Paul Short/Lehigh: Race schedule

Here is the race schedule for Saturday at Lehigh for the Paul Short Run.  

9:30am Open Men’s 8k Race: We will have 21 current team members, as well as fifth-year senior Omar Perez, in this race

10:15am Open Women’s 6k Race: We will have about 18-20 current team members, as well as fifth-year seniors Annie Gould and Nicki Nesi, in this race

11:00am Men’s College Gold 8k Race: We are not in this race

11:45am Women’s College Gold 6k Race: We will have our top-10 varsity level runners in this race

12:15pm Men’s College Brown 8k Race : We will have our top-10 varsity level runners in this race

Bring your rain gear. Hope to see you there. 

Paul Short/Lehigh: Team tailgate

Once again, Kathy Gould will be commandeering the Team Tailgate at Saturday's most likely soggy meet at Lehigh (it always rains there, and the forecast seems to confirm this again). Please reach out to Kathy if you are interested in contributing. Contact Kathy at kathygould@optonline.net or text her at 914 841 2376. Thank you. 

Alumni racing: Christine wins at Schroon Lake!

Marist Running alum Christine Coughlin (now racing for Albany Running Exchange) had a monster effort at the Adirondack Half Marathon in Schroon Lake, winning the women’s race on a hilly course in 1:25:58, a more than three-minute PR from her debut 13.1-mile effort at the Walkway race (1:29:05) back in June. The hills were no problem (she texted me that they were very BEARable … note her fancy ADK-styled winning award, thus the pun) for her, as she has trained on this terrain throughout the summer. Her posted splits were 34:27, 6:46 pace, for 5 miles; 1:18:26, 6:36 pace, for 11.9 miles, and 1:25:58, 6:34 pace, for the finish. This is remarkable, as most of the serious hills are on the second half of this race. Very proud of our most recent alum. 

Alumni racing: Datos and Luke shine in the Bronx

Marist Running was well represented at the Bronx 10-miler, with Ryan Scrudato (now racing for Central Park Track Club) blitzing his patented negative-split racing style for a 14^th place finish in 53:38 (27:07/26:31 splits, 5:22 overall pace). Luke Shane (now and always racing for the Marist Alumni Racing Team) was 46^th overall in 57:14 (28:54/28:20, 5:44 overall pace), also a strong negative-split effort. Nicely done, men!

Alumni racing: Vess in Germany

Marist Running Alum Adam Vess cruised through his first marathon on Sunday in Berlin, running a 3:14:44. I don’t know all the details, but I think he was just filling a spot on a team (he hadn’t been specifically marathon training) and he got a nice trip to Berlin out of it. The race up front was epic, with Ethiopia’s Kenenesa Bekele running the second fastest time in history (2:03:03) for the win over former world best holder Wilson Kipsang, who was 10 seconds behind (2:03:13) in second place. Pretty cool.

CCSU Ted Owen Invitational: Women's results

A very strong early-season day for our women's team. Our ladies ran in packs and worked together, and the results were excellent. OK!

CCSU/Ted Owen Invitational

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Stanley Quarter Park

New Britain, Connecticut

Women’s team scores

1-Vermont 50, 2. Marist 59, 3. Lehigh 81, 4. St. Francis PA 113, 5. Rhode Island 126, 6. Hartford 167, 7. Bryant 208, 8. CCSU 212, 11. FDU 328, 12. NJIT 348, 13. Wagner 357

Women’s results, 5km course

4. Mara Schiffhauer 18:01.9

5. Emily Burns 18:02.3

8. Ali Bartolotta 18:14.3

18. Shea Bohan 18:30.2

24. Elizabeth Wasserman 18:41.8

28. Mariah Christian 18:48.1

42. Bryn Gorberg 18:59.5

50. Christine Gambell 19:08.0

51. Jordan Casey 19:09.1

57. Denise Grohn 19:13.7

58. Boushra Belkhir 19:14.9

61. Jenna Robinson 19:16.0

62. Roxy Novo 19:16.2

63. Bianca Luparello 19:17.7

69. Kerry Gaye 19:29.9

77. Brianne Vess 19:40.2

78. Alyssa Lafave 19:41.7

79. Olivia Lappas 19:42.2

86. Emily Franko 19:54.9

89. Kerri-Anne Flynn 19:59.3

90. Alyssa Hurlbut 20:04.2

102. Kim Schwartz 20:32.4

103. Taylor Mueller 20:33.7

104. Jackie Bunce 20:34.2

109. Hannah Albert 20:41.8

115. Ashley Wallace 20:57.1

118. Shannon Gildea 21:16.3

125. Kristi Licursi 21:49.6

146. Katie Miale 24:00.7

156 finishers

CCSU Ted Owen Invitational: Men's results and splits

We brought a partial squad to the meet today on a glorious fall day. It's like we went to bed in the summer and woke up in the fall. Cool, crisp air. Full squad returns next week at Paul Short.

CCSU/Ted Owen Invitational

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Stanley Quarter Park

New Britain, Connecticut

Men’s team scores

1-CCSU 42, 2-St. Francis PA 50, 3. Hartford 103, 4. Vermont 117, 5. Wagner 119, 6. Bryant 159, 7. NJIT 193, 8. Marist 197, 9. FDU 267

Men’s results and splits

8,165-meter course (8,000-meter conversion)

Mile splits, 1 through 4 (thanks to Palmer Weimann)

37. Connor Levins 27:44.4 (27:10.8)

5:08, 10:26, 15:54, 21:31

40. Brian Edsall 28:00.4 (27:26.4)

5:17, 10:35, 15:58, 21:27

54. Will Duggan 28:31.7 (27:57.1)

5:18, 10:36, 16:11, 21:58

55. Sami Ellougani 28:36.8 (28:02.1)

5:10, 10:32, 16:02, 22:01

63. Jalyn Alvarez 28:58.1 (28:23.0)

5:27, 10:55, 16:35, 22:27

66. Dom Fortino 29:03.3 (28:28.1)

5:21, 10:57, 16:39, 22:32

69. Eddie White 29:12.0 (28:36.6)

5:20, 10:59, 16:47, 22:41

75. Eamonn Beers 29:31.0 (28:55.2)

5:22, 10:48, 16:41, 22:52

78. Jake Hensler 29:43.0 (29:07.0)

5:23, 10:57, 16:39, 22:32

107 finishers

What’s next: CCSU Ted Owen Invitational

The cross country team travels to Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain, Conn., on Saturday for the 14^th annual Ted Owen Invitational. Race schedule is as follows:

Women’s 5km: 11 a.m.

