March of time: Farewell to February

Many, many years ago, I wrote a column for Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper in which I bashed the month of February. Several decades later, the truth can be told: That week, I had absolutely nothing to write about. So, I wrote about how much I dislike the month of February. Oddly enough, it elicited more reader response than a “normal” column; go figure. Anyway, I do not remember the particulars of the article, but the thought has always stuck with me. For some reason, February has never been a month filled with a lot of positives through the years. Of course, this is sheer coincidence. It’s just a month, another page on the calendar. Right. Right?

The logical me knows that it is just a month, and that months – collections of four weeks or thereabouts -- in and of themselves cannot be “bad luck.” But the emotional me knows that February, in fact, sucks. This is the me that grew up with a superstitious grandmother in the house, one who refused to sit at the dining room table for big family meals because she would have made 13 people at the table; she would casually eat in the kitchen, while my father stewed over her ridiculous superstitions. I bought into her superstitions, every one of them: the rabbit’s feet, the St. Christopher’s medal in the glove box of the car, the cross made of palms from Palm Sunday that she always put in our vehicles, the “malocchio”/evil eye that she so fervently believed in (trust me when I say you did not want to get her cursed look). Unless you are Italian (and even if you are Italian), some of these rituals/superstitions may make no sense to you. I lived them, and that superstitious side of me remains to this day. Which is why today, I’m glad it is February 28.

And so today, I bid a fond farewell to that shortest and least favorite month. Say see-ya to February, and hope for better times and better events in the warming and increased sunshine days of March. Oh sure, they say “beware the Ides of March” (I never knew what that meant). But to me, it was always beware of February, the lost month of bad weather and bad things. In a few hours, it will be in our collective rearview mirrors. Good riddance. Until next year.

Slow news day: Photo from the attic

Thanks to loyal blog follower and even more loyal Marist Running Alum Marty McGowan for sharing yet another vintage photo from the archives. This one was taken circa 1971 on the “South Field,” which has been home to the McCann Center since 1977. Sorry to make you feel like a relic, Marty … but this picture is going on 42 years old! Here is what Marty wrote to me in an e-mail accompanying this excellent photo:

I've been up in my Mom's attic going through a lot of boxes of cards, letters and assorted other stuff. I came across this picture from 1971 that was in the Circle about the Cross Country team. Unfortunately, it's just the picture. God only knows what happened to the accompanying article. I know it was taken early in the season, probably late September. Anyway, back row: Don Gillespie, Don't remember, Jay Doyle (our best runner that year), Pete Rock (editor’s note: LOVE that name!), Bob Nelson and the manager Bob who was a grad student and really dressed like that. Front row: me with the sunglasses (vain me wore 'em most practices), John Petraglia (he of the Mickey Mouse t-shirt), Pat "Milo" Stevens and Bob Salomone . The picture was taken somewhere on the South Field, where the McCann Center is now. Enjoy.

Good stuff. Marty, of course, was not vain in wearing the sunglasses but rather ahead of his time, as now sunglass wearing is quite in vogue for endurance athletes everywhere. Somehow, I think those shades were probably not as scientifically designed as, say, Oakleys. Nicely done.

Motivation with words; words optional

Followers of Marist Athletics are very well aware that the men’s basketball team has been struggling this season. As I type this, though, the Red Foxes are winning big in the Bracket Buster game vs. VMI at the McCann Arena. Anyway, no matter tonight’s outcome, I think it is safe to say it has been a somewhat disappointing season for the hoopsters to date; any team that has 20 losses can be safely classified in this manner. However, they still have time to turn things around and finish strong down the stretch here; there can still be magic in March, and March is just a few days away. And on the sidelines, they have their biggest cheerleader and motivator sitting at his customary spot on the end of the bench.

For the past 30-plus years, Glenn Marinelli has been the general of the training room, the head athletic trainer, the coordinator of sports medicine, and the chief Good Guy in the McCann Center. Who doesn’t love Glenn? Really. Is there anyone who is more generally well-liked than Glenn? Through the years and the decades, he has been a positive force for all Marist athletes. That hasn’t changed over the past 20 or so months, despite the fact that Glenn is now dealing with a diagnosis of cancer at a way-too-young age. Predictably, though, Glenn is handling it with the positive energy and enthusiasm for which we have always known and expected of him. As the men’s hoop team has fallen on hard times this winter, Glenn has done his part to help motivate them, and other athletic teams, on campus. I was chatting with Glenn the other day, and he was telling me about it, about how he is trying to fire up teams with his simple words. Below are a few nuggets Glenn has shared with the hoop team, and in turn other athletic teams in need of a positive energy boost.

Be proud of who you play for.

Be proud of who you are.

Remember the little things.

Be a player from the start.

Never surrender.

Never give up.

Never surrender.

Play together.

The words are simple, the sentiment genuine, the motivation sincere. But really, words are not needed. All you need to see is Glenn going about his business as usual each day, impervious to his medical challenges, positive and friendly in his approach and never, ever, ever, complaining about his situation. He has provided some words to live by above. The words are great; the man is even greater.

2013 outdoor track schedule

As promised and by popular request, here is our outdoor track schedule. Although we do have one more indoor meet to complete – next weekend’s IC4A/ECAC Championships – our outdoor schedule will come upon us fast. And when it starts, the season goes QUICKLY. OK. Here goes, the schedule with some descriptions:

Friday/Saturday, March 29-30, Fred Hardy Invitational/Richmond: We went to this meet last year and it was a wonderful experience. We will return this year with a full squad, and we will leave on Thursday afternoon. Note that this is Easter Weekend. We will be arriving back to Poughkeepsie late Saturday night/very early a.m. on Easter Sunday.

Friday, March 29, Stanford Invitational, Palo Alto, CA: Coach Chuck will be taking a select few athletes out to this meet for the first time this year. Because of a family conflict during Mt. SAC Relays weekend, we have added this elite level meet to our schedule and we are excited to be attending it.

Thursday/Friday/Saturday, April 4-6, Colonial Relays/William and Mary: It has been a long time since we went to this meet, and we are looking forward to returning. This meet has so many different relays and it should be fun to take part. With two Virginia trips to start the season, we are hopeful for some warmer weather. That’s the plan, anyway.

