Colonial Relays: Men's results, Day 1 -- two IC4A qualifiers!

Dietrich Mosel and Mike Kennedy, after their IC4A qualifying races

Tremendous first day for the men:

--Dietrich Mosel (30:43.90) and Mike Kennedy (31:21.15) both earned IC4A qualifying marks in the 10,000-meter run. For Dietrich, it was a 43-second PR; for Kennedy, it was a PR by more than 1 minute.
--Also in the 10km, Matt Baffuto ran a PR by 20 seconds (31:40.60), falling just a little shy of the IC4A standard of 31:30.00. He's knocking on the door, though.
--In the rarely run 3,000-meter men's race, Stefan Morton (8;32.60) and Steven Rizzo (8:36.24) both earned strong PRs.
--Lastly! After an admittedly small sample size (2 events), Marist is in a four-way tie for first place with 10 points. For a point-starved program like ours, that's pretty neat!

It should be noted, too, that our men and women boarded a JTR bus at 5:30 a.m., and proceeded on a 10-hour journey before tonight's events. No excuses, no whining, just results. Now, THAT'S neat.

Colonial Relays, Day 1

Zable Stadium, College of William and Mary

Williamsburg, VA

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Men’s results and splits

3,000-meter run

3. Stefan Morton 8:32.60

67, 2:16 (69), 3:26 (70), 4:34 (68), 5:44 (70), 6:54 (70), 8:00 (66), 8:32.60 (32.60)

9. Steven Rizzo 8:36.24

68, 2:16 (68), 3:26 (70), 4:35 (69), 5:44 (69), 6:54 (70), 8:01 (67), 8:36.24 (35.24)

15. Saad Baig 8:52.45

68, 2:16 (68), 3:26 (70), 4:36 (70), 5:50 (74), 7:06 (76), 8:19 (73), 8:52.45 (33.45)

32. Conor Stack 9:11.71

72, 2:25 (73), 3:38 (73), 4:54 (75), 6:09 (75), 7:25 (76), 8:40 (75), 9:11.71 (31.71)

10,000-meter run

6. Dietrich Mosel 30:43.90 *ICAAAA qualifier

71, 2:29 (78), 3:43 (74), 4:57 (74)

6:12 (75), 7:27 (75), 8:40 (73), 9:55 (75)

11:10 (75), 12:25 (75), 13:39 (74), 14:54 (75)

16:09 (75), 17:20 (71), 18:35 (75), 19:49 (74)

21:02 (73), 22:16 (74), 23:32 (76), 24:46 (74)

25:59 (73), 27:11 (72), 28:25 (74), 29:38 (73)

30:43.90 (65.90)

1600m splits: 4:57, 4:58, 4:59, 4:55, 4:57, 4:52

5km splits: 15:30, 15:13.90

17. Mike Kennedy 31:21.15 *ICAAAA qualifier

76, 2:32 (76), 3:47 (75), 5:03 (76)

6:18 (75), 7:33 (75), 8:48 (75), 10:02 (74)

11:19 (77), 12:35 (76), 13:49 (74), 15:03 (74)

16:18 (75), 17:32 (74), 18:48 (76), 20:03 (75)

21:18 (75), 22:34 (76), 23:48 (74), 25:04 (76)

26:20 (76), 27:36 (76), 28:53 (77), 30:08 (75)

31:21.15 (73.15)

1600m splits: 5:03, 4:49, 5:01, 5:00, 5:01, 5:04

5km splits: 15:40, 15:41.15

22. Matt Baffuto 31:40.60

74, 2:30 (76), 3:45 (75), 4:59 (74)

6:13 (74), 7:28 (75), 8:41 (73), 9:55 (74)

11:10 (75), 12:25 (75), 13:39 (74), 14:55 (76)

16:09 (74), 17:23 (74), 18:39 (76), 19:56 (77)

21:13 (77), 22:32 (79), 23:50 (78), 25:08 (78)