Men’s 8km*: 11:45 a.m.

*The reason for the asterisk is the course at CCSU is definitely longer than 8km and 5 miles, and has been for a long time. The working number that we use is 8,165 meters, because we measured it with a wheel a few years ago (one loyal blog follower will surely contact me, as he gets exasperated and annoyed at courses not being measured to the “normal” exact distances). Assuming that the course hasn’t changed, that will be the number we use tomorrow. We’ll convert the finish times accordingly.

We will be running a mostly full squad for the women and a partial squad for the men. Here are the teams expected to compete:  CCSU, FDU, Hartford, Marist, New Haven, NJIT, Pace, St Francis University, SCSU, Vermont, Wagner, Rhode Island (women), Lehigh (women).

The weather looks great, cooler temperatures. It appears that today is the last of the really warm afternoon high temperatures as the autumn weather may actually start to kick in, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 30s. Hope to see some of you there at CCSU’s meet on Saturday. 

Marty in the news

Photo of Marty, from the SI Advance

When I think of the word "loyal" the first person that comes to mind is Marty McGowan. There is no one more loyal to all things running on Staten Island ... and here in Poughkeepsie, too. Marty is a loyal Marist Running Alum. More than 40 years after his days as a Running Red Fox, he remains in touch and visits our team several times a year. Check out this article about his involvement in the Tunnels to Towers 5k race, which is this Sunday. A nice tribute to a great race ... and a great man. Nicely done!

Scene from practice: Coaching STAFF

Kind of a recurring theme during the early going of cross country: The men have been finding walking sticks in the woods and giving them to me. I've got a nice collection going in the back of the gray van. Walking sticks. You know. Old guy. Prone to falling. Needs help walking on trails. Etc. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Well, on Tuesday afternoon, after a brutal Farm Lane workout, Hickey and friends returned with the Mother of All Walking Sticks -- really, a large branch from the woods. Palmer (in the background), never one to shy away from a pun, called me Teddy Roosevelt (you know, "speak softly and carry a big stick"). And Hogue, a freshman who already has sensed the need for interjecting bad puns into the conversation, asked me if that was my new coaching "staff" ... wow, good one, kid!

Scenes from practice: Turtle rescue

Fifth-year senior Nicki Nesi was getting in her mileage at Bowdoin Park on Wednesday afternoon when she happened upon this turtle, trudging dangerously close to traffic. She rescued the little guy and put him safely in the woods. Nicely done!

Dutchess County Classic: 1-2, part 2

And then in the women’s race? It was just as good! Sisters Annie and Kelley Gould ran much of the race together, with Annie pulling away for the victory in 1:33:19.70 (7:07 pace) and Kelley following a few strides later in 1:34:04.04 (7:11 pace). Both PRs. Both wonderful efforts. Annie has a few track seasons to go for us at Marist; Kelley is training well for her first marathon, at Philly, in two months. Tremendous!

Dutchess County Classic: 1-2, part 1

How cool was it to see the first two finishers in Sunday’s half marathon, with Johnny Lee cruising in like it was a normal long run from McCann, emotionless expression, working hard but in control, in 1:14:37.05 (5:42 pace). And then a few moments later, his teammate, classmate and good pal Omar Perez placing second in 1:16:42.29 (5:51 pace). Very, very neat. Both are training hard during the fall, in anticipation of their final two seasons of track eligibility in the winter and spring. Nicely done, men!

Rider XC Invitational: Wrapping it up

 A few final thoughts on the Friday afternoon meet:

--Major thanks to Bryn Gorberg's parents -- Joe and Judy -- for their wonderful post-race dinner at their house in suburban Princeton. It was very much appreciated by one and all. Nicely done!!!!!!
--Thanks to Palmer Weimann's mom, Martha, for sharing these photos from the men's race.
--On the men's side, this course has garnered a well-earned reputation as being very fast -- and in the case of last year, even slightly short of 8km. Well, this year, it was still fast -- the perfect late summer/early fall weather contributed to that. But Rider coach Bob Hamer confirmed what our runners suspected -- that the course was amended to be made longer this year. Specifically, he said it was 30 meters longer than 8km, which basically makes it 5 miles (which is about 8,045 meters). So the lightning fast times this year are even truer than last year. They are listed again here, along with the pace per mile based on 8km.
--On the women's side, the course was significantly longer this year -- 6,150 meters. Last year's course was slightly long of the standard 6km -- it ran at 6,060 meters last year. Coach Chuck converted the 6,150-meter times to 6km times, and also added the

2015 (6,060-meter) times in a chart that he will distribute to the team. The results below include Friday's times, pace per mile based on the extended distance, and the converted times and last year's times. I know. A lot of numbers. But isn't that what this sport's about?