Friday/Sat, April 12-13, Metropolitan Championship, Ramapo: A partial squad of athletes (some distance runners on Friday afternoon, and the majority of our sprint/jump team on Saturday) will be going to this meet.

Saturday/Sunday, April 13-14, Bison Invitational, Bucknell: A partial squad will be going to this meet again, as we have in previous years. This meet provides us with great competition in a beautiful setting.

Friday, April 19, Larry Ellis Invitation/Princeton: We may send a few distance runners to the Friday evening portion of this meet.

Saturday, April 20, Stony Brook Invitational: The remainder of our squad will head back to Long Island for the first full-length invitational to be held at Stony Brook University. We look forward to seeing family and friends there.

Thursday/Saturday, April 25-27, Penn Relay Carnival: Our annual trip to the storied meet.

Sunday, April 28, Yale Springtime Invitational: Our annual trip to the pre-championship tuneup meet.

Friday, May 3, Matthew Vassar Open: One of our favorite nights of the year, as close to a “home” meet as we get in track.

Saturday/Sunday, May 4-5, MAAC Championships: At Rider, as usual. Stay tuned for a slightly different order of events that includes more races on Saturday afternoon.

Postseason Championships:

The following meets are for qualifiers only, if we are fortunate to get qualifiers to any or all of these championships.

Friday/Saturday, May 10-11: IC4A/ECAC Championships, Princeton

May 23-25: NCAA East Regional, North Carolina A&T

June 5-8: NCAA Championships, U of Oregon

June 19-23: USATF Junior/Senior Championships

Calling all Mudders ...

Hopkins texted me a few weeks ago, and I’m finally getting around to it: He asked me to drum up some support among Marist Running Alums to take part in the Mudders and Grunters cross country race. The Marist Alumni Racing Team is the defending champion and owner of the Geronimo Cup, which sits proudly in my hopelessly cluttered office in the McCann Center. In order to defend this coveted Cup, we need a strong showing from our competitive running alums (yes, Conor, this means YOU TOO!). I know for a fact that our friends at the Albany Running Exchange are planning a full assault on the Geronimo Cup, so you guys have to be ready, show up, and keep the carbo loading to a minimum. If you know what I mean.

For those interested and able to run in Mudders, which is slated for Sunday, March 24 in Westchester County, contact Hopkins or Schabby via text, Facebook or however else you contact each other these days.

Snow problem

Sorry for the lack of posts. We are in a very unusual purgatory between seasons -- but not really between seasons! We have one more indoor track meet to go, a very important and big one in the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Boston next weekend. We have more men's qualifiers for IC4As than ever, and we look forward to filling up a few vans worth of athletes for the long trip to Beantown.

For now, we are watching with mild Weather Geek interest at the potential storm unfolding this weekend. Fortunately, with no track travel plans, I can go into full Weather Geek mode and read about computer models, oscillations and the telltale "wobble" of the rain/snow line that will ultimately determine whether we get a foot of snow, a nuisance wintry mix, or somewhere in between. Again, I'm glad I don't have to worry about driving the vans on I84 and the Mass Pike the next few days.

The majority of the team is in "full steam ahead" mode for outdoor track, which feels a bit unusual since winter is still here in full force -- cold, wind, ice, etc. I will post the outdoor track schedule soon so everyone has an idea of what we are doing. The outdoor schedule is a bit complicated, with split squads much of the time. Once it starts, it will zoom by quickly.

A Foxy time at the Marist women's hoop game

Thanks to track team member Katie McEvoy for sharing the above photo, which includes Katie Mac, some teammates, Coach Chuck and some prospective student-athletes (along with Shooter the Fox mascot) at Sunday's Marist women's basketball game against Manhattan. The women won (of course, they always win!) easily and clinched yet another MAAC title. In addition, it was a "Pink Out" game to honor breast cancer survivors and awareness of the disease. Also, a shout-out to blog follower and team parent Louise Valentino, who took part in the halftime festivities honoring breast cancer survivors, which she is. She, and all the other women, are our inspirational heroes on this day. Think Pink!

MAAC Indoor Championships: Men's results and splits

Here are the splits and some notes on last night’s meet. Noted are the point scorers and personal/season best times. If I omitted any information inadvertently, please let me know. Many thanks to Doug Ainscow for doing all the splits in all the races. He was a huge help and his meticulousness is very much appreciated.  Of special note is junior Nick Salek. Nick entered the meet with a seed time and PR of 4:25 in the mile. The next slowest seed time was 4:13. He was seventh seed. He finished according to form, but en route to chasing the much faster runners in the race, Nick nabbed a seven-second PR. HUGE!

MAAC Indoor Championships

Friday, February 15, 2013

Armory Track and Field Center

Men’s individual results

60-meter dash

10-Tyler Schwarz 7.24 (personal best)

11-Darren Bushey 7.27 (personal best)

14-Jesse Aprile 7.33

60-meter hurdles

6-Alex Cunningham 8.42 (personal best) (1 point)

10-Robert Marone 9.55

200-meter dash

11-Tyler Schwarz 23.29

12-Jesse Aprile 23.39

14-Alex Cunningham 23.73

15-Darren Bushey 23.94

400-meter dash

13-Zach Berzal 53.51

14-Robert Marone 54.43

15-Andrew James 54.54

17-Marc Cenicola 56.39

800-meter run

5-David Marthy 1:54.50 *IC4A qualifier  (2 points)

29, 58 (29), 1:25 (27), 1:54.50 (29.50)

10-Matt Panebianco 1:59.42

29, 59 (30), 1:28 (29), 1:59.42 (31.42)

12-Isaiah Miller 2:00.20 (personal best)

28, 59 (31), 1:30 (31), 2:00.20 (30.20)

15-Bryan Buttigieg 2:02.28

29, 59 (30), 1:30 (31), 2:02.28 (32.28)

19-Kyle Hannafin 2:03.46

29, 60 (31), 1:31 (31), 2:03.46 (32.46)

Mile run

7-Nick Salek 4:18.39 (personal best)

