or fracturing a relationship? I guess, my two-bit, one-paragraph philosophy for this post would be this: If anger drives your action, or your thoughts of action, better to leave that action undone. If, however, only good can arise from your action, do your best to follow through on the intent.

Also: And if your nutty uncle or first cousin at the Christmas party is saying stupid stuff, resist the temptation to put him in his place and just walk away.

Tino wins, and a new "Marist Moms" team is born

Thanks to Jim Townsend (JT) for submitting the following photo of Marist sophomore Mark Valentino, who won Saturday’s Ho Ho Ho Holiday 5K run at Bethpage, Long Island, in 16:15. Tino is flanked by two members of what JT has dubbed the MMRT (Marist Moms Running Team) – I like that, a new team name is christened! Ginny Townsend (left), mom of recent Marist Running Alum Brian Townsend, who continued her stellar progress in our sport with a time of 27:34 and got 21st in her age group; and Louise Valentino, Mark’s mom, who also continues to shine with a time of 30:59 and got 38th in her age group.

Smart usage of a 'dumb' phone

Everbody, it seems, has a “smart” phone. Well, not quite everyone. I still have a “dumb” phone, although several team members have been urging me to get a smart iPhone (“you could blog from your phone, Pete!”). That’s enticing. But for now, I will type out text messages using the T9 function – I’m actually pretty fast at it – and continue to flip open my seemingly ancient cell phone.

Because of my increasingly crowded life, I have started using my “dumb” phone in a smart way. Over the past few weeks, I have begun using the “calendar” function to punch in upcoming events. I’m so on top of it that I punched in the impending nuptials of one of our favorite and most loyal alums last summer when I found out he got engaged – and the wedding is July 2013! So now, my phone buzzes and beeps at seemingly random times, until I check and see that I need to attend this meeting or that event.

It’s gotten to where my wife Heidi says, “Pete, put THIS in your phone so you don’t forget.” Hmm. Smart idea.

It's December: What am I doing these days?

The semester is over. Final exam week is complete. Our students are home for the holiday break. No practice today. No practice this week. No meet this Friday or Saturday, and none for several weeks. So, what exactly are the college track coaches of the world doing with themselves these days? Good question. Are we living the life of leisure? I cannot speak for my brethren, but I would have to say the answer is probably NO.

Many of my colleagues are down in Orlando this week for the annual national convention of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Should I be there? Probably. However … I’ve got papers to grade from the two courses I teach in the fall semester. And really … don’t I spend enough time on the road, away from my family? So, I am home. So, what am I doing?

Well, right now, as I write this, I am home with a sick child. A lot of illnesses are circulating through the schools, pretty typical of this time of year. Given that we do not have practice and I do not have any pressing academic obligations today on campus … I am home.

What else is there to do? Plenty …

--Planning for winter and spring traveling – booking buses, hotel rooms, meal money, etc.

--Planning an early 2013 fundraising campaign – if you are reading this, chances are we will hit you up for a donation to your favorite xc/track program! – in order to fund the many trips we are taking, especially in the spring season.

--Updating this blog. Duh.

--Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. It never, ever, ever ends. Emails, phone calls. More emails. More phone calls. Not complaining at all. It’s just relentless, and vital to what we do.

--And oh yeah, Christmas is coming, and we have young children expecting Santa to deliver the goods. Looking forward to it!

In the meantime, because there is not a lot of timely, team-relevant news this time of year, expect some of the posts here to be stretching the topic a bit – whatever’s on my mind. Hope you don’t mind.

Welcoming some new/old friends to the MAAC

As many blog followers may know by now, our conference -- the MAAC -- announced on Friday the addition of two new members, effective in the fall of 2013: Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University. In our world, both schools and their track/cross country programs are friendly rivals in the region, schools that we see frequently on the trails and tracks during all three seasons.

In the case of Monmouth, I am one of the few coaches at Marist -- and in the MAAC, for that matter -- that was active and coaching when we were in the Northeast Conference with the Hawks. Marist departed the NEC in 1997, about 6 years into my tenure as coach. The coach at Monmouth, Joe Compagni, is a good man who runs a truly great and well-rounded track program in West Long Branch, N.J. The addition of MU increases the competitiveness and credibility of our track conference instantly.

