Ski trip: Deedy is off the hook

 Here are a few photos from a ski trip organized by Deedy last week. Being the nervous, paranoid coach, I was of course not in favor of our guys skiing and snowboarding for fear of injury. But, I gotta let these guys live a little. I told Deedy, the athletic training major and go-to guy on the team in terms of injury diagnosis, that if anyone got hurt on the slopes or while snowboarding, I was going after him. He reported that, other than some soreness no one got hurt. So yeah, he's off the hook. Merry Christmas to one and all.

By the numbers, revisited ... Datos to Disney?

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's holiday time here so don't expect too much here. As a quick addendum to the last post about Ryan Scrudato's XC total mileage: His season's total adds up to almost the exact distance it would take to travel from the Marist campus to Disney World in Florida. That's a long way on two feet ...

By the numbers ... Datos comes up all 1s

Got a great text from senior XC captain Ryan Scrudato. Ever the meticulous monitor of his training, and ever the hard worker, Datos noted that from the first day of preseason to the last step of his IC4A cooldown -- a three-month stretch that constitutes the entirety of our cross country season -- our fearless leader recorded exactly 1,111 miles.

For those keeping score at home (and I KNOW you are):  For the 14-week period, if I am doing the math correctly, that adds up to approximately 11 miles per day for 98 days. That's a lot of 1s. Nicely done.

The mighty flip phone

It's a long story as to why I was down there this afternoon, but I found myself outside of Gillis Field House at West Point for a high school winter track meet. The timing of the meet was in question, so everyone was on a phone trying to figure things out. There were high school coaches wandering around the parking lot with their SMART phones, searching for enough signal to make a call. They could not garner enough cell signal in the mountainous area around USMA to make a call.

Hey! Over here! The old guy with the FLIP phone. Got two bars! Ha! The young coaches put their SMART phones away and returned to the early 2000s to use this guy's FLIP phone. For once, I was the "smart" guy in the room.

Will and Vess: Still chasin' it after all these years ...

Love this photo, poached from Facebook, from club nationals. In the foreground is Vess, running for his Flagstaff team. In the chase pack is Will Griffin, wearing the black and yellow (black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow) of the Garden State Track Club. These guys have been racing with each other for a long time -- first in Connecticut, when Will was a star at East Catholic and Vess was killin' it at Xavier, and then together at Marist, and now as postgraduates.

Club nationals results for Marist alums

Thanks to Nick Webster for sharing this photo of our beloved Red Foxes who ran out at the USATF Club Nationals in Bend, Ore., on Saturday. The 10,000-meter course was so rugged and muddy that some of the best teams and athletes in the country decided to take a pass on such a challenge. Our guys ran well:

--Will Griffin (Garden State Track Club) was 119th overall in 33:59. He was third man on his team, which placed 19th out of 50 teams in the field. He is on the far left in the photo

--Adam Vess (Team Run Flagstaff) was 122nd overall, one tick behind Will in 34:00. Vess was sixth man on his team, which placed an impressive third overall. He is on the far right in the photo.

--Web (Albany Running Exchange) was 257th overall in 36:05. There were only three ARE runners in the race, so they did not factor into the scoring.

Club nationals: Marist alums will be there

As we prepare to shovel snow as the season's first major storm takes aim at the Northeast, we will be thinking of our Marist Running alums who will be in Bend, Ore., on Saturday for the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships. Among the alums to be present there, that I know of:

--Will Griffin, representing Garden State Track Club
--Adam Vess, representing Run Flagstaff Elite
--Nick Webster, representing Albany Running Exchange

We are hopeful that Vess, Will and Web will do well over the 10,000-meter XC course up there, against the best our country has to offer. We are proud of them, now and always. If any other alums will be there, I apologize for the omission here. Let me know ... 

'Tis the season for ... The Nutcracker!

For those that are on Facebook, sorry for the double-dip with this photo. Yesterday, my youngest son James and I went to see The Nutcracker at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in downtown Poughkeepsie. It was a "field trip" for James and his second-grade class, and I was more than happy to chaperone. It made me 3-for-3 in the chaperone-to-The Nutcracker department, as I was fortunate enough to do the same for Joey and Natalie when they had similar field trips.

The field trips usually happen around final exam time or beyond, times when we have a little more flexibility with the schedule. I was late for 11 a.m. practice on Thursday, and I stunned the team by showing up in the green flannel shirt you see in this photo. They are so used to me being in Marist Track gear that it was startling indeed.

The show was great; I did not fall asleep during the performance, a sure barometer that it was short enough and entertaining enough for me, and for 8-year-olds. James and his second-grade friends had a lot of fun. Happy Holidays.