32, 63 (31), 1:34 (31), 2:04 (30), 2:37 (33), 3:10 (33), 3:43 (33), 4:18.39 (35.39)

10-Charlie Ropes 4:30.41 (personal best)

32, 65 (33), 1:37 (32), 2:10 (33), 2:46 (36), 3:21 (35), 3:57 (36), 4:30.41 (33.41)

12-Billy Posch 4:34.83

33, 66 (33), 1:40 (34), 2:15 (35), 2:51 (36), 3:26 (35), 4:02 (36), 4:34.83 (32.83)

3,000-meter run

2-Will Griffin 8:25.46 *IC4A qualifier (8 points)

33, 67 (34), 1:41 (34), 2:14 (33), 2:48 (34)

3:22 (34), 3:57 (35), 4:32 (35), 5:07 (35), 5:42 (35)

6:16 (34), 6:50 (34), 7:23 (33), 7:55 (32), 8:25.46 (30.46)

Kilometer splits: 2:48, 2:54, 2:43.46

3-Arquimedes DelaCruz 8:28.35 (6 points)

33, 67 (34), 1:41 (34), 2:14 (33), 2:48 (34)

3:22 (34), 3:57 (35), 4:32 (35), 5:07 (35), 5:42 (35)

6:16 (34), 6:50 (34), 7:24 (34), 7:57 (33), 8:28.35 (31.35)

Kilometer splits: 2:48, 2:54, 2:46.35

9-Johnny Lee 8:52.32 (personal best)

34, 70 (36), 1:45 (35), 2:20 (35), 2:56 (36)

3:32 (36), 4:07 (35), 4:43 (36), 5:19 (36), 5:55 (36)

6:31 (36), 7:08 (37), 7:45 (37), 8:20 (35), 8:52.32 (32.32)

Kilometer splits: 2:56, 2:59, 2:57.32

10-Ryan Scrudato 8:53.02

35, 70 (35), 1:44 (34), 2:19 (35), 2:53 (34)

3:28 (35), 4:04 (36), 4:39 (35), 5:15 (36), 5:51 (36)

6:27 (36), 7:04 (37), 7:41 (37), 8:19 (38), 8:53.02 (34.02)

Kilometer splits: 2:53, 2:58, 3:02.02

13-Ian Dorset 9:10.92

35, 70 (35), 1:45 (35), 2:20 (35), 2:56 (36)

3:31 (35), 4:07 (36), 4:43 (36), 5:20 (37), 5:56 (36)

6:34 (38), 7:12 (38), 7:51 (39), 8:31 (40), 9:10.92 (39.92)

Kilometer splits: 2:56, 3:00, 3:14.92

5,000-meter run

5-Ken Walshak 15:02.78 (2 points)

36, 71 (35), 1:46 (35), 2:21 (35), 2:56 (35)

3:31 (35), 4:07 (36), 4:42 (35), 5:18 (36), 5:53 (35)

6:29 (36), 7:05 (36), 7:40 (35), 8:16 (36), 8:52 (36)

9:30 (38), 10:06 (36), 10:43 (37), 11:20 (37), 11:58 (38)

12:35 (37), 13:12 (37), 13:50 (38), 14:26 (36), 15:02.78 (36.78)

Kilometer splits: 2:56, 2:57, 2:59, 3:06, 3:04.78

7-Billy Hild 15:22.22

36, 72 (36), 1:47 (35), 2:21 (34), 2:57 (36)

3:33 (36), 4:08 (35), 4:43 (35), 5:21 (38), 5:57 (36)

6:33 (36), 7:10 (37), 7:47 (37), 8:25 (38), 9:02 (37)

9:39 (37), 10:17 (38), 10:56 (39), 11:34 (38), 12:12 (38)

12:50 (38), 13:29 (39), 14:07 (38), 14:45 (37), 15:22.22 (37.22)

Kilometer splits: 2:57, 3:00, 3:05, 3:10, 3:10.22

8-Joel Moss 15:26.38

36, 71 (35), 1:47 (36), 2:21 (34), 2:57 (36)

3:33 (36), 4:08 (35), 4:44 (36), 5:19 (35), 5:56 (37)

6:35 (39), 7:12 (37), 7:50 (38), 8:28 (38), 9:06 (38)

9:45 (39), 10:23 (38), 11:02 (39), 11:40 (38), 12:18 (38)

12:57 (39), 13:35 (38), 14:13 (38), 14:50 (37), 15:26.38 (36.38)

Kilometer splits: 2:57, 2:59, 3:10, 3:12, 3:08.38

10-Mark Valentino 15:49.23

37, 73 (36), 1:48 (35), 2:23 (35), 3:00 (37)

3:35 (35), 4:11 (36), 4:47 (36), 5:24 (37), 6:01 (37)

6:39 (38), 7:16 (37), 7:54 (38), 8:32 (38), 9:11 (39)

9:50 (39), 10:31 (41), 11:11 (40), 11:51 (40), 12:31 (40)

13:12 (41), 13:52 (40), 14:32 (40), 15:12 (40), 15:49.23 (37.23)

Kilometer splits: 3:00, 3:01, 3:10, 3:20, 3:18.23

Distance medley relay

3-Marist (Mark Vuono, Matt Panebianco, Ty Gamble, Pat Rynkowski) 10:34.57 (6 points)

Mark Vuono: 32, 63 (31), 1:34 (31), 2:05 (31), 2:36 (31), 3:10 (34)

Matt Panebianco: 24.6, 51.5

Ty Gamble: 28, 58 (30), 1:31 (33), 2:03.3 (32.3)

Pat Rynkowski: 31, 63 (32), 1:37 (34), 2:11 (34), 2:45 (34), 3:19 (34), 3:54 (35), 4:28 (34)

1,600-meter relay

4-Marist (Robert Marone 55.6, Zach Berzal 53.3, Isaiah Miller 54.8, Connor Dodge 55.3) 3:39.35 (4 points)

Long jump

7-Andrew Rokoszak 5.85 meters

8-Aaron Kippins 5.11 meters

Triple jump

9-Andrew Rokoszak 12.60

Men’s team standings

1 Manhattan 159, 2-Rider 112, 3-St. Peter’s 104, 4-Iona 90, 5-Marist 29

MAAC Indoor Championships: Women's results and splits

Here are the splits and some notes on last night’s meet. Noted are the point scorers and personal/season best times. If I omitted any information inadvertently, please let me know. Many thanks to Doug Ainscow for doing all the splits in all the races. He was a huge help and his meticulousness is very much appreciated.