Rider XC Invitational

Rosedale Park, Pennington, NJ

Friday, September 16

Women’s team standings

1-Richmond 41, Marist 74, 3. St. Joseph’s (Pa.) 87, 4. Temple 115, 5. Siena 117, 6. Rider 131, 7. TCNJ 154, 8. Rutgers 240, 9. LIU Brooklyn 276

Women’s individual results, 6,150-meter (3.82-mile) course

With average pace per mile; 5km conversion; 2015 time at 6,060 meters

3. Mara Schiffhauer 21:59.56 (5:45.4 pace); 17:53; NA

14. Emily Burns 22:34.04 (5:54.5 pace); 18:21; 22:43.6

15. Ali Bartolotta 22:34.07 (5:54.5 pace); 18:21; NA

19. Christine Gambell 22:54.74 (5:59.9 pace); 18:37.5; 26:44.5

24. Shea Bohan 23:12.75 (6:04.6 pace); 18:52.5; 25:06.2

25. Mariah Christian 23:17.89 (6:05.9 pace); 18:56.5; NA

32. Jenna Robinson 23:27.19 (6:08.2 pace); 19:04; 23:53.7

36. Jordan Casey 23:32.81 (6:09.8 pace); 19:08.5; 24:48.9

38. Roxy Novo 23:36.85 (6:10.9 pace); 19:12; 24:04.1

44. Boushra Belkhir 23:42.22 (6:12.3 pace); 19:16.5; NA

45. Denise Grohn 23:42.84 (6:12.5 pace); 19:17; NA

46. Bryn Gorberg 23:44.84 (6:13.0 pace); 19:18.5; NA

47. Alyssa Lafave 23:46.49 (6:13.4 pace); 19:19.5; NA

49. Bianca Luparello 23:49.63 (6:14.2 pace); 19:22.5; 24:56

56. Brianne Vess 24:14.35 (6:20.7 pace); 19:42.5; 24:06.9

60. Kerry Gaye 24:18.83 (6:21.9 pace); 19:46; NA

62. Marissa Porter 24:22.45 (6:22.8 pace); 19:49; NA

64. Emily Franko 24:23.00 (6:23.0 pace); 19:49.5; NA

83. Kerri-Anne Flynn 25:07.06 (6:34.5 pace); 20:25.5; NA

89. Olivia Lappas 25:24.37 (6:39.0 pace); 20:39.5; 25:35.5

90. Hannah Albert 25:31.78 (6:41.0 pace); 20:45.5; 24:29.4

92. Jackie Bunce 25:37.89 (6:42.6 pace); 20:50.5; NA

95. Kim Schwartz 25:43.45 (6:44.0 pace); 20:55; 24:02.9

100. Jess Howe 26:09.11 (6:50.8 pace); 21:15.5; 25:30.4

105. Kristi Licursi 26:27.57 (6:55.6 pace); 21:30.5; 27:23.8

109. Taylor Mueller 26:49.39 (7:01.3 pace); 21:48.5; 26:07.1

111. Shannon Gildea 27:10.89 (7:06.9 pace); 22:06; 27:26.7

122 finishers

Rider XC Invitational

Rosedale Park, Pennington, NJ

Friday, September 16

Men’s team standings

1-Siena 50, 2. Marist 51, 3. TCNJ 95, 4. Rutgers 101, 5. Temple 105, 6. St. Joseph’s (Pa). 167, 7. Rider 186, 8. Richmond 191

Men’s individual results, 8,000-meter (4.97-mile) course

3. Matt Baffuto 24:49.41 (4:59.7 pace)

8. Spencer Johnson 24:59.81 (5:01.8 pace)

10. Alex Hogue 25:02.93 (5:02.4 pace)

13. Dietrich Mosel 25:09.62 (5:03.7 pace)

17. Saad Baig 25:14.49 (5:04.7 pace)

18. Palmer Weimann 25:18.27 (5:05.5 pace)

26. Riley Hughes 25:24.02 (5:06.6 pace)

27. Steven Rizzo 25:24.67 (5:06.8 pace)

29. Mike Kennedy 25:28.04 (5:07.5 pace)

31. Chris Rivas 25:33.08 (5:08.5 pace)

33. Steven Morrison 25:36.01 (5:09.1 pace)

34. Matt Adolph 25:36.57 (5:09.2 pace)

38. Pat Hickey 25:39.72 (5:09.8 pace)

46. Joe Miller 25:48.87 (5:11.6 pace)

47. Stefan Morton 25:49.71 (5:11.8 pace)

48. Zachary Ropes 25:50.24 (5:11.9 pace)

53. Elias Platanias 25:56.73 (5:13.2 pace)

65. Conor Stack 26:34.79 (5:20.9 pace)

77. Drew Burns 26:54.83 (5:24.9 pace)

88. Zach Toner 27:11.85 (5:28.3 pace)

89. Brian Henderson 27:14.65 (5:28.9 pace)

96. Will Duggan 27:20.51 (5:30.1 pace)

99. Connor Levins 27:25.53 (5:31.1 pace)

101. Will Esposito 27:31.28 (5:32.2 pace)

106. Jake Hensler 27:47.62 (5:35.5 pace)

113. Eddie White 28:04.29 (5:38.9 pace)

115. Eamonn Beers 28:07.79 (5:39.6 pace)

116. Jalyn Alvarez 28:14.09 (5:40.9 pace)

129 finishers

Old coach, new coach

Whenever I go to watch my son's high school cross country meets, I try to make a point of not wearing Marist track/xc gear. That way, people don't think I am there to recruit. I'm not. I'm there to be an FDR XC parent. So as I wandered around incognito at Bear Mountain on Saturday morning, what a pleasant surprise to run into the newest XC coach in Section 1, Marist Running Alum Jackie Gamboli -- now an assistant at Edgemont. Look at her ... she even has the fancy tape stopwatch! Going to these high school meets, it's always neat to see our alums who are now coaching. It's even neater to see those alum/coaching ranks continue to grow. OK!

Rider XC Invitational: Men's results

Being edged out by one point (1 point!) is never, ever fun. Trust me. It stinks. We are not pleased with that. However! This meet showed some early-season promise, as well as some strong freshmen debut races over 8km. We have much work to do, but as a wise follower of the program noted, this is akin to Week 1 of the NFL season. No conclusions need to be drawn. Back to practice. 