26:27 (79), 27:47 (80), 29:06 (79), 30:23 (77)

31:40.60 (77.60)

1600m splits: 4:59, 4:56, 5:00, 5:01, 5:02, 5:15

5km splits: 15:31, 16:09.60

36. Riley Hughes 32:31.12

76, 2:33 (77), 3:48 (75), 5:03 (75)

6:18 (75), 7:33 (75), 8:48 (75), 10:02 (74)

11:19 (77), 12:36 (77), 13:54 (78), 15:13 (79)

16:31 (78), 17:50 (79), 19:11 (81), 20:31 (80)

21:52 (81), 23:12 (80), 24:33 (81), 25:53 (80)

27:13 (80), 28:33 (80), 29:54 (81), 31:12 (78)

32:31.12 (79.12)

1600m splits: 5:03, 4:59, 5:11, 5:18, 5:22, 5:19

5km splits: 15:52, 16:39.12

Team standings after Day 1

1-(tie) Marist, Manhattan, Mount Olive, Duquesne 10, 5. Maryland and William and Mary 8, 7. Norfolk State and Rutgers 5, 9. St. Joseph’s 4, 10. Fordham 3, 11. UNC Pembroke and Johns Hopkins 2, 13. Queens (NC) 1

Colonial Relays: Women's results, Day 1

Colonial Relays, Day 1

Zable Stadium, College of William and Mary

Williamsburg, VA

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Women’s results and splits

3,000-meter run

Mara Schiffhauer 10:11.13

79, 2:40 (81), 3:59 (79), 5:20 (81), 6:42 (82), 8:04 (82), 9:28 (84), 10:11.13 (43.13)

Boushra Belkhir 10:51.42

83, 2:47 (84), 4:12 (85), 5:36 (84), 7:00 (84), 8:32 (92), 10:07 (95), 10:51.42 (44.42)

Colonial Relays: Meet schedule

Colonial Relays

Order of events and final time schedule

Thursday, March 30

6:30 p.m.: Men’s 3,000 (2 sections)

6:55 p.m.: Women’s 3,000 (2 sections)

7:20 p.m.: Men’s 10,000 (1 section)

8:00 p.m.: Women’s 10,000 (1 section)

Friday, March 31

11:30 a.m.: Men’s 110 hurdles prelims (8 sections)

12 noon: Women’s 100 hurdles prelims (8 sections)

12:30 p.m.: Men’s 100 dash (10 sections, timed final)

1:00 p.m.: Women’s 100 dash (10 sections, timed final)

1:30 p.m.: Men’s 400 hurdles (8 sections)

2:00 p.m.: Women’s 400 hurdles (8 sections)

2:30 p.m.: Men’s 400 dash (10 sections)

3:00 p.m.: Women’s 400 dash (10 sections)

3:30 p.m.: Men’s 200 dash (10 sections)

4:00 p.m.: Women’s 200 dash (10 sections)

Officials break

5:00 p.m.: Men’s 800 run (9 sections)

5:30 p.m.: Women’s 800 run (9 sections)

6:00 p.m.: Men’s steeplechase (2 sections)

6:30 p.m.: Women’s steeplechase (2 sections)

7:00 p.m.: Boys HS Invitational Mile

7:10 p.m.: Girls HS Invitational Mile

7:15 p.m.: Men’s 1,500 (6 sections)

7:45 p.m.: Women’s 1,500 (6 sections)

8:20 p.m.: Men’s 5,000 (3 sections)

9:20 p.m.: Women’s 5,000 (3 sections)

Saturday, April 1

9:10 a.m.: Men’s 4x800 relay (2 sections)

9:40 a.m.: Women’s 4x800 relay (2 sections)

10:15 a.m.: Men’s 4x100 relay (4 sections)

10:45 a.m.: Women’s 4x100 relay (6 sections)

11:15 a.m.: Salute to Service Ft. Eustis 4x100 relay

Officials break

11:50 a.m.: Men’s 110 hurdle final

11:55 a.m.: Women’s 100 hurdle final

12:05 p.m.: Men’s sprint medley relay (4 sections)