MAAC Indoor Championships

Friday, February 15, 2013

Armory Track and Field Center

Women’s individual results

60-meter dash

17-Danielle Asaro 8.28

18-Nicole Scicolone 8.41

20-Alexia Santiago 8.60

21-Alex McCahill 8.88

200-meter dash

14-Danielle Asaro 26.83

19-Alexia Santiago 27.96

20-Colleen Meenan 28.54

800-meter run

7-Christine Coughlin 2:19.21 (2 points)

33, 67 (34), 1:42 (35), 2:19.21 (37.21)

16-Catherine Ferreri 2:32.21 (personal best)

36, 72 (36), 1:51 (39), 2:32.21 (41.21)

20-Lizzie Peper 2:39.74

36, 74 (38), 1:56 (42), 2:39.74 (43.74)

Mile run

3-Kristen Traub 4:58.72 *ECAC qualifier (6 points) (personal best)

38, 76 (38), 1:53 (37), 2:32 (39), 3:09 (37), 3:46 (37), 4:22 (36), 4:58.72 (36.72)

8-Kathryn Sheehan 5:16.41 (1 point)

38, 76 (38), 1:54 (38), 2:33 (39), 3:11 (38), 3:52 (41), 4:34 (42), 5:16.41 (42.41)

11-Annie Gould 5:47.47

39, 78 (39), 1:59 (41), 2:42 (43), 3:27 (45), 4:14 (47), 5:01 (46), 5:47.47 (46.47)

3,000-meter run

6-Nicki Nesi 10:31.51 (3 points)

42, 84 (42), 2:07 (43), 2:49 (42), 3:30 (41)

4:12 (42), 4:54 (42), 5:36 (42), 6:20 (44), 7:03 (43)

7:46 (43), 8:29 (43), 9:12 (43), 9:53 (41), 10:31.51 (38.51)

Kilometer splits: 3:30, 3:33, 3:28.51

7-Rebecca Denise 10:37.82 (2 points)

42, 84 (42), 2:08 (44), 2:50 (42), 3:30 (40)

4:12 (42), 4:54 (42), 5:36 (42), 6:19 (43), 7:02 (43)

7:46 (44), 8:30 (44), 9:14 (44), 9:58 (44), 10:37.82 (39.82)

Kilometer splits: 3:30, 3:32, 3:35.82

11-Brianna Freestone 11:01.50

41, 83 (42), 2:08 (45), 2:49 (41), 3:30 (41)

4:12 (42), 4:55 (43), 5:40 (45), 6:26 (46), 7:11 (45)

7:57 (46), 8:45 (48), 9:32 (47), 10:16 (44), 11:01.50 (45.50)

Kilometer splits: 3:30, 3:41, 3:50.50

14-Erin Thompson 11:08.00

41, 83 (42), 2:06 (43), 2:47 (41), 3:28 (41)

4:10 (42), 4:52 (42), 5:36 (44), 6:21 (45), 7:08 (47)

7:56 (48), 8:45 (49), 9:33 (48), 10:21 (48), 11:08.00 (47.00)

Kilometer splits: 3:28, 3:40, 4:00.00

15-Rachel Bremer 11:14.68

41, 83 (42), 2:08 (45), 2:50 (42), 3:31 (41)

4:15 (44), 4:59 (44), 5:44 (45), 6:29 (45), 7:15 (46)

8:02 (47), 8:48 (46), 9:37 (49), 10:25 (48), 11:14.68 (49.68)

Kilometer splits: 3:31, 3:44, 3:59.68

5,000-meter run

4-Katie Messina 18:04.58 (5 points)

41, 84 (43), 2:07 (43), 2:51 (44), 3:34 (43)

4:17 (43), 5:00 (43), 5:43 (43), 6:26 (43), 7:10 (44)

7:54 (44), 8:37 (43), 9:21 (44), 10:05 (44), 10:49 (44)

11:32 (43), 12:17 (45), 13:00 (43), 13:44 (44), 14:28 (44)

15:12 (44), 15:56 (44), 16:40 (44), 17:23 (43), 18:04.58 (41.58)

Kilometer splits: 3:34, 3:36, 3:39, 3:39, 3:36.58

9-Kelley Gould 19:13.16 (indoor best)

44, 89 (45), 2:14 (45), 3:00 (46), 3:46 (46)

4:33 (37), 5:18 (45), 6:04 (46), 6:50 (46), 7:36 (46)

8:22 (46), 9:09 (47), 9:54 (45), 10:41 (47), 11:28 (47)

12:13 (45), 13:00 (47), 13:47 (47), 14:34 (47), 15:20 (46)

16:07 (47), 16:55 (48), 17:43 (48), 18:30 (47), 19:13.16 (43.16)

Kilometer splits: 3:46, 3:50, 3:54, 3:52, 3:53.16

11-Rachel Lichtenwalner 19:30.61 (indoor best)

43, 89 (46), 2:13 (44), 2:58 (45), 3:43 (45)

4:27 (44), 5:13 (46), 5:58 (45), 6:43 (35), 7:30 (47)

8:16 (46), 9:04 (48), 9:52 (48), 10:40 (48), 11:28 (48)

12:16 (48), 13:04 (48), 13:52 (48), 14:41 (49), 15:31 (50)

16:19 (48), 17:08 (49), 17:58 (50), 18:45 (47), 19:30.61 (45.61)

Kilometer splits: 3:43, 3:47, 3:58, 4:03, 3:59.61

Distance medley relay

2-Marist (Kristen Traub, Colleen Meenan, Christine Coughlin, Kathryn Sheehan) 12:21.84 (8 points)

Kristen Traub: 34, 70 (36), 1:47 (37), 2:26 (39), 3:04 (38), 3:41 (37)