Throwback Thursday: My first Marist singlet

I've noticed on Facebook something called "Throwback Thursday" where people post old photos. Well, here at Blog Central, we decided to take part. At least for this week, because I found this old singlet in my closet. It was my first-ever racing singlet at Marist circa 1982, under my first coach Bob Mayerhofer who is now a neighbor in Hyde Park. It was a size small and it was a thin nylon singlet made by Dolfin. Nike Drifit? NOT!

Once again, my daughter Natalie took this photo with her iPod. For some reason, a mismatched pair of her socks made it into the photo. Very artistic, huh?

The winter beard at 2 weeks

Remember that post from a few weeks ago? Well. OK. Here's the update on the 100-day Winter Beard. You can see the non-selfie photo (notice: no duck lips) taken by my daughter Natalie on her iPod. The beard's coming in. And it's gray. No breaking news on either part. Oh yeah. Not much hair under that Runner's Edge hat, either. Again. No breaking news there either.

For those keeping score at home: I actually started the beard on Thanksgiving, since Heidi wanted me clean-shaven for our fancy dinner. Fair enough. To make things interesting, on the morning before Thanksgiving I went to my barber Sal, and he buzzed my hair down to the skin. So we'll go 100 days and see what grows faster. Smart money is on the beard growing faster than the stuff under the Runner's Edge hat.

Remember, as stated in the original post I am taking donations for Dimes For Downs on my Winter Beard and will convert all donations to dimes to give to that wonderful cause.

BU Season Opener: Relay fun

It was the perfect scenario for an early-season meet, created by Coach Terry Horton. Ironically enough, Coach Horton was not there to see his masterful creation. Alas, he had to leave Saturday’s Season Opener meet at Boston University for a family commitment back in Poughkeepsie.

The deal was this: Two 4x400-meter relay teams, allowing our sprinters to get some work in, while auditioning for spots on future relay teams. Terry tried to put the teams together as equally as possible. Geez. We know Papa T is pretty good … but no one could have planned it THIS good. Especially in absentia! He came within three one-hundreths of a second of a perfect tie! In fact, it was so close that from my vantage point trackside -- fumbling with my two watches as I tried my best to get the splits for both relays – I could not tell who won. Good stuff!

As the relay unfolded, it did not seem the finish would be this dramatic. Both opening legs ran well, but freshman Matt Edwards (50.7-second leg) edged freshman Tim Johnson (52.2-second leg, on his third race of the day) by a sizable margin. Then, Team B’s second leg, senior Connor Dodge, started out very slowly and was gapped by a large margin by Team A’s second leg, sophomore Zach Berzal. It looked like no-contest as Team A was pulling away. But alas, Dodge came back with his usual strong second lap and basically kept the gap the same by clocking a 53.3-second leg to Zach’s 52.8-second leg.

As the third leg started, Team A began to assert its dominance again as sophomore hurdler Alex Cunningham bolted out to a 23-high first lap. Alex apparently forgot that 400 meters is TWO LAPS on an indoor track, and that proverbial imaginary piano was lowered onto his back over the last 80 or so meters. This allowed hard-charging freshman Kyle Heubner to close the gap and edge out Alex in the split (53.1 to 53.6).

Team A anchor, freshman Nestor Taylor, had what appeared to be a comfortable lead on Team B anchor, freshman Nate Lungarini. Add to this the fact that Nate had just finished the 1,000-meter run, his first time at that distance, less than an hour prior to the relay. It was the primary reason Coach Horton put him on the anchor – to get a few more minutes’ rest. Nate didn’t need it. He came blasting through the final lap and posted an eye-popping 51.5-second leg. Nestor ran strong at 53.1 seconds. But Nate stole the show with his killer double.

Kyle Heubner, Nate’s teammate back at Simsbury High in Connecticut, warned us before the race that Nate liked to double and was good at it. Indeed he was. And, as you can tell by the classes of our relay runners (five freshmen, two sophomores, one senior), we are just getting to know them as well. Which is exactly the point of a season-opening meet.

1,600-meter relay

10. Marist B (Tim Johnson 52.2, Connor Dodge 53.3, Kyle Heubner 53.1, Nate Lungarini 51.5) 3:30.47

11. Marist A (Matt Edwards 50.7, Zach Berzal 52.8, Alex Cunningham 53.6, Nestor Taylor 53.1) 3:30.50

BU Season Opener: Women's results and splits

Here are the positive numbers from today's strong start to the season ...