12:30 p.m.: Women’s sprint medley relay (4 sections)

1:00 p.m.: Men’s 4x200 relay (4 sections)

1:20 p.m.: Women’s 4x200 relay (5 sections)

2:00 p.m.: Men’s DMR (2 sections)

2:40 p.m.: Women’s DMR (2 sections)

3:10 p.m.: Men’s 4x1500 relay (2 sections)

3:50 p.m.: Women’s 4x1500 relay (2 sections)

4:35 p.m.: Men’s 4x400 relay (5 sections)

5:10 p.m.: Women’s 4x400 relay (5 sections)

Walkway Marathon: Sign up to run!

Although we still have remnants of the mid-March blizzard on our lawn, spring is most definitely coming soon. It's not too soon to start thinking about the Walkway Marathon races -- marathon, half marathon, 5km -- on Sunday, June 11. Once again, we are hopeful for a large Marist turnout from alumni, current team members, family members, etc. So if you are thinking about running one of the races, consider signing up for it at walkwaymarathon.org. Once again, our friends at the Walkway are providing us with a Marist Running discount code. It would be foolhardy of me to post it here for the world to see, but if you are interested in registering with this code, e-mail me at runhed246@hotmail.com or text me at 845 309 3640 and I'll let you know what the code is. OK!

What's next: Colonial Relays

Quick turnaround to our next meet -- Colonial Relays down at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. We leave very early on Thursday morning and return very late on Saturday night. It's a three-day meet, with a few distance races on Thursday night (3km and 10km), followed by mostly open races on Friday morning, afternoon and evening, and then mostly relay races on Saturday morning and afternoon. It's a long weekend but worth the long trip to Williamsburg. Check back for schedule updates, results, and maybe a few photos too!

Monmouth Season Opener, in pictures

Thanks to Mr. Ropes (Zach Ropes' dad) for providing great (I mean GREAT) photos from Saturday's meet at Monmouth. Check out this link to the many photos he took. Always awesome to have family support at the meets.

Monmouth Season Opener: Men's results and splits

Monmouth University Season Opener

West Long Branch, NJ

Saturday. March 25, 2017

Men’s results

200-meter dash

22. Tim Johnson 23.29

24. Joe Cafaro 23.42

38. Sean Patterson 23.71

48. Santosh Krishnan 24.04

400-meter dash

15. Tim Johnson 50.99

31. Santosh Krishnan 52.80

800-meter run

25. Anthony Colasanto 2:02.99 (opening lap = 56)

29. Brian Henderson 2:03.86 (opening lap = 56.45)

43. Nate Lungarini 2:09.27 (opening lap = 58)

1,500-meter run

6. Stefan Morton 3:58.88

65, 2:07 (62), 3:09 (62), 3:58.88 (49.88)

8. Zachary Ropes 4:01.12

66, 2:09 (63), 3:13 (64), 4:01.12 (48.12)

12. Saad Baig 4:05.27

66, 2:12 (66), 3:18 (66), 4:05.27 (47.27)

17. Palmer Weimann 4:06.82

68, 2:16 (68), 3:19 (63), 4:06.82 (47.82)

19. Joe Miller 4:08.02

64, 2:13 (69), 3:18 (65), 4:08.02 (50.02)

26. Dan Hillman 4:11.61

67, 2:15 (68), 3:18 (63), 4:11.61 (53.61)

Mile run

1-Eamonn Beers 4:40.85

66, 2:16 (70), 3:27 (71), 4:40.85 (73.85, 409-meter split)

3. Zach Toner 4:46.65

67, 2:17 (70), 3:31 (74), 4:46.65 (75.65, 409-meter split)

5,000-meter run

1-Dietrich Mosel 14:57.92

73, 2:26 (73), 3:39 (73), 4:52 (73)

6:04 (72), 7:16 (72), 8:26 (70), 9:37 (71)