Colleen Meenan: 29, 61.4

Christine Coughlin: 31, 66 (35), 1:43 (37), 2:23 (40)

Kathryn Sheehan: 36, 73 (37), 1:52 (39), 2:31 (39), 3:11 (40), 3:52 (41), 4:34 (42), 5:16 (42)

1,600-meter relay

4-Marist (Rebecca Denise 67.2, Katie McEvoy 69.6, Nicki Nesi 66.9, Erin Thompson 65.6) 4:29.76 (5 points)

Long jump

11-Nicole Scicolone 4.93 meters

Triple jump

11-Nicole Scicolone 9.31 meters

Women’s team standings

1 St. Peter’s 185.5, 2-Rider 164.5, 3-Manhattan 122.5, 4-Iona 59, 5-Loyola 50.5, 6-Marist 32

Looking ahead to IC4A/ECAC Championships

With no “last chance” meet on the schedule this year, our indoor season is over with the exception of the following qualifiers for the ECAC/IC4A meet in two weeks’ time in Boston:

Women’s 1,000-meter run: Kristen Traub (freshman)

Women’s mile: Kristen Traub (freshman)

Women’s 3,000-meter run: Michelle Gaye (sophomore)

Men’s 800-meter run: David Marthy (sophomore)

Men’s 1,000-meter run: David Marthy (sophomore)

Men’s 3,000-meter run: Will Griffin (graduate student)

Men’s 5,000-meter run: Will Griffin (graduate student), Quimes DelaCruz (senior)

Men’s 3,200-meter relay: Team members to be determined

Men’s distance medley relay: Team members to be determined

We will keep you updated as to which athletes will be running in the relays and in the individual events.

Noise.

I woke up this morning abruptly after five hours' sleep with a scratchy throat and a tired body, which had been up for nearly 22 hours before the five-hour nap (up at 5 a.m., as usual, on Friday; not to bed till about 3 a.m. today). Time waits for no one, and the morning after the long night at the Armory featured a trip to the bowling alley for my son James' regular league play, followed by a trip to Arlington High School for my daughter's big cheerleading competition (more on THAT in a little bit).

By the time I made it to early afternoon, my psyche had been shell-shocked by a nearly constant barrage of NOISE. For those who are not aware, the Armory -- a wonderful track venue -- is very LOUD. There is incessant MUSIC (yes, with Capital Letters), which makes energetic coaching (you know, yelling out splits and stuff ...) very challenging and requiring a coach like me to SCREAM OVER THE NOISE. Coupled with the fact that it was like 80 degrees in that building, and it was a draining night. Thus, the scratchy throat.

Fast forward to post-bowling (James bowled two games of 73, well above his average, NICELY DONE!) and the Cheerleading Competition. Have you ever been to a Cheerleading Competition? Well. OK. Let's assume you have not. Let me tell you: It is LOUD. There are a lot of shrieking young ladies. But there is also a DJ, bumping music very loudly. Did I mention that it was LOUD? So yeah. My auditory faculties have worked overtime, along with the rest of my body.

Working on the MAAC splits now, check back soon ...

MAAC Indoor Championships results

It was a long and emotionally draining night at the Armory. We had several noteworthy performances, numerous personal-best times and an overall solid showing. But, the MAAC meet being the MAAC meet, many races did not go true to form as athletes and teams employed strategies aimed at maximizing point totals, in some cases at the expense of strong marks in their respective events. It was great to see the large alumni turnout for the meet. I am too bleary eyed to type up the splits and other comments at this time. I will get to it when I can this weekend. Here are the results for our team:

MAAC Indoor Championships

Friday, February 15, 2013

Armory Track and Field Center

Women’s individual results

60-meter dash

17-Danielle Asaro 8.28

18-Nicole Scicolone 8.41

20-Alexia Santiago 8.60

21-Alex McCahill 8.88

200-meter dash

14-Danielle Asaro 26.83

19-Alexia Santiago 27.96

20-Colleen Meenan 28.54

800-meter run

7-Christine Coughlin 2:19.21

16-Catherine Ferreri 2:32.21

20-Lizzie Peper 2:39.74

Mile run

3-Kristen Traub 4:58.72 *ECAC qualifier

8-Kathryn Sheehan 5:16.41

11-Annie Gould 5:47.47

3,000-meter run

6-Nicki Nesi 10:31.51

7-Rebecca Denise 10:37.82

11-Brianna Freestone 11:01.50

14-Erin Thompson 11:08.00

15-Rachel Bremer 11:14.68

5,000-meter run

4-Katie Messina 18:04.58

9-Kelley Gould 19:13.16

11-Rachel Lichtenwalner 19:30.61

Distance medley relay

2-Marist (Kristen Traub, Colleen Meenan, Christine Coughlin, Kathryn Sheehan) 12:21.84

