Alumni wedding on a holiday weekend

The joyous occasion was the wedding of Marist Running Alum Bryan Dixon (B-Dix) on Saturday night in Poughkeepsie. How convenient! We have been to many alumni weddings through the years, and God willing we look forward to many more in the near future as well. But attending one just 10 minutes from home is a pure joy. Speaking of pure joy: There is nothing like seeing our former athletes, all grown up and successful and clearly still knowing how to have a GOOD TIME. As you can see in this picture.

For those keeping score at home (and I know you are!), since I was flying solo -- and driving solo – my beverages on this evening were limited to water (early) and coffee (later). My young companions were not so restricted in their choices, and that became more and more apparent as the night wore on. It was so great to catch up with them – reminisce about the old times when they were record-setting runners or just plain good citizens of our program (and, rest assured, they were both), and now to hear all about their grown-up lives. Make no mistake, this is a high achieving group of young men – several lawyers and soon-to-be lawyers; an NYPD detective; a proud, second-generation FDNY; successful coaches and teachers … just plain good guys of whom it is so easy to be proud.

I’m surrounded in the above picture by Marist track brothers for life: Quinn, Bambi, Rolek, Scotty La, Maynes, DJ. The smaller photo is, we believe, the groom riding high on the dance floor with his former teammates whooping it up. It was a great night filled with great people. Love them all.

A stellar freshman half marathon!

OK, it's not a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, but it still counts: Freshman Matt Baffuto had a nice “cool down” from his strong first collegiate XC season by winning his hometown Pelham Half Marathon on Saturday. And when I say “winning,” that’s an understatement! Matt covered the rolling 13.1-mile course in 1:14:01, an average of 5:39 per mile. He finished miles ahead of the competition, as the second-place finisher was 12 minutes, 12 seconds behind. Nicely done!

Turkey Trot: Pat and Lizzy in Maryland

Marist Running Alum (wow, weird to write that!) Pat Rynkowski was second overall at the Y Turkey Trot 5K in Towson, Md., in 16:24.4. 

Senior captain Lizzy Peper was first in her age group of 26th overall in 20:44.0. There were 2,512 finishers in the race. 

Turkey Trot: Michelle and Kerry in Dallas

Freshman Kerry Gaye spent Thanksgiving in Dallas, visiting her sister Michelle and Joel Moss, and she had a great 5K to show for it at the Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot. Kerry was 38th overall and second in the 16-19 division in 20:06. There were 2,700 finishers in the 5K. Michelle was third OVERALL in the women's race and 43rd overall among all finishers in the 8-mile race in 48:58. There were 3,000 finishers in that race. 

Turkey Trot: Lots of Marist at York, PA!

Marist Running was extremely well-represented at the York YMCA Turkey Trot in York, Pa. 

Alum Billy Posch was seventh overall and second in the 20-24 in 16:10.69. 

Alum Kenny Walshak was 18th overall and fifth in 20-24 in 17:09.10. 

Senior captain Annie Gould was fourth in 20-24 and 102nd overall in 20:02.94. 

Alum Kelley Gould was eighth in 20-24 and 281 st overall, outkicking her dad Chris, who was 11th in the 50-54 and 288th overall. 

Kell ran 22:24.58 and Chris ran 22:26.67. There were 4,780 finishers in the race. 

Turkey Trot: Buttigiegs at Massapequa

Congrats to Marist Running Alum Bryan “Gregg” Buttigieg and his dad, Sam, for their second-place age group finishes at the Massapequa Turkey Trot. Gregg was seventh overall and second of 98 in his age group in 17:27.8, and Sam was 107th overall and second of 93 in his age group in 22:24.8. There were 1,699 finishers. 

Turkey Trot: Deet second at Garden City

Several current XC team members excelled at the Garden City Turkey Trot 5-miler. Sophomore Dietrich Mosel was second overall in 25:53.6. Sophomore Joe Miller was sixth overall in 26:35.9. Senior Ricky Willi was 15 th in 28:15.0. Freshman Eamonn Beers was 38th in 30:09.2. There were 3,630 finishers in the race. 

Turkey Trot: Christine Coughlin second in age group at Troy

Grad student Christine Coughlin was second in her age group and 53rd overall out of 4,339 finishers at the Troy Turkey Trot 5K in 18:39. Christine is coming off an outstanding XC season and she is looking to finish strong in her final two track seasons.

Turkey Trot: Valentino third in Smithtown

Grad student Mark Valentino placed third overall out of 865 finishers at the Smithtown Kickers 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. His time was 16:03. Mark is preparing for his final two track seasons at Marist. 

Turkey Trot: Bianca at Port Washington

Junior Bianca Luparello was second in her age group (27th overall) at the Port Washington Turkey Trot 5-miler in 32:40. There were 2,571 finishers in the race. 

Turkey Trot: Katie Messina, sub-18!