10:49 (72), 12:02 (73), 13:14 (72), 14:24 (70)

14:57.92 (33.92)

1600m splits: 4:52, 4:45, 4:47

9. Matt Baffuto 15:22.94

74, 2:27 (73), 3:40 (73), 4:52 (72)

6:04 (72), 7:16 (72), 8:27 (71), 9:43 (76)

10:57 (74), 12:13 (76), 13:30 (77), 14:44 (74)

15:22.94 (38.94)

1600m splits: 4:52, 4:51, 5:01

17. Elias Platanias 15:41.95

76, 2:30 (74), 3:45 (75), 5:00 (75)

6:17 (77), 7:32 (75), 8:49 (76), 10:04 (75)

11:20 (76), 12:36 (76), 13:52 (76), 15:06 (74)

15:41.95 (35.95)

1600m splits: 5:00, 5:04, 5:02

10,000-meter run

4. Chris Rivas 32:20.76

81, 2:39 (78), 4:00 (81), 5:19 (79)

6:37 (78), 7:55 (78), 9:12 (77), 10:28 (76)

11:44 (76), 13:01 (77), 14:17 (76), 15:33 (76)

16:49 (76), 18:05 (76), 19:22 (77), 20:38 (76)

21:55 (77), 23:13 (78), 24:31 (78), 25:49 (78)

27:07 (78), 28:26 (79), 29:44 (78), 31:03 (79)

32:20.76 (77.76)

1600m splits: 5:19, 5:09, 5:05, 5:05, 5:11, 5:14

5km splits: 16:12, 16:08

8. Will Duggan 33:09.42

77, 2:37 (80), 3:59 (82), 5:19 (80)

6:37 (78), 7:57 (80), 9:16 (79), 10:36 (80)

11:56 (80), 13:14 (78), 14:32 (78), 15:50 (78)

17:08 (78), 18:26 (78), 19:45 (79), 21:05 (80)

22:25 (80), 23:45 (80), 25:07 (82), 26:29 (82)

27:50 (81), 29:11 (81), 30:33 (82), 31:53 (80)

33:09.42 (76.42)

1600m splits: 5:19, 5:17, 5:14, 5:15, 5:24, 5:24

5km splits: 16:29, 16:40

400-meter hurdles

10. Sean Patterson 57.25

16. Joe Cafaro 58.11

3,000-meter steeplechase

7. Riley Hughes 9:52.70

74, 2:29 (75), 3:47 (78), 5:06 (79), 6:25 (79), 7:47 (82), 9:08 (81), 9:52.70 (44.70)

15. Connor Levins 10:15.05

76, 2:31 (75), 3:55 (84), 5:18 (83), 6:44 (86), 8:08 (84), 9:32 (84), 10:15.05 (43.05)

16. Alex Hogue 10:24.64

75, 2:31 (76), 3:54 (83), 5:17 (83), 6:44 (87), 8:12 (88), 9:39 (87), 10:24.64 (45.64)

18. Conor Stack 10:25.42

77, 2:38 (81), 4:02 (84), 5:26 (84), 6:52 (86), 8:19 (87), 9:44 (85), 10:25.42 (41.42)

1,600-meter relay

11. Marist A (Joe Cafaro 54.3, Sean Patterson 52.9, Tim Johnson 52.4, Nate Lungarini 54.4) 3:34.17

16. Marist B (Anthony Colasanto 56.00, Brian Henderson 54.81, Santosh Krishnan 56.65, Dan Hillman 56.06) 3:43.86

3,200-meter relay

2. Marist A (Saad Baig 2:05.25, Palmer Weimann 2:04.57, Stefan Morton 1:58.07, Steven Morrison 1:55.74) 8:04.09

6. Marist B (Zach Ropes 1:57.36, Mark Cappuccitti 2:05.29, Matt Todaro 2:17.17, Will Esposito 2:12.45) 8:32.72

Team standings, Division 1

1-Monmouth 335.50, 2. Manhattan 120, 3. Sacred Heart 84, 4. Marist 73, 5. NJIT 60, 6. Wagner 58.50, 7. Siena 50, 8. St. Joseph’s (PA) 38, 9. St. Francis (NY) 5