Rider XC Invitational

Rosedale Park, Pennington, NJ

Friday, September 16

Men’s team standings

1-Siena 50, 2. Marist 51, 3. TCNJ 95, 4. Rutgers 101, 5. Temple 105, 6. St. Joseph’s (Pa). 167, 7. Rider 186, 8. Richmond 191

Men’s individual results, 8,000-meter (4.97-mile) course

3. Matt Baffuto 24:49.41

8. Spencer Johnson 24:59.81

10. Alex Hogue 25:02.93

13. Dietrich Mosel 25:09.62

17. Saad Baig 25:14.49

18. Palmer Weimann 25:18.27

26. Riley Hughes 25:24.02

27. Steven Rizzo 25:24.67

29. Mike Kennedy 25:28.04

31. Chris Rivas 25:33.08

33. Steven Morrison 25:36.01

34. Matt Adolph 25:36.57

38. Pat Hickey 25:39.72

46. Joe Miller 25:48.87

47. Stefan Morton 25:49.71

48. Zachary Ropes 25:50.24

53. Elias Platanias 25:56.73

65. Conor Stack 26:34.79

77. Drew Burns 26:54.83

88. Zach Toner 27:11.85

89. Brian Henderson 27:14.65

96. Will Duggan 27:20.51

99. Connor Levins 27:25.53

101. Will Esposito 27:31.28

106. Jake Hensler 27:47.62

113. Eddie White 28:04.29

115. Eamonn Beers 28:07.79

116. Jalyn Alvarez 28:14.09

129 finishers

Rider XC Invitational: Women's results

Perfect weather for an early-season/late-afternoon XC meet. Some outstanding individual performances and a strong team race for our ladies. Nicely done!

Rider XC Invitational

Rosedale Park, Pennington, NJ

Friday, September 16

Women’s team standings

1-Richmond 41, Marist 74, 3. St. Joseph’s (Pa.) 87, 4. Temple 115, 5. Siena 117, 6. Rider 131, 7. TCNJ 154, 8. Rutgers 240, 9. LIU Brooklyn 276

Women’s individual results, 6,150-meter (3.82-mile) course

3. Mara Schiffhauer 21:59.56

14. Emily Burns 22:34.04

15. Ali Bartolotta 22:34.07

19. Christine Gambell 22:54.74

24. Shea Bohan 23:12.75

25. Mariah Christian 23:17.89

32. Jenna Robinson 23:27.19

36. Jordan Casey 23:32.81

38. Roxy Novo 23:36.85

44. Boushra Belkhir 23:42.22

45. Denise Grohn 23:42.84

46. Bryn Gorberg 23:44.84

47. Alyssa Lafave 23:46.49

49. Bianca Luparello 23:49.63

56. Brianne Vess 24:14.35

60. Kerry Gaye 24:18.83

62. Marissa Porter 24:22.45

64. Emily Franko 24:23.00

83. Kerri-Anne Flynn 25:07.06

89. Olivia Lappas 25:24.37

90. Hannah Albert 25:31.78

92. Jackie Bunce 25:37.89

95. Kim Schwartz 25:43.45

100. Jess Howe 26:09.11

105. Kristi Licursi 26:27.57

109. Taylor Mueller 26:49.39

111. Shannon Gildea 27:10.89

122 finishers

What's next: Rider meet

Our second meet of the cross country season is on Friday at Rosedale Park in Pennington, New Jersey – site of last year’s MAAC Championships. The races are on Friday afternoon – women at 5 p.m., and men at 5:45 p.m. Afterwards, there will be a team dinner at the Gorberg residence in nearby West Windsor. Here is a message from the Gorbergs to one and all:

Bryn Gorberg's parents, Judy and Joe, would like to invite the Marist Cross country team, coaches and families back to their house after this Friday's Rider meet for a barbecue. The address is: 25 Ginnie Lane, Princeton Junction (aka: West Windsor). It is a 20-minute drive from the race site. Anyone interested in contributing or donating to the dinner please contact Judy Gorberg at:  jagorberg@gmail.com or text her at 609-751-2921.

Schab's back-to-back marathons

Marist Running Alum Mike Schab continued his nationwide quest for marathon dominance this weekend with back-to-back efforts – Idaho on Saturday and Montana on Sunday. Schabby knocked off Idaho with a third-place finish at the Salmon Marathon in 2:58:40 on Saturday. On Sunday, he was eighth overall in Bozeman, Montana, in 3:20:04. That makes 24 marathons total and 20 states down. Not a bad start for a very busy 32-year-old who admitted via text that he has not trained properly this year – he reports a hard-to-fathom yearly mileage total of 327 (how is that POSSIBLE!). Anyway, we remain proud of Schab, among the most loyal alums in program history, and we look forward to seeing him at Disney once again this year. 

Forever Foxes: Three generations, one race

This photo! This ... is REALLY REALLY COOL. Three Marist Running Alums -- Christine Coughlin, Nick Webster, Lisa (D'Aniello) Chase. All racing for the Albany Running Exchange in today's Run for Dunkin 10k in Albany. Christine was second in the women's race in 39:11 and won a cash prize for her efforts. Yippee! She has transformed herself from a middle distance runner into a wonderful long-distance runner. Neat! Web was third overall in 35:39 and continues to excel for ARE. Lisa was fifth overall and first in the 30-39 in 41:27. Three Forever Foxes from different eras and mostly different teams, still running strong as post-graduates. The colors have changed but the pride in them remains forever. Nicely done, team!