At the James P. Hinchliffe 5K run/walk for ALS in Glens Falls, Marist Running Alum Katie Messina proved she is returning to excellent form by placing fourth overall and first in the women’s race in 17:57.3. Her brother, Gary, was the overall winner in 17:25.0. There were 451 finishers in the race. 

Turkey Trot: Will Griffin at Manchester

Marist Running Alum Will Griffin was 42nd overall out of 12,421 finishers at the famous Manchester Road Race in Connecticut, covering the 4.748-mile course in 24:42, an average of 5:12 per mile. This might be the biggest and most famous of all Turkey Trots in the country. 

Turkey Trots: Runners, runners everywhere

It's difficult to quantify, but I would have to say that Thanksgiving might be, collectively, one of the biggest road racing days of the year in the United States. Turkey Trots are ubiquitous -- so many towns big and small seem to have their own Thanksgiving morning races, usually 5Ks. The next several posts will detail the many Turkey Trot races that members of the Marist Running family took part in over the past weekend. I'm sure there are some races and results that I missed here too. If so! Please let me know and I will add it to the ever-growing list. Thanks to those who submitted pictures (or some pix that I poached from Facebook). OK!

Fare thee well, old coach and runner

As we all know, the ECAC/IC4A meet is the “end of the line” for our senior cross country runners. As such, there is always a lot of emotion at Van Cortlandt Park for their final XC race. In most cases, our XC runners have track seasons to look forward to, and sometimes even a fifth year of track as well. So while it is tinged with sadness, because it is the last XC race, it’s not the actual last race in a Marist uniform.

Pat Rynkowski is one exception to that. Pat returned for his fifth year for just this fall XC season, as he will be completing his degree requirements next month. As a result, Saturday’s IC4A meet was truly the end of the line for Pat, a loyal and dedicated team member for the past four-plus years. He will be the first to admit that there have been many ups and downs along the road, but Pat stayed the course and got to the finish line – literally and figuratively – of his collegiate running career. And he did it well, as a key contributing member to an upstart and resurgent 2015 XC team. Pat matured in many ways during his time here, and his positive influence was felt on a day-to-day basis at practice. More than anything, that’s what I will miss as an old coach.

Speaking of old coaches … it was so great to see Patrick’s high school coach, the legendary Mike Glynn of Ridgewood (NJ), make it out to Vanny to watch his final race. Like many of his former runners, Pat has stayed in frequent contact with Coach Glynn. There were times, especially early in his Marist career, where Patrick received a nice tongue lashing from Coach Glynn over the phone for various transgressions on and off the track. Coach Glynn laid the groundwork for Patrick’s success, and so it was fitting that he was here to see him through to the finish. By the way! Congrats to Coach Glynn for his upcoming induction into Armory Coaches Hall of Fame (see story here)!

Here is a picture of Pat with his brother (who ran for Coach Glynn at Ridgewood) and the truly old coach (sorry, Mike, I couldn’t resist!). Thanks to Coach Glynn for all he has done for the countless athletes like Pat through six decades holding a stopwatch in Northern New Jersey.

VCP All-Time list, updated through 2015

With the 2015 XC season now concluded, it's time to update the all-time Van Cortlandt Park 5-mile record list, with the cutoff time of 26:30. There are now 41 men on the list. This generation of men's XC runners does not have as many opportunities to get on the list, since so few of our meets are at Vanny anymore. There was a time when most to all of our championships, and several invitationals, were on this course. Regardless, it's a good journey through the history of our program. And most notably and important to me, many of the alumni men on this list were back on Saturday to watch the current team race. 