Quinnipiac has skyrocketed as a legitimate D1 program since its inception into the NEC and D1 just over a decade ago. There were no growing pains for the Bobcats when they elevated their programs to D1, as they vaulted themselves to at or near the top of the NEC pretty quickly in our sport. Their track program is similar to ours -- predominantly distance running based, although we are immensely proud of our sprint and non-distance athletes as well. Like Monmouth, the addition of Quinnipiac ratchets up the competitiveness of the cross country championships next fall. Immediately. It's a challenge for all of us in the MAAC.

We welcome our two friendly rivals to our friendly conference. In this frenetic, revolving door nature of collegiate sports -- where conference affiliations and loyalties seem to change on a monthly basis -- it is noteworthy that the MAAC and the NEC have remained remarkably stable mid-major conferences. The last change in the MAAC was in 1997, when Marist and Rider joined the fold. Monmouth has been in the NEC since the mid-1980s. Long may we run together.

CC you in New York City!

Check out this really cool picture of my good pal and old Poughkeepsie Journal colleague Sean T. McMann chillin' with New York Yankees' ace CC Sabathia outside the MLB Fan Cave during a clothing drive in New York City. Sean, being Sean, was the first in line and he was able to share some quality time with the Big Man.

Sean is not a small guy, but he seems dwarfed by the hulking Yankee workhorse. Nicely done to one and all

"Our hearts are broken today"

The President speaks for a nation on this sad, sad day.

Merry Christmas from West Cedar

Not to be outdone, the Men of West Cedar -- you know, those good neighbors in the Fairview area of the Town of Poughkeepsie who never make a lot of noise so their neighbors can sleep in peace (yeah, right) -- have submitted their edited and very festive Christmas card. Again, they are rockin' the holiday sweaters and their best Christmas smiles. Front row: Nico, Datos, Brendan, AJ; Back row: Schanz, Meegan, Vanzetta, Hughes, Toast. They have a very nice tree, stockings hanging by the bar -- and, oh by the way, that couch looks really familiar! Nicely done, men, and Merry Christmas. We will miss you all, and look forward to our first day of intersession practice on Jan. 7.

You can learn a lot by teaching

One of the courses that I teach each fall is a science elective called "Track and Field Coaching." Each year, for the final exam project, students are required to "play coach" and come up with a complete training plan for a team. The three-part assignment is actually quite involved.
--They must do a 2-3 page paper on the phases of training -- preseason, competition/midseason, sharpening/championship season.
--They must do a 1-page paper on strength and conditioning.
--And then, they must do a day-by-day training schedule in calendar form.

I am in the middle of grading these final projects, and they are outstanding. A few highlights so far that make me laugh, smile and take notes:

1. One student putting together a training schedule for a high school steeplechaser featured a practice in which steeple athletes hurdle over barriers while their teammates hoot and holler and make noise -- much like the cacophony steeple racers face when trying to negotiate the water jump. Ingenious! And FUNNY! I like it. Takes my theory of specificity to a new, absurd level. I'm sure we can get a few buffoons to oblige with this during spring track season at Vassar.
2. In one strength and conditioning schedule, a student recalled a technique used by his legendary high school coach in which he flipped a deck of cards to determine how many pushups, situps/crunches, etc., they would do. Wow! Talk about hoping to come up aces ...
3. One student's middle distance schedule was so detailed, precise and REALLY GOOD that we can and will implement it with our athletes this winter. Of course, many of the ideas came from the current Marist coach, but the interesting twists incorporated here really showed a depth of thought.

I am still working my way through the papers. I am sure we will find other nuggets in there worth sharing. Or better yet, worth USING. Teach your children well? Sometimes, the children can teach YOU well. Nicely done.