Stitch in time

As we prepared for two challenging workouts at the rail trail in New Paltz on an impossibly steamy Friday, the biggest concern was adapting to the relentless humidity and heat. But, as often happens, life takes unexpected turns. Everybody handled the humidity as well as could be expected and got their workouts in to varying degrees of success -- both in the midday men's workout and the mid-afternoon women's workout. Sophomore Dan Hillman had perhaps his best tempo workout at the trail, covering the 6-mile out-and-back tempo is a very strong time for him. He was pleased with it, and we've been thrilled at his excellent progress so far in the early stages of the XC season. After hydrating, he set off on his cooldown, heading south on the trail toward the Village of New Paltz. His foot caught a

little lip in the pavement (been there, done that) and he went airborne (been there, done that), landing hard on his knee and the palms of his hands. He was a bloody mess by the time we found him, but he said he wasn't in too much pain (Hillman's a tough kid). We patched him up as best as we could in the park-and-ride lot (good thing we remembered to bring a med kit with us), got him back to the training room for evaluation (photo to left from van ride home) and treatment, and he was dispatched to the ER for stitches. As you can see above. He will be fine, although given the location of the stitches he was told not to run, bike or swim for a week -- a death sentence for a high mileage XC runner. He took the news well and we're confident he will come back strong soon.

Omar in New Haven

Fifth-year runner Omar Perez ran in the New Haven 5k on Labor Day and was able to meet US Olympic medalist Emma Coburn. He is shown here with her and with his longtime friend Keaton Mangi. Omar got third in his age group in the 5km and proved that he is in great shape after a busy summer working in the California wilderness. Although he does not have XC eligibility, Omar is a big part of the program and will be helping our team throughout the fall as he prepares for the indoor and outdoor track seasons. Nicely done!

Happy New Year: First day of school finally arrives

Not sure why, maybe the protracted stretches of high humidity, but this summer has seemed interminably long. Don't get me wrong, it's been a great summer, and the warm-weather months and days of longer sunlight are perhaps my favorite of the year. But enough is enough and it's time for the kids to mercifully go back to school; yesterday was their first day back here in Hyde Park. I post this photo here for the benefit of all that are not connected to us on Facebook, the traditional "first day of school" photos: Joey, entering 12th grade; Natalie, entering 9th grade; James, entering 5th grade. A large part of parenting is being in a constant state of worry. Today, for the first time, Joey drove to high school with his sister riding shotgun. Down the road they went, bumpin' to the terrible music on K104, smiling and looking forward to the first Friday of the new school year. In the front yard, their nervous parents walked the dogs and waved goodbye. Another school year has started. Away we go ...

Home meet: Link to professional photos

Here is a link to many excellent action shots from Stockton Photo Inc. Happy browsing and shopping.

Home meet: Senior Day group photo

Awesome shot of seniors, with their parents/family/friends. Great way to honor them and to look forward to what we hope will be a memorable senior year for the Track/XC Class of 2017. OK!

Home meet: Men's results, past times, paces, photos

Second take on the men's results, with past times, pace-per-mile for the odd 6km (3.73-mile) distance and a few more photos from today. 

Marist Season Opener XC Meet

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Men’s team standings

1-Marist 21, 2. Iona 42, 3. Fairfield 84, 4. LIU Post 104

Men’s individual results, 6km course

1-Matt Baffuto (Marist) 18:52.5 (5:03.8 pace)