Van Cortlandt Park, All-Time Sub-26:30 list

1-Girma Segni 25:01.4, 09/2008

2-Will Griffin 25:03.4, 10/2011

3-Matt Flint 25:04.0, 10/2011

4-Mike Melfi 25:11, 10/1998

5-David Raucci   25:13, 11/2008

6-Arquimedes DelaCruz 25:17, 11/2011

7-Jerry Scholder 25:25, 11/1976

8-Conor Shelley 25:33.8, 09/2008

9-Kirk Dornton  25:38.1, 11/2002

10-Ken Walshak 25:47.8, 11/2010

11-Tim Keegan 25:49, 11/2008

12-Don Reardon 25:51, 10/1987

13-Mike Nehr 25:52.2, 11/2001

14-Pete Pazik 25:54, 09/1984

15-Ben Hefferon 25:58.6, 11/1998

16-Jason Grady 26:02.8, 09/2000

17-Matt Cole 26:02.9, 10/1978

18-Jamal Padgett 26:03.5, 11/2001

19-Greg Salamone 26:03.9, 10/1999

20-Mike Rolek 26:04.0, 09/2007

21-Ron Gadziala 26:05.2, 10/1978

22-David Swift 26:07, 09/1994

23-Ryan Colabella 26:08.2, 11/2012

24-Justin Harris 26:10.9, 11/2006

25-Johnny Lee 26:12.4, 11/2014

26-Geoff Decker 26:12.5, 10/2003

27-Curtis Jensen 26:12.6, 11/2009

28-Bob Coufal 26:14, 11/1977

29-Adam Vess 26:14.2, 10/2009

30-Fred Kolthay 26:15    , 11/1976

31-Glen Middleton 26:15, 10/1984

32-Steve Hicks 26:18, 10/2004

33-John Keenan 26:18.4, 10/2006

34-Pat Driscoll 26:18.6, 11/2001

35-Tom Lipari 26:19.1, 10/2011

36-Spencer Johnson 26:19.4, 11/2015

37-Marty Feeney 26:23, 10/1992

38-Dietrich Mosel 26:23.2, 11/2015

39-Brian Townsend 26:27.5, 10/2011

40-Tom Williams 26:27.8, 11/2006

41-Pat Rynkowski  26:28.7, 11/2014

Marist Running at Philly Marathon

Congrats to Marist Running Alums Ryan Brown (3:03:42) and Tom Lipari (3:12:35) for their successful completion of Sunday’s Philadelphia Marathon. 

It was Tommy’s first marathon and he got a nice introduction to the The Wall, but we give him credit for getting through it and finishing strong and with pride. 

Browny and Tommy cruised through the first half together in 1:31:24, with Browny maintaining a nice, steady 7:00 pace to the finish. Great race for both of them. Nicely done!

ECAC Championships: Women's University Division results

A few thoughts and highlights on a memorable finish for our seniors and just an all-around great day for the entire team:

--This was our second-ever ECAC University Division Championship for the women. The other was in 2009. The men won the University Division way back in 2000.

--We had four (4!) All-East (top-25 finishers) runners.

--Our women overcame the loss of varsity runners Kristen Traub and Janelle Solviletti, both of whom did not race due to injury.

--Our women were fourth last year, so this is a three-place improvement.

--Our women in the Coaches Race (JV) really set the tone with strong performances and a first-place team standing in that race. 

ECAC Championships, University Division

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY

Women’s team standings

1-Marist 80, 2. Stony Brook 103, 3. Monmouth 121, 4. Sacred Heart 127, 5. Fordham 128, 6. Holly Cross 131, 7. Northeastern 131, 8. Siena 223, 9. St. John’s 224, 10. Manhattan 244, 11. St. Francis 269, 12. Central Connecticut 288, 13. Fairfield 366, 14. Colgate 397, 15. Seton Hall 477, 16. Binghamton 481, 17. Canisius 486

Women’s individual results

7-Mara Schiffhauer 18:39.6 *ECAC All East

8. Nicki Nesi 18:40.0 *ECAC All East

12. Emily Burns 18:48.7 *ECAC All East

19. Elizabeth Wasserman 19:00.8 *ECAC All East

35. Jenna Robinson 19:18.3

48. Mariah Christian 19:28.3

57. Christine Coughlin 19:36.8

74. Annie Gould 19:59.9

75. Marissa Porter 20:00.7

79. Brianne Vess 20:06.4

85. Kim Schwartz 20:14.0

159 finishers

Coaches Race (JV runners)

4. Shea Bohan 20:27.7

7. Lizzy Peper 20:36.0

8. Bianca Luparello 20:37.9

10. Roxy Novo 20:44.2

11. Emily Franko 20:45.3

12. Kerri-Anne Flynn 20:51.8

13. Jordan Casey 20:54.4

15. Jackie Bunce 20:58.5

29. Olivia Lappas 21:32.6

31. Christine Gambell 21:36.2

32. Jaime Durso 21:38.2

35. Shannon Gildea 21:47.7

36. Jessica Howe 21:47.9

37. Mariella Bilello 21:50.8

47. Allie Dellicarri 22:48.3

49. Kristie Licursi 22:59.3

59. Catherine Ferreri 24:37.5

50 finishers

Coaches Race team standings

1-Marist 26, 2-Fordham 38, 3-Sacred Heart 101, 4-St. Joseph’s 103, 5. Holy Cross 109

IC4A Championships: Men's University Division results

A few highlights and thoughts on today:
--Three All-East finishers in a very competitive and deeper than normal University Division field

--Spencer Johnson moves up to #36 all-time on the Marist/VCP list (cutoff 26:30). 

--Dietrich Mosel becomes the 41st runner in school history to break 26:30 at the Van Cortlandt Park course. He is 38th on the list.

--For a team that consistently put out superior efforts and overachieved all year, this was a great, feel-good finish to the season. Onward to track and field now, men!