Merry Christmas from the East Campus

Thanks to the "Gentlemen of 9D" to share their fancy Christmas Card with us. Not sure how this version of it comes out on your computer, but the original is priceless. The sweater selection is, um, seasonal. A personal highlight has to be Hild's purple and white ensemble, which appears to fit him like Under Armour, and of course Sully is his PJs. The only thing missing from this photo would be a vintage Deedy beard. Regardless ... nicely done to the Men of Lower Fulton.

Call me Youk

My favorite team, the New York Yankees, just made a curious free agent signing in agreeing to terms with Kevin Youkilis, the former Red Sox nemesis. On the rare occasions when former Sox stars become Yankees -- Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, etc. -- it is always odd for me. The Sox are the reviled enemies. Seeing Youk in pinstripes will be strange. I always disliked Youkilis because of his laundry, but respected the way he played. He is hard-nosed, gutty, a good on-base percentage guy. And he always seemed to get clutch hits against the Yankees.

Now he is on our side, and we'll root for him, as always. As it is, I've been thinking about Youkilis lately as I have sort of adopted his "look" -- thick goatee and not much (if any!) hair on the top of the head, especially after a trip to Sal the barber on Saturday. In honor of our new third baseman, I will continue to grow the goatee through the winter, especially since he probably will have to shave it due to the Yankees' silly no facial hair policy.

Conor Shelley, Nick Webster shine at club nationals

Congrats to Marist Running Alums Conor Shelley and Nick Webster for their strong performances Saturday at USATF Club Cross Country Nationals in Kentucky. Conor ran as part of the excellent New York AC team that placed fourth overall with 122 points. He finished the 10km XC course in 33:03. Web was running for our friends at the Albany Running Exchange (ARE) Racing Team, and he finished in 34:36. ARE placed 33rd in the meet.

It was great national exposure for two guys who played huge roles on the best XC teams in school history. Then and now ... NICELY DONE.

Continuing to reinvent the wheel

In our never-ending quest for new workout ideas and venues -- not having facilities for our sport constantly keeps us vigilant in the ways to get the job done -- we broke some new ground (sort of) last Friday. For the men's distance team, the goal for the day was to get some strength-based hill running work accomplished. The week prior, we headed to the Luty Loops (named after the loop road in the Town of Hyde Park), and I was brainstorming a few alternatives.

A few athletes -- spearheaded by grad student Will Griffin -- suggested Quiet Cove, that small patch of parkland situated just north of the Marist campus along the riverfront, on the very northern edge of the Town of Poughkeepsie. Quiet Cove has always been known as an excellent venue for short, pre-meet runs -- again, there's not much there, but what's there is nice. A quick visit to Quiet Cove the day before revealed an almost perfect, half-mile loop that included a somewhat challenging gravel hill.

Boom! A new workout was born. The loop is about half gravel road and half paved road, up and down, hidden and traffic free. Sometimes, the most obvious things are hidden right under your nose all along. And so, we we went there and did eight continuous QC loops for 4 miles of somewhat hard running. There was some divergence as to the intention of the workout -- half the group did it in hill repeat fashion, the other half did it as a mostly continuous hill tempo. All good to me. Work is work.

A few guys opted to go to Luty and did their hill there. That group's de facto leader was Salek, as he is the undisputed King of the Luty Loops -- he loves them, and he drills them good and fast. And still a smaller group of mid distance guys opted for MidRise Hills. The beauty of our sport is its individual nature. Figure out what needs to be accomplished, and get it accomplished in ways that suit athletes' needs. Or, to put it simply: There's more than one way to skin a cat.

In the afternoon, we headed over to Franny Reese Park -- "under the bridge" trails, in team parlance -- in Highland, where the ladies did some uphill extended strides in the middle of a distance run. Coach Chuck remembers when his old college coach (that would be ME) would have the team do this, and we called it "Skull and Crossbones." Of course, this idea was borrowed from old Marist xc coach Rich Stevens from the 1970s and then again late 1980s. What comes around goes around ...

Again, this time of year, work is work. We're just trying to reinvent the wheel, doing things that have been done for generations and generations, in the most creative ways possible. For the distance crew, we're simply trying to rebuild base and strength and keep things interesting. Work is work is work. Last Tuesday, we headed to the track; not necessarily because it was a great idea, but because it was 60 degrees and the calendar said early December, and, well, you do what you can when you can.