1,600-meter relay

4-Marist (Rebecca Denise, Katie McEvoy, Nicki Nesi, Erin Thompson) 4:29.76

Long jump

11-Nicole Scicolone 4.93 meters

Triple jump

11-Nicole Scicolone 9.31 meters

Women’s team standings

1 St. Peter’s 185.5, 2-Rider 164.5, 3-Manhattan 122.5, 4-Iona 59, 5-Loyola 50.5, 6-Marist 32

MAAC Indoor Championships

Friday, February 15, 2013

Armory Track and Field Center

Men’s individual results

60-meter dash

10-Tyler Schwarz 7.24

11-Darren Bushey 7.27

14-Jesse Aprile 7.33

60-meter hurdles

6-Alex Cunningham 8.42

10-Robert Marone 9.55

200-meter dash

11-Tyler Schwarz 23.29

12-Jesse Aprile 23.39

14-Alex Cunningham 23.73

15-Darren Bushey 23.94

400-meter dash

13-Zach Berzal 53.51

14-Robert Marone 54.43

15-Andrew James 54.54

17-Marc Cenicola 56.39

800-meter run

5-David Marthy 1:54.50 *IC4A qualifier

10-Matt Panebianco 1:59.42

12-Isaiah Miller 2:00.20

15-Bryan Buttigieg 2:02.28

19-Kyle Hannafin 2:03.46

Mile run

7-Nick Salek 4:18.39

10-Charlie Ropes 4:30.41

12-Billy Posch 4:34.83

3,000-meter run

2-Will Griffin 8:25.46 *IC4A qualifier

3-Arquimedes DelaCruz 8:28.35

9-Johnny Lee 8:52.32

10-Ryan Scrudato 8:53.02

13-Ian Dorset 9:10.92

5,000-meter run

5-Ken Walshak 15:02.78

7-Billy Hild 15:22.22

8-Joel Moss 15:26.38

10-Mark Valentino 15:49.23

Distance medley relay

3-Marist (Mark Vuono, Matt Panebianco, Ty Gamble, Pat Rynkowski) 10:34.57

1,600-meter relay

4-Marist (Robert Marone, Zach Berzal, Isaiah Miller, Connor Dodge) 3:39.35

Long jump

7-Andrew Rokoszak 5.85 meters

8-Aaron Kippins 5.11 meters

Triple jump

9-Andrew Rokoszak 12.60

Men’s team standings

1 Manhattan 159, 2-Rider 112, 3-St. Peter’s 104, 4-Iona 90, 5-Marist 29

The long view

I still continue to feel pangs of guilt for not being on Facebook and for not having a Smart Phone in which I can update the world on the doings of our program in real time. I see and hear of other coaches tweeting updates from their respective teams, live from the meets and their smart phones, almost the instant the result flashes on the scoreboard. And there I am, pencil and notebook in hand, taking down splits and typing them up in a blog many hours later. How very 2000s of me.

There are so many ways to get information out there instantaneously, that this blog at times almost feels like it is stuck in slow motion, especially on the eve of the MAAC Indoor Championships at the Armory. By the time I type things up at 3 a.m. Saturday, to post here, many of you will already know the results and perhaps even the splits. Despite this, I will continue slog along with the blog, as a matter of record. It doesn't matter how quickly I post things, as long as they get here eventually. So when I need to look it up in the future, it is recorded here. And I will continue to try to take the "long view," with some perspective and shoot-from-the-hip thoughts that don't fit concisely into a 140-character tweet. I will doggedly stick to the long-form writing that a blog allows, and hope that enough of you out there have patience to wait till I get home to type it up, or until the spirit moves me to post something (note that there are often several days' lapses between posts).

Looking forward to seeing some old friends at the Armory on Friday night.

Valentine's Day

Hey. Don't worry. This post will not be some heartfelt refrain to the love of my life. That's already been done, and does not need to be rehashed here in the blogosphere. Besides, Heidi doesn't read this blog! Instead, the big news in the Colaizzo household was that our youngest son James lost not one but TWO FRONT TEETH on the SAME DAY! Yeah. I know. Breaking news, right? The first one was at school. That tooth had been hanging by a thread for weeks. The second one was dislodged during CYO basketball clinic. Ah. The dangers of basketball! Haven't I talked about that?

Earlier in the week, we all had dinner and exchanged Christmas gifts (better late than never?) at the house of my former Poughkeepsie Journal colleague Sean McMann and his new wife. We got to see his new home at the start of his new marriage. And I remembered vaguely what the "First Valentine's Day as a Couple" was like, and how important and special it was. Now that I have been through more than 20 Valentine's Days with Heidi, I don't generally don't wait till Feb. 14 to do something special or treat her special. Especially since it might be possible on this given Feb. 14. After all, it was Thursday, which meant CYO clinic for James and cheer practice for Natalie ... not exactly the makings of a romantic evening. Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day.

MAAC indoor meet on Friday: Order of events

There has been a decent amount of interest from alums and friends about Friday's MAAC Indoor Championships at the Armory. Here is an order of events for the meet. As you can see, the meet is short and sweet: There are only 5 men's teams and 6 women's teams, so once it gets going, it moves FAST. Hope to see you there ...
Running Events
6:00pm Men’s 5000 M Run
6:20pm Women’s 5000 M Run
6:45pm Men’s 60 M Hurdles Trials
6:55pm Women’s 60 M Hurdles Trials
7:05pm Men’s 60 M Dash Trials
7:10pm Women’s 60 M Dash Trials
7:15pm Men’s Mile Run
7:25pm Women’s Mile Run
7:35pm Men’s 60 M Hurdles Finals
7:40pm Women’s 60 M Hurdles Finals
7:45pm Men’s 60 M Dash Finals
7:50pm Women’s 60 M Dash Finals
7:55pm Men’s 400 M Run
8:05pm Women’s 400 M Run
8:15pm Men’s 800 M Run
8:25pm Women’s 800 M Run
8:35pm Men’s 200 M Dash
8:45pm Women’s 200 M Dash
9:00pm Men’s 3000 M Run
9:15pm Women’s 3000 M Run
9:30pm Men’s Distance Medley Relay
9:45pm Women’s Distance Medley Relay
10:00pm Men’s 1600 Relay
10:05pm Women’s 1600 Relay
*-All Running Events are timed finals except Dash and Hurdles
Field Events
6:00pm Men’s 35lb Weight Throw
6:15pm Men’s and Women’s Long Jump
6:30pm Women’s Pole Vault
7:00pm Women’s 20lb Weight Throw
7:30pm Men’s Pole Vault
8:00pm Men’s and Women’s Triple Jump
8:00pm Men’s Shot Put
8:30pm Men’s and Women’s High Jump
9:15pm Women’s Shot Put

Notes from a Nor'easter

Here in the mid-Hudson Valley, it could have been a lot worse. Thank goodness we did not venture to Boston. That city, and its surroundings, are truly crushed by this major storm. No joke, it's pretty bad out there. In these parts, it was your basic, garden variety big snowstorm. No really strong winds or downed trees or power outages. Just a steady stream of snow. At no point during the evening did it seem to be coming down particularly heavy. Just steady.

When I went out in the predawn darkness to start shoveling, there was a lot of snow. I would say there was probably around a foot of snow. We had done two rounds of shoveling earlier on Friday and Friday night. With the help of my iPod, set on shuffle with the Allman Brothers and Gov't Mule, I dug out for a good 2.5 hours. High priority was digging out my old Subaru so I could go to the East Park Stewart's for my cup of coffee. Fortunately, I did not have to be too thorough with this, as the all wheel drive on that decrepit bucket of bolts really powers through the powder.