  

IC4A Championships, University Division

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, NY

Men’s team standings

1-Northeastern 77, 2. Rutgers 114, 3. Marist 121, 4. Stony Brook 127, 5. Fordham 151, 6. Monmouth 156, 7. Siena 189, 8. Manhattan 216, 9. Fairfield 265, 10. Canisius 275, 11. Central Connecticut 319, 12. UMass 346, 13. Seton Hall 362, 14. St. Francis 370, 15. Sacred Heart 389, 16. Colgate 400, 17. Holy Cross 402, 18. Rider 413, 19. Binghamton 419, 20. LIU Post 517, 21. NJIT 675, 22. CCNY 707

Men’s individual results

18. Spencer Johnson 26:19.4 *IC4A All East

21. Dietrich Mosel 26:23.2 *IC4A All East

24. Brian Edsall 26:31.2 *IC4A All East

27. Johnny Lee 26:41.6

31. Matt Baffuto 26:45.2

35. Stefan Morton 26:49.3

42. Pat Rynkowski 26:56.2

51. Riley Hughes 27:03.9

53. Saad Baig 27:04.8

59. Steven Rizzo 27:11.1

71. Joe Miller 27:21.3

112. Palmer Weimann 28:12.5

183 finishers

Coaches Race (JV runners)

6. Michael Kennedy 27:51.1

7. Jake Hensler 27:54.4

9. Omar Perez 28:06.0

11. Eamonn Beers 28:08.2

12. Will Duggan 28:10.9

14. Charlie Ropes 28:20.0

15. Mark Vuono 28:22.8

18. Dom Fortino 28:43.2

22. Dan Hillman 29:01.1

23. Ricky Willi 29:01.4

25. Pat Hickey 29:16.0

35 finishers

Coaches Race team standings

1-Columbia 15, 2. Marist 42, 3. St. Joseph’s 72, 4. Holy Cross 100

ECAC Championships: WOMEN WIN UNIVERSITY DIVISION!!

A hearty congrats to our women for winning (1st place!) the ECAC University Division Championship at Van Cortlandt Park. A wonderful way to validate a great team. Nicely done, ladies!!!!!!!!!! Results to follow ...

IC4A Championships: Men get third in University Division

A great way for the men to finish an amazing season: Third place out of 22 teams in a very competitive University Division. Results and details to follow ...

UPDATED time schedule for Saturday

Please note the UPDATED time schedule for Saturday, with slightly earlier start times for the first two races.

ECAC Coaches Race, 5km: 9:15 a.m.

IC4A Coaches Race, 5 miles: 9:30 a.m.

IC4A University Division, 5 miles: 11:30 a.m.

ECAC University Division, 5km, 12:15 p.m.

What's next: IC4A/ECAC meet on Saturday

The long journey called cross country, one that started three months ago in the summer as preseason began, comes to an end on Saturday at Van Cortlandt Park with the ECAC and IC4A Championships. It is especially poignant for our senior cross country runners, who will be spiking up on the trails for the final time. For many of these women and men, it is the end of a cross country journey that started eight or more years ago – in junior high school or high school. Tears will be shed, for sure. Here is the race schedule for Marist XC:

ECAC Coaches Race, 5km: 9:30 a.m.

IC4A Coaches Race, 5 miles: 9:40 a.m.

IC4A University Division, 5 miles: 11:30 a.m.

ECAC University Division, 5km, 12:15 p.m.

One final XC tailgate is being planned and it promises to be a “humdinger” for sure! Please contact Kathy Gould via email at kathygould@optonline.net to coordinate. We look forward to seeing you all at Vanny on Saturday. OK!

Thoughts on an unforgettable Friday

Could this happen here? It was a simple, innocent and yet profound question posed to me by a captain and a team leader today – November 16, an impossibly beautiful fall day for this late in the year, mid-60s, sunny, guys running shirtless on the cusp of winter. 

Could this happen here? He was referring, of course, to the terrorist attacks in Paris. I chuckled and smirked a bit at the seemingly naïve question. Of course it could happen here! It could happen at any moment and any place. You can create agencies such as Homeland Security. You can take precautions. You can boost security. You can add police. You can make plans. But if terrorists want to cause terror, terrorists can and will cause terror. Any place. Any time. Exhibit A: Paris.

Where were you when you heard about this horror unfolding in the City of Lights? We were on the bus back from Boston on Friday. Our first thoughts were with our track family members studying abroad in Paris – Bryn and Jenn. Word spread quickly via social media and text (Really? Text? Intercontinental? I know, I’m an Old Fart) that Bryn and Jenn were safe and they were OK. Phew.

But then the horror unfolded, literally by the second. Everyone was glued to their phones: Refreshing Twitter each second; getting Social Media updates. Cuesta took my laptop, kept refreshing the CNN page as the updates flooded in each and every minute. It got worse and worse, more and more horrific by the second. Gives me chills to think about it; I don’t need to rehash it here. We know how bad it was. We know how bad it is. Terrorism. Can happen any place, any time, without warning. That, essentially, is the definition of terrorism.

Last Friday, our day started with news of the lockdown at Marist -- caused by some dimwit, punk-ass loser who took to Twitter threatening serious harm on the Marist campus. It shut down our campus world for several hours. The threat of terror and terror are similar, but they are not one in the same. Some people took to Social Media to hand-wring over “what’s wrong with this world” when someone can Tweet threats at Marist in the morning and then cause mayhem in Paris in the afternoon. Come on, man! Equating the two is so wrong and so simplistic that it is barely worth a mention here.