2015: 19:51.0

2. Dietrich Mosel (Marist) 19:05.6 (5:07.3)

2014: 20:27.62; 2015: 19:47.1

3. Ross Wightman (Iona) 19:10.5

4. Christian Alberico (Iona) 19:12.4

5. Saad Baig (Marist) 19:13.4 (5:09.4)

2014: 19:55.34; 2015: 20:29.3

6. Spencer Johnson (Marist) 19:22.5 (5:11.8)

2014: 20:20.53; 2015: 19:06.9

7. Alex Hogue (Marist) 19:25.1 (5:12.5)

8. Riley Hughes (Marist) 19:27.7 (5:13.2)

2015: 19:33.2

9. Steven Morrison (Marist) 19:31.0 (5:14.1)

2014: 19:20.11; 2015: 20:12.0

10. Michael Kennedy (Marist) 19:32.1 (5:14.4)

2015: 20:23.3

11. Christopher Rivas (Marist) 19:32.4 (5:14.5)

12. Johnny Lee (unattached/Marist) 19:34.0 (5:14.9)

2014: 19:27.71; 2015: 19:08.0

13. Matt Adolph (Marist) 19:34.4 (5:15.0)

14. Thomas McClellan (Iona) 19:34.8

15. Steven Rizzo (Marist) 19:35.2 (5:15.2)

2014: 19:42.72; 2015: 19:31.1

16. Zachary Ropes (Marist) 19:38.0 (5:16.0)

17. Sam Daly (Fairfield) 19:42.6

18. Stefan Morton (Marist) 19:46.8 (5:18.3)

2014: 21:47.07; 2015: DNR

19. Patrick Hickey (Marist) 19:47.7 (5:18.6)

2014: 20:01.82; 2015: 20:40.6

20. Andy Adamovics (Iona) 19:49.5

21. Joseph Miller (Marist) 19:53.8 (5:20.2)

2014: 20:27.16; 2015: 19:54.0

22. Danny Galvin (Iona) 20:01.8

23. Palmer Weimann (Marist) 20:04.7 (5:23.1)

2015: 19;34.7

24. Brian Warsh (Iona) 20:12.0

25. Dan Hillman (Marist) 20:15.8 (5:26.1)

26. Conor Stack (Marist) 20:19.3 (5:27.0)

27. Elias Platanias (Marist) 20:32.3 (5:30.5)

28. Drew Burns (Marist) 20:34.4 (5:31.1)

2015: 20:55.6

29. Connor Levins (Marist) 20:36.4 (5:31.6)

30. Michael Flanagan (Fairfield) 20:39.2

31. Brian Edsall (Marist) 20:39.9 (5:32.6)

2014: 21:01.81; 2015: 19:40.8

32. Brian Henderson (Marist) 20:45.7 (5:34.1)

2015: 20:42.9

33. Will Duggan (Marist) 20:47.5 (5:34.6)

2014: 21:46.80; 2015: 21:12.4

34. Jeffrey Reyes (LIU Post) 20:49.6

35. Chris Fischer (Fairfield) 21:06.8

36. Zach Toner (Marist) 21:09.7 (5:40.6)

2014: 20:57.61; 2015: 20:31.9

37. Will Esposito (Marist) 21:13.7 (5:41.7)

38. Joseph Ranni (LIU Post) 21:24.6

39. Eddie White (Marist) 21:27.2 (5:45.2)

2014: 21:21.65; 2015: 21:01.3

40. Dom Fortino (Marist) 21:30.9 (5:46.2)

2015: 20:24.1

41. Robert Kirsty (Iona) 21:40.3

42. Jake Hensler (Marist) 21:41.0 (5:48.9)

2014: 20:44.50; 2015: 20:37.1

43. Matthew Hawker (Marist) 21:43.6 (5:49.6)

44. Jordan Dixon (Fairfield) 21:52.5

45. Jalyn Alvarez (Marist) 21:55.0 (5:52.7)

46. Stephen Jastrzembski (Fairfield) 22:04.3

47. Ryan Gioe (LIU Post) 22:09.9

48. Eamonn Beers (Marist) 22:16.5 (5:58.5)

2015: 21:19.6

49. Tyler McGarvey (LIU Post) 22:22.2

50. Chris Margres (Fairfield) 22:34.4

51. William Coelho (LIU Post) 24:02.0

52. Justin Ortega (LIU Post) 26:42.5

Home meet: Women's results, past times and photos

Here's a second take on the women's results, with a few of Louis Caporale's photos. Especially like the one of Mariah and Emily being goaded on by former assistant coach/now volunteer assistant coach/loyal alum Cuesta. 

Marist Season Opener XC Meet

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Women’s team standings

1-Iona 28, 2. Marist 38, 3. LIU Post 89, 4. Fairfield 90

Women’s individual results, 5km course

1-Helena Keenan (Iona) 18:34.9

2. Talya Williams (LIU Post) 18:35.6

3. Cassandra Gill (Iona) 18:53.5

4. Orlaith Moynihan (Iona) 18:54.4

5. Shea Bohan (Marist) 18:55.6

2015: 20:01.9

6. Elizabeth Wasserman (Marist) 18:58.2

2015: 19:04.3

7. Shannon O’Hehir (Iona) 19:03.0

8. Mariah Christian (Marist) 19:13.6

2014: 19:51.32; 2015: 19:37.8

9. Emily Burns (Marist) 19:19.3

2015: 18:35.8

10. Mara Schiffhauer (Marist) 19:23.8

2014: 18:59.22; 2015: 18:29.1

11. Alexandra Bartolotta (Marist) 19:28.1

12. Janelle Solviletti (Marist) 19:35.7

2014: 19:29.98; 2015: 19:10.5

13. Jenna Robinson (Marist) 19:37.4

2014: 19:43.12; 2015: 19:34.8

14. Danika Jensen (Iona) 19:38.6

15. Roxy Novo (Marist) 19:39.2

2014: 20:18.29; 2015: 20:22.4

16. Alyssa Lafave (Marist) 19:42.4

17. Denise Grohn (Marist) 19:43.0

18. Bryn Gorberg (Marist) 19:43.9

2014: 19:58.32

19. Bianca Luparello (Marist) 19:45.7

2014: 20:56.53; 2015: 19:59.0

20. Christine Gambell (Marist) 19:48.4

2014: 22:06.39; 2015: 21:42.1

21. Jordan Casey (Marist) 19:49.4

2015: 20:28.2

22. Kara McKenna (Iona) 19:55.1

23. Ashlin Conroy (LIU Post) 19:56.3

24. Kerry Gaye (Marist) 20:02.7

25. Alyssa Hurlbut (Marist) 20:03.7

26. Annie Gould (unattached/Marist) 20:07.5

2014: 20:04.38; 2015: 19:49.3

27. Olivia Lappas (Marist) 20:31.0

2014: 20:18.29; 2015: 21:01.9

28. Emily Franko (Marist) 20:40.4

2015: 20:39.3

29. Boushra Belkhir (Marist) 20:43.9

30. Brianne Vess (Marist) 20:45.3

2014: 20:05.15; 2015: 19:58.6

31. Kim Schwartz (Marist) 21:01.6

2014: 19:55.28

32. Stephanie Vickers (Fairfield) 21:02.3

33. Sami Corey (Fairfield) 21:07.1

34. Jacqueline Willsey (Fairfield) 21:09.8

35. Jackie Bunce (Marist) 21:16.0

2014: 21:29.61; 2015: 20:30.6

36. Sarah Morrissette (Fairfield) 21:23.8

37. Kelsi Farren (Fairfield) 21:32.5

38. Kaylee Bergen (Fairfield) 21:39.0

39. Katie Kern (Fairfield) 21:42.2

40. Nicolette (LIU Post) 21:59.1

41. Kristi Licursi (Marist) 22:01.4

2014: 23:03.78

42. Taylor Mueller (Marist) 22:10.4

2015: 20:48.9

43. Julia Wood (Fairfield) 22:19.3

44. Hannah Albert (Marist) 22:33.6

2015: 20:30.1

45. Shannon Gildea (Marist) 23:04.6

2014: 22:36.31; 2015: 22:02.7

46. Kaitlie Schillaci (LIU Post) 23:16.0

47. Kaitlyn Jones (LIU Post) 24:17.7

48. Nicole Costanzo (LIU Post) 24:43.6

49. Alexandria Okon (LIU Post) 24:48.1

50. Charlene Hickey (LIU Post) 24:50.7

51. Kerri Sexton (Iona) 25:20.3

Home meet: FreshMEN

Thanks to Ellen Stack, mom of freshman Conor Stack, for sending me this and other excellent pix from today's meet. Here is a photo of the freshman men's XC class, all 12 of them. They have worked hard through preseason and while not all of them are racing to top form yet, they have bonded and formed the nucleus of what we hope will be an excellent present and future for the squad.