Monmouth Season Opener: Women's results and splits

Monmouth University Season Opener

West Long Branch, NJ

Saturday. March 25, 2017

Women’s results

100-meter dash

11. Ashley Haynes 12.80

29. Lauren Adams 13.42

200-meter dash

8. Ashley Haynes 26.18

16. Danisha Craig 26.58

30. Debbie Boerke 27.60

38. Olivia Gage 27.86

40. Lauren Adams 27.93

400-meter dash

20. Olivia Gage 1:02.14

33. Ericka Stewart 1:04.34

41. Emma Schweitzer 1:05.49

800-meter run

17. Alyssa Hurlbut 2:27.77 (opening lap, 71.00)

36. Jess Howe 2:35.06 (opening lap, 73.23)

42. Shannon Gildea 2:44.22 (opening lap, 76.72)

1,500-meter run

7. Christine Gambell 4:45.00

76, 2:34 (78), 3:48 (74), 4:45.00 (57.00)

16. Jenna Robinson 4:56.41

77, 2:38 (81), 3:57 (79), 4:56.41 (59.41)

17. Bryn Gorberg 4:58.51

77, 2:37 (80), 3:58 (81), 4:58.51 (1:00.51)

24. Boushra Belkhir 5:03.55

81, 2:42 (81), 4:03 (81), 5:03.55 (1:00.55)

40. Annie Gould 5:10.24

83, 2:42 (79), 4:06 (84), 5:10.24 (1:04.24)

54. Jackie Bunce 5:20.12

80, 2:45 (85), 4:16 (91), 5:20.12 (1:04.12)

5,000-meter run

13. Brianne Vess 18:38.96

86, 2:56 (90), 4:24 (88), 5:53 (89)

7:23 (90), 8:53 (90), 10:24 (91), 11:54 (90)

13:25 (91), 14:57 (92), 16:28 (91), 17:58 (90)

18:38.96 (40.96)

1600m splits: 5:53, 6:01, 6:04

26. Kerri-Anne Flynn 19:46.76

91, 3:03 (92), 4:34 (91), 6:05 (91)

7:40 (95), 9:17 (97), 10:54 (97), 12:30 (96)

14:07 (97), 15:45 (98), 17:22 (97), 18:59 (97)

19:46.76 (47.76)

1600m splits: 6:05, 6:25, 6:29

400-meter hurdles

9. Debbie Boerke 1:05.99

17. Courtney Cartwright 1:10.68

1,600-meter relay

7. Marist A (Ashley Haynes 63.02, Debbie Boerke 62.09, Jenna Robinson 64.09, Danisha Craig 60.09) 4:09.79

15. Marist B (Courtney Cartwright 65.2, Olivia Gage 65.2, Ericka Stewart 66.5, Lauren Adams 63.8) 4:20.77

Team standings (Division 1)

1-Monmouth 266, 2. Sacred Heart 134, 3. Manhattan 109, 4. St. Joseph’s (PA) 100, 5. Wagner 57, 6. Siena 31, 7. Marist and NJIT 14, 9. Niagara 11

Monmouth Season Opener: March, eventually

We always talk about the weather at the season-opening Monmouth meet -- usually because it stinks. Today, we -- coaches, athletes, etc. -- marveled at how "nice" it was for March in West Long Branch, N.J. It was cloudy but mild, temperature near 60. Several athletes chided me for my many layers and for my winter hat. I knew better. I knew it was March in West Long Branch, and that it would eventually feel like March in West Long Branch. As if on cue, the wind started howling, the rain started falling, and more than one coach was wearing a winter hat and gloves. The steeplechase and the 5k races were held in typical Monmouth Season Opener weather. We left the campus damp and chilly.