We can change our Facebook profiles to the colors of the France flag. We can hashtag our thoughts and wishes for healing and recovery. We should not feel obligated to do anything to “make a difference” … except maybe to pray for healing and pray for love. It’s funny. Maybe it’s my age or my simplistic way of thinking. But oftentimes, I turn to Classic Rock song lyrics to crystallize my thoughts. Here’s what song popped into my head today: Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit": 

Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
I'll give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my love to you
There's so much that we need to share
So send a smile, and show you care

Give a little bit
Give a little bit of your love to me
Give a little bit
I'll give a little bit of my life for you
Now's the time that we need to share
So find yourself, we're on our way back home

Do we need to retaliate, do we need to go to war against the terrorists? That's not for me to decide. Maybe, just maybe, we should all just pray, and maybe we should all just "give a little bit."

Mike G gets second at trail marathon

Congrats to Marist Running Alum Mike Guarascio (Mike G.) for his runner-up finish (2^nd place, out of 206 runners!) at the Stone Cat Trail Marathon in Ipswich, MA, on Nov. 7. Mike completed the tough course in 3:18:34. Here is a “goofy photo” of Mike waving to his daughter at the finish, “she was definitely surprised to see me emerge from the woods looking delirious.”

Here’s part of Mike’s race report via email: “I was really just shooting for a top-5 finish if I had a good day, and figured 3:30 would be a good target, so I’m definitely pleased with the race. Rolling hills the whole way, lots of single-track and turns, and a couple of massive hills at the end of the loop (which we did twice). Hoping I can give a road marathon another shot in the future to better my PR (2:53). But for now, going to rest up and get ready for another kid in a month.” 

Congrats on the great race, Mike, and good luck with the growing family!

One sweet ride

It was great to see Marist Running Alums Katie Messina and Doug Ainscow in Boston last Friday for NCAA Regionals. Katie works and lives nearby in the Boston area. As for Doug? The last time we saw him, he was down in Poughkeepsie for alumni weekend, having ridden on his motorcycle all the way from New Hampshire. On Friday, he was driving his company car, one sweet rolling billboard for, well, you know … “15 minutes can save you 15 percent or more …” Yeah. THAT. For a guy who has forged a well-earned reputation for putting stickers and magnets on his car (that would be me), this is truly one sweet ride. Nicely done, Doug!

NCAA Regionals: Men's results

Last year, we were 20th with 570 points. This year, we were four places and nearly 100 points higher. And that's after losing three of our top four runners from 2014 to graduation or injury. Be Better? You bet.

NCAA Northeast Regional

Friday, November 13, 2015

Franklin Park, Boston

Men’s individual results, 10,000-meter course

68. Johnny Lee 32:06.2

91. Dietrich Mosel 32:23.6

104. Spencer Johnson 32:37.6

109. Stefan Morton 32:42.6

113. Brian Edsall 32:47.5

116. Riley Hughes 32:48.3

124. Pat Rynkowski 32:58.1

Men’s team standings

1-Syracuse 29, 2. Iona 40, 3. Cornell 114, 4. Dartmouth 153, 5. Columbia 156, 6. Providence 169, 7. Yale 169, 8. Harvard 274, 9. Brown 315, 10. Stony Brook 398, 11. Binghamton 405, 12. UMass 446, 13. Canisius 454, 14. Army West Point 459, 15. Maine 474, 16. Marist 478, 17. Boston College 521, 18. Buffalo 542, 19. Boston University 549, 20. Central Connecticut 564, 21. UConn 583, 22. Northeastern 606, 23. Siena 608, 24. Vermont 612, 25. Albany 655, 26. Manhattan 704, 27. Fairfield 734, 28. Quinnipiac 753, 29. Hofstra 776, 30. New Hampshire 845, 31. Sacred Heart 887, 32. Colgate 894, 33. Bryant 902, 34. Hartford 917, 35. Holy Cross 1,011, 36. Niagara 1,064, 37. St. Bonaventure 1,092; 38. Fordham INC

NCAA Regionals: Women's results

Last year, we were 21st with 633 points. This year, we were 20th with 549 points, with our powerful lead runner being felled by a late-race injury. Pretty good day.