Marist Track Moms shine at 5K on Long Island

Thanks to an alert blog follower for pointing out the fact that three very loyal followers of our program, and three moms of our athletes, had strong showings at the Seaford Wellness Hot Chocolate 5K last weekend. Leading the way was Ginny Townsend, with a sparkling new 5K personal-best time of 27:44. Her hotshot son Brian takes credit for coaching mom to the fantastic time! Congrats to her. Ginny was 11th in her age group.

Also completing the race in strong fashion were Louise Valentino (mom of Mark Valentino) and Kathleen Gaye (mom of Michelle Gaye). To one and all, a hearty NICELY DONE and we hope you enjoyed the hot chocolate on the chilly first Saturday in December.

Last point: For those keeping score at home, Marist Running Alum DJ Paulson won his age group (18:49), and Marist Running Alum Mike Rolek had won this race in the past. So there is good history of program success down there!

Big Man on the tuba

Thanks to freshman XC team member Lizzie Peper for sending along this rockin' picture of senior XC captain Joel Moss -- the Big Man plays the Big Tuba at most home basketball games for the Marist Band.

I'm guessing the Big Man will be busy this weekend, as there are three consecutive home basketball games. The men open their MAAC season tonight vs. Manhattan and then play again on Sunday; the women host Boston University on Saturday night.

If you haven't been to the McCann Arena for a basketball game since the renovation, it is quite a multimedia -- and loud! -- experience. Both hoop teams have had up-and-down starts to their season. Here's hoping things get consistently strong with the beginning of MAAC play, when it counts.

Light at the end of the tunnel amid days of darkness

During his homily on Sunday at my church, our pastor spoke of the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.” He framed the talk in the context of a lot of bad news and several tragedies that have happened recently in our local community, and with all the troubles in the world at large. The gloom and doom scenarios he painted even cast a pall over my usually cheerful (and sometimes unattentive?) young children. He spoke of parishioners who have asked for his prayers for the various stresses and maladies in their lives. He spoke of how, at times like these, we tend to focus on the walls in the tunnel as opposed to the light at the end of the tunnel.

He tied this in with this time of year, December, our literal darkest hours in terms of daylight. Trust me. As an early-morning jogger, I can attest to the dark days of December. Finishing a jog at 6:40 a.m., enveloped in the pre-dawn darkness for the entire hour, is all you need to know about December. Contrasting the darkest days of the year are the various festivals of lights that pepper our communities and our homes during the holiday season. The pastor then spoke of the Advent season that Catholics and Christians celebrate during these weeks in December. He spoke of how, with these lights and with the usual festive nature of the season, we are all figuratively thumbing our nose at the darkest days and the darkest hours of the year. The light at the end of the tunnel is always there, he said; we just have to stop focusing on the walls. After its downer of a beginning, it was a wonderful and uplifting message -- for this and any time of the year.

And with that, I share this photo that was emailed to me from Kathy Gould – members of our team, our figurative “shining lights” – standing together in front of the newly illuminated tree on the Marist College campus, after attending Sunday Mass in the chapel. No matter what your faith or beliefs, we hope this photo will lighten your mood for at least a moment.

Jay Carisella Invitational: Men's results and splits

Jay Carisella Invitational

Hosted by Northeastern University

At Boston University Track and Tennis Center

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Men’s results

60-meter hurdles trials

4-Alex Cunningham 8.65

18-Robert Marone 9.81

60-meter hurdles finals

8-Alex Cunningham 8.92

60-meter dash

11-Tyler Schwarz 7.31

37-Andrew Rokoszak 7.68

200-meter dash

18-Alex Cunningham 23.26

23-Tyler Schwarz 23.38

38-Connor Dodge 24.25

400-meter dash

15-Zach Berzal 53.26

18-Marc Cenicola 53.59

21-Robert Marone 54.34

500-meter run

16-Andrew James 1:10.59

800-meter run

3-Will Griffin 1:59.07

29, 59 (30), 1:29 (30), 1:59.07 (30.07)