Boston University Season Opener

Boston University Track and Tennis Center

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Women’s results

60-meter dash

10. Danielle Asaro 8.11 *school record (old record, 8.19 by Asaro, January 2012)

15. Amanda Luccarelli 8.22

16. Ashley Haynes 8.30

18. Meaghan Gillespie 8.60

200-meter dash

32. Ashley Haynes 26.79

33. Danielle Asaro 26.81

40. Amanda Luccarelli 27.65

42. Meaghan Gillespie 27.98

44. Alex McCahill 28.49

400-meter dash

11. Courtney Cartwright 1:03.02

14. Katie McEvoy 1:07.01

800-meter run

2. Molly Weeks 2:18.07

32, 66 (34), 1:40 (34), 2:18.07 (38.07)

5. Jackie Gamboli 2:24.27

33, 69 (36), 1:47 (38), 2:24.27 (37.27)

8. Lauren Traina 2:43.90

34, 72 (38), 1:57 (45), 2:43.90 (45.90)

Mile run

8. Jackie Gamboli 5:29.89

36.6, 74.8 (38.2), 1:55.5 (40.7), 2:37.8 (42.3), 3:20.3 (42.5), 4:03.6 (43.3), 4:47.0 (43.4), 5:29.89 (42.89)

3,000-meter run

18. Brianne Vess 10:56.82

39.8, 81.6 (41.8), 2:05.2 (43.6), 2:47.6 (42.4), 3:30.5 (42.9)

4:13.2 (42.7), 4:55.8 (42.6), 5:39.2 (43.4), 6:23.7 (44.5), 7:07.8 (44.1)

7:53.2 (45.4), 8:39.9 (46.7), 9:27.7 (47.8), 10:15.2 (47.5), 10:56.82 (41.62)

Kilometer splits: 3:30.5, 3:37.3, 3:49.02

60-meter hurdles

14. Alex McCahill 10.43

1,600-meter relay

10. Marist (Amanda Luccarelli 63.9, Molly Weeks 58.9, Courtney Cartwright 62.9, Danielle Asaro 63.9) 4:09.89

High jump

14. Siobhan Pokorney 1.35 meters (4 feet, 5 inches)

BU Season Opener: Men's results and splits

Great start to track season. Here are the numbers ...

Boston University Season Opener

Boston University Track and Tennis Center

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Men’s results

60-meter dash

12. Jesse Aprile 7.29

21. Tim Johnson 7.52

24. Joe Cafaro 7.69

200-meter dash

12. Jesse Aprile 23.01

21. Tim Johnson 23.56

24. Joe Cafaro 24.25

400-meter dash

7. Matt Edwards 50.25

18. Connor Dodge 53.18

800-meter run

6. Kyle Heubner 1:58.88

29, 59 (30), 1:28 (29), 1:58.88 (30.88)

7. Mark Vuono 1:58.95

28, 58 (30), 1:28 (30), 1:58.95 (30.95)

10. Zach Berzal 2:00.95

28, 58 (30), 1:29 (31), 2:00.95 (31.95)

12. Nestor Taylor 2:02.90

30, 62.06 (32.06), 1:32.17 (30.11), 2:02.90 (30.73)

1,000-meter run

4. Nate Lungarini 2:35.49

29.77, 60.75 (30.98), 1:31.66 (30.91), 2:03.40 (31.74), 2:35.49 (32.09)

3,000-meter run

15. Stefan Morton 9:08.23

37, 74 (37), 1:50 (36), 2:26 (36), 3:02 (36)

3:38 (36), 4:15 (37), 4:52 (37), 5:28 (36), 6:04 (36)

6:42 (38), 7:18 (36), 7:56 (38), 8:33 (37), 9:08.23 (35.23)

Kilometer splits: 3:02, 3:02, 3:04.23

18. Billy Posch 9:12.94

37, 74 (37), 1:50 (36), 2:26 (36), 3:02 (36)

3:38 (36), 4:15 (37), 4:52 (37), 5:29 (37), 6:05 (36)

6:44 (39), 7:22 (38), 8:01 (39), 8:38 (37), 9:12.94 (34.94)

Kilometer splits: 3:02, 3:03, 3:07

19. Spencer Johnson 9:24.52

38, 74 (36), 1:50 (36), 2:26 (36), 3:02 (36)

3:38 (36), 4:15 (37), 4:52 (37), 5:29 (37), 6:06 (37)

6:45 (39), 7:24 (39), 8:04 (40), 8:44 (40), 9:24.52 (40.52)

Kilometer splits: 3:02, 3:04, 3:18

60-meter hurdles

2. Alex Cunningham 8.39

1,600-meter relay

10. Marist B (Tim Johnson 52.2, Connor Dodge 53.3, Kyle Heubner 53.1, Nate Lungarini 51.5) 3:30.47

11. Marist A (Matt Edwards 50.7, Zach Berzal 52.8, Alex Cunningham 53.6, Nestor Taylor 53.1) 3:30.50

Long jump

10. Andrew Rokoszak 5.73 meters (18 feet, 9.75 inches)

BU Season Opener: Danielle Asaro sets school record in 60-meter dash!