NCAA Northeast Regional

Friday, November 13, 2015

Franklin Park, Boston

Women’s individual results, 6,000-meter course

67. Mara Schiffhauer 22:13.9

90. Elizabeth Wasserman 22:29.2

109. Nicki Nesi 22:41.9

142. Christine Coughlin 23:11.9

143. Emily Burns 23:12.1

232. Janelle Solviletti 24:44.8

Women’s team standings

1-Providence 49, 2. Syracuse 92, 3. Brown 139, 4. Boston College 143, 5. Yale 156, 6. Harvard 187, 7. Columbia 204, 8. Dartmouth 211, 9. Cornell 218, 10. New Hampshire 308, 11. Connecticut 320, 12. Stony Brook 330, 13. Iona 390, 14. Albany 422, 15. Buffalo 494, 16. Northeastern 520, 17. Army West Point 520, 18. Quinnipiac 525, 19. UMass 547, 20. Marist 549, 21. Fordham 596, 22. Holy Cross 604, 23. Vermont 630, 24. Sacred Heart 643, 25. Canisius 677, 26. Boston University 684, 27. St. John’s 695, 28. Hofstra 733, 29. Manhattan 761, 30. Central Connecticut 762, 31. Binghamton 786, 32. Siena 808, 33. Bryant 926, 34. Fairfield 1,030, 35. Colgate 1,083, 36. Maine 1,101, 37. St. Bonaventure 1,132, 38. Niagara 1,149

NCAA Regionals: Quick recap

The last time it was this windy at an NCAA Regional, we were at Buffalo in 2011. That didn't work out so well for us. Today, at a windswept Franklin Park in Boston, we fared much better. Our men's team placed 16th -- a four-place and nearly 100-point improvement from 2014!. Our women's team placed 20th, a one-place improvement from last year. We overcame the unfortunate loss of our lead runner, Kristen Traub, in the final kilometer in the race. Kristen was pushed from behind on Bear Cage Hill, fell and ended up injuring her calf. She was in the top 40 in the race and moving up when she had to drop from the race. The rest of the ladies picked up -- that's what teams do! -- and we managed a solid finish. Results to follow ...

What's next: NCAA Regionals

Next on the Championship Season schedule is NCAA Northeast Regionals, Friday, November 13, at Franklin Park in Boston. We race only our top 7 at this meet, so our travel party will be small. Race times are:

12 noon: Women's Championship 6km race
1 p.m.: Men's Championship 10km race

Anyone who lives in the area and chooses to play hooky from work ... it would be great to see you. OK!

Notes from the recruiting trail

I remember when she was born. MAAC Outdoors, 1998. As mentioned previously, track coaches tend to mark time with the meets we attend. I’m not sure if she was born during the meet, at the endless “awards banquet” that we must attend after the meet or while we were on the bus ride home from Rider. I think it may have been while we were on the bus, although back then I’m not even sure we had cell phones to communicate with our family members. In any case, the baby was my good friend and coaching partner Phil Kelly’s first grandchild. Like many other moments in our lives, he missed that event because he was with our “other” family, the teams we coach. There would be eight more grandchildren to follow in the next 10 years he remained coach and then into his retirement. But the first grandchild was born on the Sunday of the 1998 MAAC Outdoor Championship. Of that I am certain. It’s odd, but you remember these things.

Phil’s been retired from coaching at Marist since 2008. I miss working with him every day, but we stay in touch – lunches when we can, some slow jogging (although we haven’t done that together in a while), random texts, calls and emails, and now we bump into each other at – of all places – cross country meets. I cannot mention her name here, because I am sure that would be some sort of “recruiting violation,’’ but that baby that was born on the weekend of 1998 MAACs is now a high school senior and a pretty darn good cross country runner. She doesn’t have a bigger fan than her Gampy, who darts around the course cheering on his oldest and for now fastest grandchild. When I go to these high school meets to recruit, the object is to “observe” and “evaluate” prospective student-athletes. I am not there to cheer them on (unless it is an FDR runner, in which case I unabashedly cheer for the Presidents as an “FDR parent”). And so at Saturday’s Section 1 state qualifier at Bowdoin Park, as I watched Phil’s granddaughter racing, although I did not openly cheer her on, I wanted to see her succeed -- for her proud Gampy and her equally proud parents. She ran great, securing the final individual spot to the state meet, a pleasant surprise for all involved. Good for her. Good for me, because now maybe I get to see Phil at another XC meet -- next Saturday on the “recruiting trail” at the state meet.

Track-themed game show

It's very rare that I will link to videos on this blog. And usually when I do, the video is not 33 minutes in length. However! If you have a spare half hour you want to kill, and you want to get some laughs, check out this video of Episode 5 of Outside the Box, a weekly game show that airs on Marist College TV (MCTV). Your host is none other than champion middle distance runner Nate (4xNate) Lungarini, who channels his inner Richard Dawson in hosting a rambunctious crew of track athletes competing against each other: Tim Johnson and Josh "The Real Josh" Siegel vs. Molly Weeks and Alex Hernandez. It was billed as a battle of Kings vs. Queens. I will not divulge the winner here. You will have to sit through 31 minutes of the game show to find out. Suffice it to say that these tracksters had a lot of fun (a little bit too much fun from RJ, if you ask me!) and definitely made me laugh. I even sucked in my wife Heidi for about 10 minutes, who thought the show was entertaining and hilarious. So! There you go, Nate! You've got at least one more fan who likes to think ... Outside the Box.