5-Frank Amoresano 2:01.73

30, 60 (30), 1:31 (31), 2:01.73 (30.73)

1000-meter run

2-David Marthy 2:32.40

30, 59 (29), 1:30 (31), 2:01 (31), 2:32.40 (31.40)

5-Bryan Buttigieg 2:35.52

32, 62 (30), 1:33 (31), 2:03 (30), 2:35.52 (32.52)

Mile run

5-Will Griffin 4:18.00

31, 63 (32), 1:35 (32), 2:09 (34), 2:41 (32), 3:14 (33), 3:47 (33), 4:18.00 (31.00)

13-Mark Vuono 4:28.09

31, 63 (32), 1:36 (33), 2:11 (35), 2:44 (33), 3:19 (35), 3:54 (35), 4:28.09 (34.09)

15-Billy Hild 4:37.53

31.2, 63.6 (32.4), 1:37.6 (34.0), 2:13.0 (35.4), 2:49.0 (36.0), 3:25.3 (36.3), 4:01.6 (36.3), 4:37.53 (35.93)

5,000-meter run

15-Billy Posch 15:39.55

34.6, 71.5 (36.9), 1:48.5 (37.0), 2:25.3 (36.8), 3:02.0 (36.7)

3:38.0 (36.0), 4:13.6 (35.6), 4:49.4 (35.8), 5:26.1 (36.7), 6:03.5 (37.4)

6:41.5 (38.0), 7:19.4 (37.9), 7:57.6 (38.2), 8:36.1 (38.5), 9:14.7 (38.6)

9:53.5 (38.8), 10:32.6 (39.1), 11:11.8 (39.2), 11:51.4 (39.6), 12:31.2 (39.8)

13:10.1 (39.9), 13:50.7 (39.6), 14:29.4 (38.7), 15:06.4 (37.0), 15:39.55 (33.15)

Kilometer splits: 3:02.0, 3:01.5, 3:11.2, 3:16.5, 3:08.2

1,600-meter relay

9-Marist (Zach Berzal 53.2, Marc Cenicola 54.3, Connor Dodge 53.7, Frank Amoresano 51.6) 3:32.99

Long jump

14-Andrew Rokoszak 5.64 meters (18 feet, 6 inches)

19-Aaron Kippins 5.21 meters (17 feet, 1.25 inches)

Triple jump

10-Andrew Rokoszak 12.22 meters (41 feet, 1.25 inches)

Jay Carisella Invitational: Women's results and splits

Jay Carisella Invitational

Hosted by Northeastern University

At Boston University Track and Tennis Center

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Women’s results

60-meter hurdles

23-Alex McCahill 10.88

60-meter dash

18-Danielle Asaro 8.28

26-Nicole Scicolone 8.41

31-Emelia Lartey 8.62

33-Alexia Santiago 8.67

200-meter dash

45-Danielle Asaro 28.01

56-Alexia Santiago 28.45

400-meter dash

23-Colleen Meenan 1:02.13

800-meter run

6-Jackie Gamboli (unattached) 2:22.11

34.7, 69.8 (35.1), 1:45.5 (35.7), 2:22.11 (36.61)

3,000-meter run

7-Kathryn Sheehan 10:25.33

42, 82 (40), 2:02 (40), 3:23 (41)

4:03 (40), 4:43 (40), 5:24 (41), 6:05 (41), 6:48 (43)

7:31 (43), 8:16 (45), 9:01 (46), 9:44 (43), 10:25.33 (41.33)

Kilometer splits: 3:23, 3:25, 3:37.33

10-Erin Thompson 10:37.10

41, 80 (39), 2:00 (40), 2:40 (40), 3:21 (41)

4:02 (41), 4:43 (41), 5:27 (44), 6:10 (43), 6:56 (46)

7:42 (46), 8:28 (46), 9:13 (45), 9:57 (44), 10:37.10 (40.10)

Kilometer splits: 3:21, 3:35, 3:41.10

1,600-meter relay

16-Marist (Colleen Meenan 63.5, Danielle Asaro 67.0, Katie McEvoy 73.2, Alex McCahill 65.7) 4:29.51

