Preseason 2016: Forever Foxes return!

What a pleasant surprise to see Adam Waterbury this afternoon at the McCann Recreation Center. We'll forgive him the Roll Tide T-shirt (hey, we haven't given him Marist Track swag in a while). Adam graduated 12 years ago, after a stellar career on the offensive line for the football team and as a record-setting thrower on the track team. You could make the argument that no one in school history was able to balance both sports as well as Adam did. This was his first time back on campus since 2009, so it was his first time seeing the school record board -- he's still on there, three times, for throwing records. When he greeted me with his customary bear hug -- it felt like my ribs were gonna snap in half! -- it reminded me of when he bear-hugged me at the Armory after the final heave of his shot-put career landed with a school record. I refused to watch him throw it, because he was using the "spin" technique. Being a risk averse sort of guy, I always preferred the "glide" but he wanted to try it in a last-chance meet... and it worked. After the record, he practically lifted me off the ground and punctured my lungs in excitement. As a Forever Fox, Adam made the incredible transition to long distance runner, completing the hilly Adirondack Marathon last year. Amazing!

We walked around campus with his 2.5-year-old daughter, and it made me realize how quickly time goes. Back during one winter season, when he was heaving the 35-pound weight, we traveled to Manhattan's Draddy Gymnasium for the Met Championships weight throw event. He was our only competitor on this day. We went in my old 1996 Honda Civic, with a young, 2.5-year-old boy in the back seat -- my son, Joey. Adam's got the toddler now, and I reminded him of that trip, and of the fact that in a few days that erstwhile toddler Joey turns 17, he is driving, and he will be off to college in a year's time.

Adam wasn't the only alum in our orbit today. Posch and Kenny showed up for the morning men's XC workout at Farm Lane, Kirk and Liza arrived with Adam, and Brianna Freestone stopped in briefly on her drive back to graduate school in Delaware. The loyalty and support from our Forever Foxes continues to buoy our spirits, and hopefully shows are current Foxes that there is a strong connection through the generations.