However! We also left with a positive feeling after a strong season-opener. Not a lot of rust to bust, and some excellent early season performances to be sure. We are grateful for this early-season meet -- whether or not the weather cooperates. OK!

Monmouth Season Opener: Time schedule

Monmouth University Season Opener

West Long Branch, NJ

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Order of events and time schedule

9 a.m.: Women’s 10km

9:45 a.m.: Men’s 10km

10:20 a.m.: Women’s 400 hurdles

10:35 a.m.: Men’s 400 hurdles

10:55 a.m.: Youth and high school mile

11:05 a.m.: Open and masters mile

11:15 a.m.: Women’s 1,500

11:55 a.m.: Men’s 1,500

12:15 p.m.: Women’s 4x100 relay

12:25 p.m.: Men’s 4x100 relay

12:45 p.m.: Women’s 100 hurdles

1 p.m.: Men’s 110 hurdles

1:15 p.m.: Elite and college women’s 3,000

1:25 p.m.: Elite and college men’s 3,000

1:35 p.m.: Women’s 400

1:55 p.m.: Men’s 400

2:20 p.m.: Women’s 100

2:35 p.m.: Men’s 100

2:50 p.m.: Women’s 800

3:10 p.m.: Men’s 800

3:25 p.m.: Women’s 200

3:50 p.m.: Men’s 200

4:05 p.m.: Women’s 3,000 steeplechase

4:20 p.m.: Men’s 3,000 steeplechase

4:30 p.m.: Women’s 5,000

4:50 p.m.: Men’s 5,000

5:05 p.m.: Women’s 4x800 relay

5:15 p.m.: Men’s 4x800 relay

5:25 p.m.: Women’s 4x400 relay

5:35 p.m.: Men’s 4x400 relay

Outdoor track schedule, 2017

Can't remember if I had posted this yet. The outdoor season starts on Saturday at Monmouth, which traditionally features cold and wet weather. I just checked accuweather.com for West Long Branch, New Jersey, on Saturday, and I had to readjust my reading glasses to see if there was a problem. It said: "a passing morning shower, high of 66." Stop it. It can't BE? Good weather for an early-season meet? I'll believe it when I see it. Here's the outdoor schedule.

Outdoor track schedule

Sat, March 25: Monmouth Season Opener

Thur/Fri/Sat, March 30/March 31/April 1: Colonial Relays

Saturday, April 1: Mark Young Invitational, Yale University

Fri, April 7: Sam Howell Invitational, Princeton

Sat, April 8: Rider Invitational

Thur/Fri, April 13-14: Mt. SAC Relays, Walnut, CA

Fri/Sat, April 14-15: Bison Outdoor Classic, Bucknell University

Sat, April 22: Wolfie Invitational, Stony Brook

Thur/Fri/Sat, April 27-29: Penn Relays

Sun, April 30: Yale Springtime Invitational

Fri, May 5: Vassar Twilight

Sat/Sun, May 6-7: MAAC Championships, Rider University

--- --- ---

Fri/Sat/Sun, May 12-14: IC4A/ECAC, Princeton (qualifiers only)

Thur/Fri/Sat, May 25-27, NCAA Championships, First Round, Lexington, KY (qualifiers only)

June 22-24, USATF Junior Championships, Sacramento, CA (qualifiers only)

Image from the second day of spring

When you can't run on the track? There's always the Hudson Valley Trail Rail in Highland, where the men's and women's middle and long distance teams trained today on a beautiful early-spring afternoon, with the temperature in the low 50s. What an unusual sight to see most of the men strip off their shirts and run in short sleeves or no shirt at all -- shirts hanging from the split rail fence with mounds of snow surrounding it. This is early spring track, circa 2017. OK!

Images from the first day of spring

Sorry these photos are a day late. Here are two photos of the back stretch of the Vassar track from Monday afternoon, the first day of spring. Or, should I say, "spring" ... which has yet to spring around here. Not sure if these photos do it justice, but there's A LOT of snow out there. May be awhile before we can get on the track for some actual track work. Oh well.