Long jump

20-Nicole Scicolone 4.64 meters (15 feet, 2.75 inches)

Triple jump

14-Nicole Scicolone 9.71 meters (31 feet, 10.25 inches)

Jay Carisella Invitational: Overview

In all of my years of coaching, I can honestly never remember saying or thinking: "Wow, that was a really high quality meet" ... in December. The pre-New Year timeframe for indoor track usually means low-key meets and mostly forgettable performances. Saturday's Jay Carisella Invitational, hosted by Northeastern University but held at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center, was a rarity: A high-quality meet in December. There were some national and regional caliber performances run by some very strong individuals.

For our program, the meet and the weekend was productive and fun. In no particular order ...
--We were able to welcome numerous new members of our track and field squad to the world of collegiate track. In a few instances, it was the first indoor track meet in which some of our athletes ever competed. They adjusted to the new sport quite well.
--Because it was an overnight journey with a limited travel squad, we were able to enjoy some comfortable bus rides and team bonding time with a definitely energetic group of tracksters.
--We welcomed family and friend support old and new to the fold.
--Our hotel served a complimentary breakfast buffet, with unlimited coffee. Nicely done.
--For an early season meet that usually features, as stated earlier, mostly unremarkable times, we had some solid efforts and some personal-best marks. Again, for December 1, we'll take it, and it bodes well for the next several months.

This is our one and only meet before the holiday break. We have one more week of practice before final exams, then finals, and then our athletes scatter to their respective home bases for the holidays before returning in January for intersession training and racing.

I am working on the meet results and splits now and will try to post them before the evening is complete.

Information on first meet of the track season

Below is the order of events for Saturday’s Jay Carisella Invitational, a meet hosted by Northeastern University but being held at the beautiful Boston University Track and Tennis Facility. This meet is our only first-semester, pre-break meet of the indoor track season. With final exams looming, our athletes need to focus all their attention on academics, and squeezing another December meet out of them makes little to no sense.

As the endless cycle of our sport continues, I have to admit that I am really looking forward to the beginning of track season. We were out at the Spackenkill High School track today on a nice but chilly afternoon. The sprint/hurdle/jump crew that has been working hard with Coach Horton over the past few months looks great, and we are excited to see them in action. We have a lot of new faces; they have been guided by the excellent leadership of our upperclass track athletes – men and women -- whose enthusiasm and spirit in the face of our facility challenges never ceases to amaze me, and it makes us really proud to coach them.

There will be a smattering of distance runners at the meet for our program on Saturday. But really, this is a coming out party – albeit a brief, one-day affair – for our track-only athletes who have busted it since just after Labor Day. Not all of them are able to compete for a variety of reasons, but most of them will be there. Should be fun.

Again, for those keeping score at home, here’s the Saturday slate for all interested …

Running events:

9:45 AM Women’s 5k

10:15 AM Men’s 5k

10:35 AM 60m Women’s Hurdles – Trials

11:05 AM 60m Men’s Hurdles- Trials

11:35 AM Women’s Mile

12:05 AM Men’s Mile

12:35 AM 60m Women’s Dash – Trials

12:55 PM 60m Men’s Dash- Trials

1:15 PM Women’s 400

1:35 PM Men’s 400

1:55 PM 60m Women’s Hurdles – Finals

2:05 PM 60m Men’s 55m Hurdles – Finals

2:10 PM Women’s 500

2:25 PM Men’s 500

2:40 PM 60m Women’s Dash- Finals

2:45 PM 60m Men’s Dash- Finals

2:50 PM Women’s 800

3:10 PM Men’s 800

3:25 PM Women’s 200

3:40 PM Men’s 200

4:00 PM Women’s 1000

4:15 PM Men’s 1000

4:30 PM Women’s 3000

5:00 PM Men’s 3000

5:30 PM Women’s 4x400

5:45 PM Men’s 4x400 

Field Events:

9:30 AM Women’s Long Jump

11:30 PM Men’s Long Jump

1:30 PM Women’s Triple Jump

3:30 PM Men’s Triple Jump