Again, as major storms go, this was pretty tame around here. We are fortunate for that. In terms of the impact on our team's training, we adapt and we get by. Yesterday morning, Coach Chuck reserved a bank of treadmills -- cleverly using mini-hurdles to keep others at bay -- so that many women and men could get their workouts done in the sweaty Fitness Center. A few women and men ventured outside for tempo or fartlek in the just-starting snow on midday Friday. We kept them on campus, which is as safe as it gets for winter running -- albeit quite boring. We have pushed off Saturday practice till 2 p.m. Trust me. There are no complaints with this! By then, things should be passable for a longer run as we prepare for MAACs next Friday.

A quick scan at www.accuweather.com shows that the Curse of Schanz continues this week, as winter trudges on in earnest: Freezing rain on Monday morning, and the potential for a pretty significant snow event late Wednesday into Thursday. Hey. It's February.

No Valentine: More thoughts on impending blizzard

The cancellation of the Valentine Invitational leaves a void in our schedule -- and, I'm sure, the schedules of many other teams around the region. It is a high quality meet; well-run, with excellent competition. Galen Rupp's near record run a few weeks ago has exposed to the nation what we have known all along: The BU track, and the meets at that track, are as good as it gets. Terrier and Valentine are the two centerpieces of our indoor track schedule. Losing Valentine cuts a hole in the season. Again, we are not alone in this. It happens. Nor'easters happen. Even storms with quaint, Disney-esque names like Nemo (Side note: Why did the Weather Channel, or whoever, decide it was important to start naming winter storms? Very annoying ...)

Now, we will switch into Weather Geek mode. I have been following this storm with moderate to intense interest all week. Weather Geeks know that the nuts and bolts of forecasting are "computer models." Most computer models did not forecast this mammoth storm that seems imminent until very recently. However, the "Euro Model" has drawn up this very scenario since Monday. It is the only one that has consistently called for this; it's also important to note that the Euro Model was the one that accurately predicted Sandy, both in the short- and long-term. It's kind of ironic that the best predictor of North American weather seems to be coming from another continent. But whatever. This storm has to be of epic proportions for a city like Boston -- well versed in winter weather -- to go into shutdown mode before a single flake flies.

And so we move on. We will retool for the MAAC meet next Friday and make the best of this situation. It's real easy to feel sorry for ourselves and the missed opportunities of what could have been a great meet. But before you do that, consider some folks who deserve real empathy:

--BU meet management, who had to deal with the stresses of preparing for mammoth event, fielding tense e-mails from coaches like us, and ultimately losing out on what is most likely a very profitable event.
--Out-of-area athletes and teams, that either flew into Boston and now likely will be stranded there for days, or teams that will have to eat hundreds or thousands of dollars in travel plans because of this. And have no race to show for it.
--All of our friends, acquaintances and alums in the Boston area and New England corridor, who will have to deal with several feet of heavy, wet snow and strong winds. May they stay safe and away from harm in dealing with it all.

Valentine meet at Boston University canceled

The Valentine Invitational has been canceled due to the impending major winter storm. While this is disappointing, it takes us off the hook in making what would have been a difficult decision. Based on some of the storm predictions, Boston is going to get clobbered by this storm. Staying away is a good idea. More thoughts later ...

Are there no boundaries in recruiting?

Listen. One of the things I strive to do in life is to be slow to pass judgment. It is a noble, Christian goal. Like most people, I do not always succeed at this. But I try. However, this morning, allow me to share an opinion on something I read today in the sports pages of Dutchess County's Finest Daily Newspaper. There was a story about some local athletes signing National Letters of Intent to continue their sport in college. I do not think any of them were track athletes, but that's not the point.

One of the athletes commented on how he received a call from a college coach in his sport with an offer to attend his school. The offer call was made on Christmas Day. As in: December 25. Really? Christmas? The kid was thrilled, considered it a "Christmas present" and called back later in the day to accept the offer. Good for him. Good for this kid, and I hope he has a great experience in college. But really? A recruiting call on Christmas morning? I have to admit that on Christmas morning, calling a prospective student-athlete was probably the last thing on my mind.

This week begins the NLI signing period in our sport, so offers are being made by coaches, and offers are being accepted or politely declined by prospective student-athletes. Here in the first full week of February, this is standard operating procedure. I know that recruiting can be a competitive, cut-throat game -- one that is a continuous cycle. Not to sound like Bill O'Reilly but ... on Christmas Day, shouldn't we all take a day off from that game every once in a while? Just a thought ...

Blizzard in Boston?

As a certified Weather Geek, I am sweating out this late week storm that looks like it may develop into a Nor'easter. We are heading to Boston for the Valentine Invitational. Boston is the nerve central for Nor'easters. We are working on contingency plans so that we have safe travels there and back. We are hopeful to get to the meet, but we will have to monitor the situation very closely. Stay tuned.

Look who's smiling in 1st place: Omar wins Winter Run

Marist freshman Omar Perez, all alone in first place at the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club Winter Run. Photo by Bob Kopac

Congrats to Marist freshman cross country team member Omar Perez of Poughkeepsie for winning the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club's Pete Sanfilippo Winter Run 5-miler at James Baird State Park in LaGrange on Sunday. Omar cruised to victory in the 5-mile race in 28:43, an average of 5:45 per mile. He was more than a minute ahead of the second-place finisher. We are very proud of Omar, who is cranking high mileage and getting ready to run some hopefully fast 10,000-meter races during the outdoor track season.