No games scheduled today

With last week’s insanely warm 70-degree weather, the fact that baseball season is over didn’t quite sink in. However, on Saturday at Crestwood Field in the Town of Poughkeepsie, that sad fact was presented as my youngest son James had his final Fall Ball game of the season. It was a seemingly endless game, with a final score to match (14-9), won by his Hyde Park team, which barnstormed through Dutchess County for an undefeated Fall Ball season. James wore #3 for the Dairy Queen sponsored team (in homage to the greatest player who ever wore a baseball uniform and played the game) and manned third base the entire season. Mostly, he and his teammates smiled and had fun each and every practice and game, thanks to a wonderful young coach who instilled a love for the game in each of the boys.

But now, the season is over. No more practices ending in the emerging autumn darkness. No more Saturday afternoon games. But mostly? No more ballgames to watch on TV, now that the Royals dispatched the Mets in the World Series. The baseball widget app thing that Tino set up on my phone last year reminds me of this: “No games scheduled today.” I will have to see that for the next several months. Regarding the Mets’ World Series loss? James took that well. He did not cry. In fact, he said it was pretty cool that the final Major League Baseball game of 2015 was played at Citi Field – albeit with the outcome he did not want. I mentioned to him that some of his favorite Mets – Bartolo Colon, Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda – might not be on the team next year due to retirement, free agency and trades. That’s OK, he said. Whatever team Duda plays for, he’s rooting for them.

As the Fall Ball game finally came to an end, a cool northwest breeze blew a few leaves onto the vacant field (pictured above). The bizarre warm weather of last week was on the way out, and so too was baseball season 2015.

Red, white and blue

It was red-white-and-blue day at women's XC practice this afternoon. Here is a sampling of the team with their patriotic colors, taken from above by Spencer Johnson before we departed for the New Paltz Rail Trail. Our spirits were definitely not "flagging" today. Get it?

Shorts? On November 6?

Hey. I'm not complaining. But this warm weather has been insane. I've worn shorts all week, when I should be well into my flannel-lined-khaki-pants season, for sure. It was in the mid-70s the past few afternoons. Shorts. Tube socks. Long-sleeve shirt. With just two weeks of XC season remaining. Go figure.

NYC Marathon: Shout-out to Marathon Mom

Congratulations to Mary Christian, mother of XC sophomore Mariah Christian, for her outstanding race at Sunday's NYC Marathon. Mary ran a stellar time of 3:22:18 (7:43 pace). She placed 325th overall in the women's race and an eye-popping 12th (12th!!!!) in her age group. Remember, this isn't some neighborhood 5K. This is the NYC Marathon. That's an excellent age-group performance. As parents, we hope to be positive role models for our children. What better way for a cross-country parent to inspire her kid than by being a top-flight endurance athlete. Nicely done!

MAAC XC Championships: Proud of our all-MAAC runner

As we plow into November and the remainder of championship season, I just wanted to highlight our lone All-MAAC Runner from Saturday's meet. Sophomore Mara Schiffhauer got 12th place in the women's race. Top 15 get All-MAAC. Never has it been more difficult to get a top-15 showing -- the men have not had an All-MAAC runner since 2012 -- so it is worthy of mention and praise. The MAAC field has gotten incredibly competitive with the addition of Quinnipiac and Monmouth two years ago, and with the continued improvements in every other program in the conference. Top to bottom, it is a deep and strong conference, so to notch a top-15 finish is worthy of note and praise, and I did not want it to get lost in the shuffle. Nicely done, Mara!

MAAC Cross Country Championships

Rosedale Park, Pennington, NJ

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Women’s individual results, 6km course

12. Mara Schiffhauer 21:58.09 *All-MAAC

Regional ranking: Men's XC is 14th

Check out this link here for a release on GoredFoxes.com about the men's cross country team getting a regional ranking, 14th in the Northeast. This is the team's first regional ranking since 2012, and it is validation to the excellent effort the men have put in this season. We look forward to our final two meets of the season -- NCAA Regionals and IC4A/ECACs.

NYC Marathon: Conor Shelley places 61st overall in 2:37:31

Congrats to Marist Running Alum Conor Shelley -- now running for New York AC -- for his excellent NYC Marathon debut. Conor was 61st overall -- and 25th among American men -- in 2:37:31. Here is a photo of him I found on Facebook, looking quite stylish on First Avenue. Nicely done, Conor!

Also! Marist Running Alum Kara Lightowler finished 98th among American women in 3:13:08. She was 160th overall. Great job!