Home meet: Photos from a loyal alum

A few more things to be grateful for: Loyal alum Louis Caporale from the late 1990s made the trip over from his southern Dutchess County home to check out the current team. He took a lot of excellent photos and sent me a link to them. Check it out and happy scrolling. There are some excellent shots! I will post a few select ones in a while as well.

Home meet: Men's results

Marist Season Opener XC Meet

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Men’s team standings

1-Marist 21, 2. Iona 42, 3. Fairfield 84, 4. LIU Post 104

Men’s individual results, 6km course

1-Matt Baffuto (Marist) 18:52.5

2. Dietrich Mosel (Marist) 19:05.6

3. Ross Wightman (Iona) 19:10.5

4. Christian Alberico (Iona) 19:12.4

5. Saad Baig (Marist) 19:13.4

6. Spencer Johnson (Marist) 19:22.5

7. Alex Hogue (Marist) 19:25.1

8. Riley Hughes (Marist) 19:27.7

9. Steven Morrison (Marist) 19:31.0

10. Michael Kennedy (Marist) 19:32.1

11. Christopher Rivas (Marist) 19:32.4

12. Johnny Lee (unattached/Marist) 19:34.0

13. Matt Adolph (Marist) 19:34.4

14. Thomas McClellan (Iona) 19:34.8

15. Steven Rizzo (Marist) 19:35.2

16. Zachary Ropes (Marist) 19:38.0

17. Sam Daly (Fairfield) 19:42.6

18. Stefan Morton (Marist) 19:46.8

19. Patrick Hickey (Marist) 19:47.7

20. Andy Adamovics (Iona) 19:49.5

21. Joseph Miller (Marist) 19:53.8

22. Danny Galvin (Iona) 20:01.8

23. Palmer Weimann (Marist) 20:04.7

24. Brian Warsh (Iona) 20:12.0

25. Dan Hillman (Marist) 20:15.8

26. Conor Stack (Marist) 20:19.3

27. Elias Platanias (Marist) 20:32.3

28. Drew Burns (Marist) 20:34.4

29. Connor Levins (Marist) 20:36.4

30. Michael Flanagan (Fairfield) 20:39.2

31. Brian Edsall (Marist) 20:39.9

32. Brian Henderson (Marist) 20:45.7

33. Will Duggan (Marist) 20:47.5

34. Jeffrey Reyes (LIU Post) 20:49.6

35. Chris Fischer (Fairfield) 21:06.8

36. Zach Toner (Marist) 21:09.7

37. Will Esposito (Marist) 21:13.7

38. Joseph Ranni (LIU Post) 21:24.6

39. Eddie White (Marist) 21:27.2

40. Dom Fortino (Marist) 21:30.9

41. Robert Kirsty (Iona) 21:40.3

42. Jake Hensler (Marist) 21:41.0

43. Matthew Hawker (Marist) 21:43.6

44. Jordan Dixon (Fairfield) 21:52.5

45. Jalyn Alvarez (Marist) 21:55.0

46. Stephen Jastrzembski (Fairfield) 22:04.3

47. Ryan Gioe (LIU Post) 22:09.9

48. Eamonn Beers (Marist) 22:16.5

49. Tyler McGarvey (LIU Post) 22:22.2

50. Chris Margres (Fairfield) 22:34.4

51. William Coelho (LIU Post) 24:02.0

52. Justin Ortega (LIU Post) 26:42.5

Home meet: Women's results

Marist Season Opener XC Meet

Saturday, September 3, 2016

Women’s team standings

1-Iona 28, 2. Marist 38, 3. LIU Post 89, 4. Fairfield 90

Women’s individual results, 5km course

1-Helena Keenan (Iona) 18:34.9

2. Talya Williams (LIU Post) 18:35.6

3. Cassandra Gill (Iona) 18:53.5

4. Orlaith Moynihan (Iona) 18:54.4

5. Shea Bohan (Marist) 18:55.6

6. Elizabeth Wasserman (Marist) 18:58.2

7. Shannon O’Hehir (Iona) 19:03.0

8. Mariah Christian (Marist) 19:13.6

9. Emily Burns (Marist) 19:19.3

10. Mara Schiffhauer (Marist) 19:23.8

11. Alexandra Bartolotta (Marist) 19:28.1

12. Janelle Solviletti (Marist) 19:35.7

13. Jenna Robinson (Marist) 19:37.4

14. Danika Jensen (Iona) 19:38.6

15. Roxy Novo (Marist) 19:39.2

16. Alyssa Lafave (Marist) 19:42.4

17. Denise Grohn (Marist) 19:43.0

18. Bryn Gorberg (Marist) 19:43.9

19. Bianca Luparello (Marist) 19:45.7

20. Christine Gambell (Marist) 19:48.4

21. Jordan Casey (Marist) 19:49.4

22. Kara McKenna (Iona) 19:55.1

23. Ashlin Conroy (LIU Post) 19:56.3

24. Kerry Gaye (Marist) 20:02.7

25. Alyssa Hurlbut (Marist) 20:03.7

26. Annie Gould (unattached/Marist) 20:07.5

27. Olivia Lappas (Marist) 20:31.0

28. Emily Franko (Marist) 20:40.4

29. Boushra Belkhir (Marist) 20:43.9

30. Brianne Vess (Marist) 20:45.3

31. Kim Schwartz (Marist) 21:01.6

32. Stephanie Vickers (Fairfield) 21:02.3

33. Sami Corey (Fairfield) 21:07.1

34. Jacqueline Willsey (Fairfield) 21:09.8

35. Jackie Bunce (Marist) 21:16.0

36. Sarah Morrissette (Fairfield) 21:23.8

37. Kelsi Farren (Fairfield) 21:32.5

38. Kaylee Bergen (Fairfield) 21:39.0

39. Katie Kern (Fairfield) 21:42.2

40. Nicolette (LIU Post) 21:59.1

41. Kristi Licursi (Marist) 22:01.4

42. Taylor Mueller (Marist) 22:10.4

43. Julia Wood (Fairfield) 22:19.3

44. Hannah Albert (Marist) 22:33.6

45. Shannon Gildea (Marist) 23:04.6

46. Kaitlie Schillaci (LIU Post) 23:16.0

47. Kaitlyn Jones (LIU Post) 24:17.7

48. Nicole Costanzo (LIU Post) 24:43.6

49. Alexandria Okon (LIU Post) 24:48.1

50. Charlene Hickey (LIU Post) 24:50.7

51. Kerri Sexton (Iona) 25:20.3

Home meet: Thanks

Just getting back home after a wonderful morning at Vassar Farm for our "home" meet and senior day. We got what we want accomplished for our first meet -- shaking off the rust, putting up some solid performances, finding out how much work we have to do, etc. A relative newcomer to the area and to our program, marveling at the friends and family and the beautiful surrounding of the Vassar Farm property, asked me "how do you do it?" ... meaning, having a program without on campus facilities. As I ponder that question now, the answer is a line from an old Beatles song: We get by with a little help from our friends. Only. It's not a little. It's a lot. So now, on that theme, I would like to offer grateful thanks to the following folks who allow us to have a great day for our athletes at "home" ...

1. Vassar College and its XC/track staff -- specifically head coaches James McCowan and Justin Harris. Today, Jut was our on-site manager. His early-morning presence put me immediately at ease, despite his sleepiness. He set up the course, got a few course marshals out there and generally took charge of a course and a property that is not our own. It makes "hosting" a meet a piece of cake. I say it often but I cannot say it often enough: We are not what we are without the help and cooperation from our friends at Vassar.