It was a fantastic season opener for our indoor track team. As noted in a previous post, Coach Horton's sprint crew has been going after it in a big way this semester, and it was nice to see immediate dividends. Usually, in these December meets, we are looking to set a tone. Well, the tone was set, all right -- highlighted by junior Danielle Asaro's school-record dash in the 60 meters. Danielle sprinted to a time of 8.11 seconds, which eclipsed her own school mark of 8.19 seconds set two seasons ago at the Gotham Cup in January 2012. You can see Danielle and several members of the sprint crew in the photo above. Complete results to follow ...

BU Season Opener: Katie Messina's superb 5km race

She's wearing a new uniform, and running for a new team, and she was listed as "Kate" in the results. But our Forever Fox, Katie Messina, was surrounded by her Marist Running Family once again -- as she had been for the past four years -- at Boston University on Saturday morning at the BU Season Opener. Katie, who graduated in May, is now living in the Boston area and running for New Balance Boston. And running quite well!

Running in the slower heat of the 5,000-meter run on Saturday morning, Katie crushed it. She raced solo in the three-woman race, leading by a lot from wire to wire, and nearly ran a PR. Her splits were the usual clockwork methodical -- her first half and second half were almost identical, and her kilometer splits had very little variance. After the evening heat, which included several NCAA qualifying marks, Katie wound up 7th overall. Anyway ... we look forward to seeing Katie at future Boston meets.

5,000-meter run

7-Kate Messina (New Balance Boston) 17:41.38

39.2, 80.6 (41.4), 2:03.0 (42.4), 2:45.3 (42.3), 3:27.8 (42.5)

4:10.6 (42.8), 4:53.2 (42.6), 5:35.8 (42.6), 6:18.4 (42.6), 7:01.2 (42.8)

7:44.3 (43.1), 8:27.2 (42.9), 9:10.3 (43.1), 9:53.4 (43.1), 10:36.6 (43.2)

11:19.9 (43.3), 12:03.1 (43.2), 12:46.2 (43.1), 13:29.2 (43.0), 14:12.3 (43.1)

14:54.8 (42.5), 15:37.8 (43.0), 16:20.3 (42.5), 17:01.7 (41.4)

17:41.38 (39.68)

First 2500 meters: 8:50

Second 2500 meters: 8:51.38

Kilometer splits: 3:27.8, 3:33.4, 3:35.4, 3:35.7, 3:29.08

Changing seasons, shifting gears

This is always an odd time of year for us. We are stuck in a kind of purgatory between seasons, despite the fact that we do have a meet on Saturday -- our first indoor track meet of the season up at Boston University. This year's calendar provides an interesting oddity. Thanksgiving was LATE. As a result, we have one week of classes and regular practice (this week), followed by final exams (next week) and then ... BOOM! ... the semester is over. Usually, there is an extra week in there -- two weeks of classes, then finals -- so the distance runners have time to regroup and begin their ramping up for track. This truncated period makes it a strange time.

However, for our dedicated track athletes -- the men and women who have been working hard for the past two-plus months with Coach Horton -- we are eagerly awaiting this first meet. The term "champing at the bit" comes to mind. There was a period in my coaching career, quite a while ago, when the end of XC and the beginning of track left me in a funk. No more. I'm fired up for track. Big time. These athletes have been going after it -- at North Field, on the hills, at the track and in the weight room -- and it will be fun to see them get going up at BU. We were able to enjoy some unusually nice weather at the Vassar track on Wednesday -- it wasn't windy! -- for the last time this semester.

But again ... it's an odd time. After this meet, we have more than a month before our next competition, and 3-4 weeks off from daily practice due to the holiday break. The shortened version of this post-Thanksgiving/pre-Christmas period makes it more unusual this year. Soon enough, we will be in the full-mode track grind in January. Should be fun.

'Tis the season ...

Thanks to Bob Lynch, the director of student activities at Marist, for sharing this photo with me. It was taken after Mass on Sunday evening at the Chapel on campus. Much to our pleasant surprise, following the 7 p.m. service, the annual "tree lighting" ceremony took place. Bob asked our three children to pose in front of the tree and form a silhouette with their arms, which is what they did. It was a thrill to see this tree being lit for the first time. Because of our busy schedules this fall, we have been regulars at the "late" Mass -- and we are glad to have made the change. We get to see several members of our team there, and we get to hear junior Mark Valentino playing the piano so well.

'Tis the season ...