MAAC XC Championships: Time improvements

Following is a list of time improvements at the Rosedale Park course, from the early season meet that Rider hosted there, to the MAAC Championships on the same course six weeks later. Photos, courtesy of Mrs. Willi, are of Johnny Lee and Spencer Johnson.
Improved times at Rosedale Park, Sept to Oct: Men

Johnny Lee 24:34.4 (24:48.83) = 14 seconds faster

Spencer Johnson 24:38.7 (25:07.45) = 25 seconds faster

Dietrich Mosel 24:40.5 (25:05.97) = 25 seconds faster

Brian Edsall 24:44.8 (25:14.19) = 30 seconds faster

Stefan Morton 24:53.0 (26:38.03) = 1 min, 45 sec faster

Pat Rynkowski 25:03.1 (25:35.63) = 32 seconds faster

Riley Hughes 25:09.9 (25:10.37) = 1 second faster

Saad Baig 25:15.3 (26:44.38) = 1 minute, 29 sec faster

Joe Miller 25:31.1 (25:38.70) = 7 seconds faster

Jake Hensler 25:47.1 (27:00.54) = 1 minute, 13 seconds faster

Pat Hickey 26:03.3 (26:43.29) = 40 seconds faster

Will Duggan 26:05.2 (27:11.15) = 1 minute, 6 seconds faster

Steven Morrison 26:11.2 (26:16.80) = 5 seconds faster

Michael Kennedy 26:17.4 (26:25.36) = 8 seconds faster

Dan Hillman 26:27.6 (27:03.00) = 36 seconds faster

Eamonn Beers 26:39.1 (27:01.19) = 22 seconds faster

Brian Henderson 27:01.1 (28:13.01) = 1 minute, 12 sec faster

Ricky Willi 27:07.3 (27:28.30) = 21 seconds faster

Charlie Ropes 27:37.7 (28:17.33) = 40 seconds faster

Improved times at Rosedale Park, Sept to Oct: Women

Nicki Nesi 22:15.66 (22:44.4) = 29 seconds faster

Elizabeth Wasserman 22:25.35 (22:54.9) = 29 seconds faster

Emily Burns 22:36.14 (22:43.6) = 7 seconds faster

Christine Coughlin 22:53.68 (24:15.9) = 1 min, 22 sec faster

Jenna Robinson 23:27.15 (23:53.7) = 26 seconds faster

Annie Gould 23:28.70 (23:57.1) = 29 seconds faster

Brianne Vess 23:49.38 (24:06.9) = 15 seconds faster

Roxy Novo 24:00.40 (24:04.1) = 4 seconds faster

Bianca Luparello 24:08.22 (24:56.0) = 48 seconds faster

Shea Bohan 24:13.41 (25:06.2) = 53 seconds faster

Lizzy Peper 24:22.27 (24:46.2) = 24 seconds faster

Jordan Casey 24:26.47 (24:48.9) = 22 seconds faster

Jess Howe 25:01.97 (25:30.4) = 29 seconds faster

Jaime Durso 25:05.93 (25:25.3) = 20 seconds faster

Olivia Lappas 25:24.06 (25:35.5) = 11 seconds faster

Christine Gambell 25:55.48 (26:44.5) = 49 seconds faster

Shannon Gildea 26:42.97 (27:26.7) = 44 seconds faster

Kristi Licursi 26:58.03 (27:23.8) = 25 seconds faster

MAAC XC Championships: Second thoughts

Several more random thoughts on one of the most memorable days in men’s XC history:

--The alumni buzz after the race was humbling and extremely gratifying. My phone blew up with excited texts. I hope I replied to all of them. Social Media – of which I am still a neophyte – also exploded in excitement.

--Speaking of alums: Shout-out to Michelle Gaye and Joel Moss (not to mention Jay and Linda Moss) for surprising the heck out of us by coming to the meet. Michelle and Joel live in Texas (yes, TEXAS) and made the effort to be at MAACs. Joel’s parents drove all the way from central New York for the meet; we ALWAYS love seeing them. As for Michelle and Joel, “happy” doesn’t describe how thrilled we were to see them. And of course, the JOEL EFFECT was in full force. Joel was there, thus the men ran great!

--Hild and Hink, two of the more loyal men’s alums, were also on site. Hild had a relatively long drive from DC, which he apparently made in lawless speed time. Hink lives close in Jersey and holds the distinction for being the first one to actually believe we finished second.

--No one in our program – athletes, coaches, no one – expected the men to get second place. One of the reasons it was so special.

--Here’s what I will forever remember from the race: Johnny Lee crossing the line in a PR time. Stops dead in his tracks. Turns around to see his teammates – Spencer, Dietrich, Edsall … Stefan – finish in rapid fire succession. When the five guys were through the line, all under 25 minutes, all ahead of the rival schools for which we were gunning, Johnny let out a guttural scream of satisfaction that I have never heard. Job done.

--Thanks to all for the well-wishes on the post-championship award. It was earned by the fearless men who raced with great tenacity.

 --Thanks to Ricky Willi's mom for sharing some awesome meet photos. The one at the top of this post is from the men's team, shortly after they heard of the team placement. 

Finally! This was great, we enjoy it … but the season continues. NCAA Regionals is in less than two weeks, followed by ECAC/IC4As. Many miles to go …