Armory Collegiate Invitational: Saturday results, 4x800 qualifies

For the first time in program history, our athletes have qualified for both the distance medley and 4x800 relays in the same season. The 4x800 team qualified tonight at the Armory in an extremely competitive race. OK. Let's be honest. Our team got last place. While that is something never to be happy with, the 12th place finish came with an IC4A mark of 7:50.78. And considering it was the same four athletes who ran the DMR less than 24 hours prior, their efforts are to be commended. We knew we might be in over our heads right from the gun. This relay went out FAST, much faster than Friday night's DMR. Coupled with the fact that two of our guys are sort of "fish out of water" in terms of dropping down to the relative sprint of the 800, and you get what you get. A qualifier? We'll take it. Here are today's results:

Armory Collegiate Inviational
Saturday, February 2, 2013
3,200-meter relay: 12. Marist 7:50.78
Arquimedes DelaCruz, 1:58.8: 28, 56 (28), 1:26 (30), 1:58.8 (32.8)
David Marthy, 1:56.1: 26, 54 (28), 1:24 (30), 1:56.1 (32.1)
Matt Panebianco, 1:57.1: 27, 55 (28), 1:25 (30), 1:57.1 (32.1)
Will Griffin, 1:58.2: 28, 56 (28), 1:26 (30), 1:58.2 (32.2)
Comments: You'll notice a distinct crash-and-burn trend to these splits, which is never good. We will have to work on that. In fairness, all four legs were chasing -- big time -- which leads to the over-aggressive start and struggle at the finish. Again, we appreciate these guys coming back on short rest to qualify and enable us, in theory, to bring more athletes to Boston next month.
College mile run
54. Nick Salek 4:26.02
32, 65 (33), 1:38 (33), 2:13 (35), 2:45 (32), 3:19 (34), 3:52 (33), 4:26.02 (34.02)
57. Mark Vuono 4:28.94
32, 65 (33), 1:38 (33), 2:13 (35), 2:47 (34), 3:21 (34), 3:55 (34), 4:28.94 (33.94)

Armory Collegiate Invitational: Friday night, DMR results

It was a night of near misses for our two distance medley relays. Our women’s team ran a strong time of 12:09.53, but it was just off the ECAC standard of 12:08.64. The plan is for us to make another run at the qualifying standard at the Valentine meet at Boston University next weekend. Our men’s team ran a very competitive race, placing third out of 16 teams in 10:05.61. This time fell just short of that elusive school record of 10:04.20, set at this meet back in 2009. Here are the details.

Women’s College DMR

17th of 21 teams: Marist, 12:09.53

Kristen Traub, 1200 leg in 3:42.5: 36, 72 (36), 1:50 (38), 2:28 (38), 3:06 (38), 3:42.5 (36.5)

Colleen Meenan, 400 leg in 62.4: Opening 200 in 29

Christine Coughlin, 800 leg in 2:19.8: 32, 67 (35), 1:44 (37), 2:19.8 (35.8)

Kathryn Sheehan, 1600 leg in 5:04.5: 35, 71 (36), 1:49 (38), 2:27 (38), 3:06 (39), 3:46 (40), 4:25 (39), 5:04.5 (39.5)

Comments: We were just a little off in every way in this relay; each leg was a little off its game, and that little bit was all it took. Our team members ran hard and ran competitive; we are proud of how they all competed out there tonight. With another week, we are hopeful to get the qualifying mark out of the way.

Men’s College DMR

3rd of 16 teams: Marist, 10:05.61

Arquimedes DelaCruz, 1200 leg in 3:07.0: 31, 63 (32), 1:34 (31), 2:05 (31), 2:36 (31), 3:07.0 (31.0)

Matt Panebianco, 400 leg in 51.8: Opening 200 in 24

David Marthy, 800 leg in 1:55.3: 27, 55 (28), 1:24 (29), 1:55.3 (31.3)

Will Griffin, 1600 leg in 4:11: 30, 61 (31), 1:33 (32), 2:04 (31), 2:36 (32), 3:09 (33), 3:40 (31), 4:11 (31)

Comments: The event was scratched down from two sections to one, and that alone was a contributing factor to our missing out on the record. The first leg of the relay was CROWDED and as a result did not go out as fast as it needed to go out. Quimes ran a smart and strong race, and did his best to keep the team competitive, which he did. But the entire field was relatively slow through the first leg, and we needed at least a 3:05 to have a strong shot at the record. Everybody on the relay did their jobs to the best of their ability and ran strong and competitive, placing third overall. We just fell a little shy of the school mark.

We have a quick turnaround back down to the city in the morning, for the mile run. Then, these same four men will run in the 4x800 relay in the afternoon.

Friday's practice: Using Mother Nature as a training tool

Our 11 a.m. practice with the middle distance and long distance men today consisted of a tempo run and/or fartlek run on the Hudson Valley Rail Trail in Highland. Being Feb. 1, it was cold and windy. Emphasis on windy. The wind coming out of the west was strong and chilly. Because the trail runs east-west, this meant that going out our guys were running into a direct headwind. But coming back toward the Walkway bridge, it was a very distinct tailwind.

The small tempo group of Kenny, Datos and Big Man Moss basically turned the 5-mile tempo into a 5-mile progression run, based on the conditions. They got good benefit out of this workout, and they had splits worth bragging about. NICELY DONE. The Schanzinator fartlek (2 sets of 5-3-1) group got a great effort-based workout. And the middle distance group probably benefited the most from the tailwind conditions. They did a "Schanz" fartlek set of 5-3-1 (5-minutes hard, 4-minutes recovery; 3-minutes hard, 2-minutes recovery, 1-minute hard), followed by a full recovery, and then 5x1-minute very hard and 1-minute recovery.

The 5x1-1 was done with the wind at their back. This enabled them to go faster (obviously), but also to work on their turnover -- with great help from Mother Nature. Oftentimes, we will see athletes from other teams working with our Strength and Conditioning coach, Jon Clancy, on quick burst of speed with the aid of rubber tubing to accentuate the turnover and speed -- basically, pulling them to go even faster. Well, the wind did this for these guys, without any fancy strength equipment. Sometimes Mother Nature provides us with all that we need.

Armory Collegiate Invitational: Friday's early results

We had two men's track athletes at the Armory Collegiate Invitational this morning. Here are there results.
60-meter hurdles
18-Alex Cunningham 8.72 seconds
39 athletes in the event
60-meter dash
55-Jesse Aprile 7.44 seconds
60 athletes in the event

Later this evening, we have athletes in the women's DMR and the men's DMR.