2. Speaking of piece of cake ... and food ... and all other things good: Thanks to Kathy and Chris Gould for "coming out of retirement" to commandeer the team tailgate. With a new wave of parents and families, hopefully this fine tradition will continue. Thanks to the Goulds for continuing it on a day in which they didn't have to. They are and will always be a cornerstone family in our program.
3. Marist athletics administration -- facilities coordinator Darren McCormack was there a little after dawn with me, setting up tables and tents. Head trainer Jeff Carter was there, as was are SID staff (Andy Alongi, Sam Rathbun, Nick McGahan) who orchestrated a perfect Senior Day. And of course, AD Tim Murray and SWA Liz Donohue continue to provide a strong yet calming presence atop our department.
4. Father Richard LaMorte is a friend to our program and a friend to us all, and it was great for him to be there for us today.
5. A special thank you and welcome to our new College President, David Yellen, and his wife, Leslie Richards-Yellen, for their presence at the meet. Although he is still very new to our school, having officially taken office on July 1, President Yellen seems to feel right at home here at Marist; we are glad to have him at Marist, and we were honored to have him at our meet.
6. Thanks to Tim Fulton of Fulton Accurate Timing (FAT) for scoring the meet quickly and efficiently.
7. Thanks to Terry Horton, Ken Kraft and the other Dutchess County officials who made the meet go smoothly as well.
8. Lastly and most importantly: Thanks to all the parents and family members. Without you, there is no team. With you, our track/XC family continues to grow each and every year. For the new families, we're happy to have you; for the returning families, we're happy to have you back.

OK. I will post results and other comments later. For those of you firmly entrenched in the 21st Century, you've probably already seen the results via Twitter or elsewhere. It was a good day. On the course and off.

Friday's practice: Theme USA

Just saw these photos posted on Social Media, from yesterday's pre-meet run. Theme USA! This morning at Vassar Farm, it'll just be red and white as we don the uniforms in a meet for the first time in months. Neat!

Home meet on Saturday

A few quick reminders/notes about Saturday's meet.

Men's race, 6km, at 9 a.m.
Women's race, 5km, at 9:45 a.m.
Senior day presentations, approximately 10:45/11 a.m.

Parking: Please go where Vassar security directs you. Parking will be restricted/not available near the race course due to the Poughkeepsie Farm Project's use of the lot. It will be a nice morning; enjoy the walk!

Although this is our "home" meet, we rely heavily on the Vassar XC staff (James and Justin, primarily) for their support and set-up, as well as the entire Vassar athletics administration. We are grateful for all they do for our program throughout the year. We couldn't do it without our good neighbors across town. So please be extra nice and respectful to our friends at Vassar who allow us to hold this season opener on their property, and who allow us to practice on their track/XC facilities throughout the year.

MAAC Championships at Disney: Spectator/fan information

Please see the following memo from the MAAC office regarding the XC Championships at Disney, for all parents, alums and anyone else interested in attending this championship. Please note that our travel squad is limited for this meet -- we don't bring the entire team. Any questions, let me know.

MAAC Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Championships

October 27-29, 2016

ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex

Official spectator travel package includes…

Resort Accommodations

3-night stay at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Admission to 2016 MAAC Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Awards Banquet at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ on Saturday, October 29th

All guests traveling to the 2016 Awards Banquet are required to take special MAAC bus transportation from Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort to the banquet at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™

Call 407-939-7810 to reserve your package today! 3-Night Travel Package $ 414*

 Admission to the ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex for the MAAC Men’s & Women’s Cross Country Championships can be purchased directly at the ESPN Wide World of Sports® Box Office. Pricing is as follows:

$17.50 daily per adult ($12.50 per child**) for a one day entrance into the sports complex

Specially priced Walt Disney World® theme park tickets are also available through Walt Disney Sports Travel.

Transportation to the ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex from Disney’s Coronado Springs resort is not included.

*Per person price based on adult double-occupancy. Must arrive on or before October 28th. If you would like to upgrade your room type or extend your stay, please contact Walt Disney Sports Travel at 407-939-7810. Other lengths of stay are available. All options are based on availability. Tax is not included.

**Child Ages 3-9

Two (2) Night Minimum Stay Required

Also: The MAAC will have a limited number of banquet tickets for sale for parents/fans who do not purchase packages. Those interested should reach out to Lily.Rodriguez@maac.org directly by October 1.