Scenes from Spring Break: Spring training, north of the border

When you think of Spring Break venues, what comes to mind? Usually warm-weather sites. You know. Cancun. Florida beaches. Dominican Republic. Puerto Rico. Myrtle Beach. Stuff like that. Well, for a large swath of our men's distance team, the "spring" break venue of choice was Montreal. Yeah. THAT Montreal. You know. The one in Quebec. Canada. North of the border. For those keeping score at home? It was cold in Montreal. It's almost always cold in Montreal, isn't it? Anyway! This group of happy young men put their fine Marist education to good use by scoping out an excellent training venue -- in this case, the indoor track at McGill University. They got their work in, getting through some good track intervals at McGill, with Dietrich and Sami actually remembering to follow our practice policy of wearing team gear. Spring may still be a rumor -- in Montreal, and in Poughkeepsie -- but spring track season is right around the corner, weather or not.

Scenes from Spring Break: Spring training

As referenced in the previous post, here's a glimpse of our few days in the Fort Myers area: James with his first cousin and best buddy Riley. As you can see by their hoodies, it was actually unseasonably cool down there during our stay -- mid 60s and a stiff northwest breeze. Felt like early autumn weather. Of course! Such "chilliness" met with little sympathy and much derision from our family up north. Here, the boys were smiling after shagging fly balls in the outfield prior to the Twins-Cardinals spring training game -- it was a sold out game and set an attendance record at the Twins' spring training stadium. Pretty neat. Nothing like a baseball game in the afternoon sun, especially when someone else was shoveling the snow back at home.

Scenes from Spring Break: Blizzard of 2017

Yeah. So this snowstorm earlier in the week? Apparently, the slight "wobble" in the track of the storm meant that the mid-Hudson Valley of New York was among the hardest hit -- two feet or more in most spots. My wife Heidi put together this awesome collage of photos from around our house, during the storm. I enjoyed receiving these photos via text -- from my location in sunny southwest Florida. Yes. That's right. We (my youngest son James and I) escaped the blizzard with a well-timed trip to visit family in Fort Myers. We are on the flight home, not looking forward to a return to winter after a pleasant few days in the warmth down there. OK!

Breaking down barriers

Here we are, firmly in the year 2017. For those keeping score at home (and I KNOW you are!), this is my 26^th year of coaching the track and cross country teams at Marist. I’ve been at it for almost exactly half my life. That’s a lot of seasons, a lot of athletes, a lot of IDEAS on how to coach a lot of athletes through a lot of seasons. During that time, some core beliefs have been formed. No need to reveal trade secrets here (not that I’m a rocket scientist, or anything), but one of my core beliefs, with distance runners (especially MALE distance runners) is that you do not introduce an event like the 3,000-meter steeplechase to a runner who has never seriously attempted it in high school. In the past, whenever the query has been addressed, something like this: “Coach. I think I could be good at the steeple. You think I could try the steeple?” My immediate, reflexive answer goes something like this: “Uh. No.”

The steeplechase is unlike any other track event. The “3,000-meter” part of it makes it a “distance” event, but the “steeplechase” part of it makes it far more than your average running event. Stop me if you heard this before, but the steeplechase barriers … well, they DON’T MOVE when you hit them with an errant foot, toe, shin or knee. It stays there. You go down, usually in a face-planting heap on the track. This is no laughing matter. We’ve seen some serious injuries incurred during this acrobatic, difficult and challenging event. Oh. Did I mention the water jump? There’s THAT too. It is not an event you enter lightly, with little or no experience. Right? Right.

Well. Sometimes an old dog learns new tricks. Sometimes, rules are made to have exceptions. This spring, three freshmen who have never done this event will give it a go. It is a tenuous experiment. If at any time I feel it doesn’t make sense for any of them in terms of safety, the proverbial plug will be pulled on it. But for now, the three smiling freshmen you see, sitting on a steeple barrier after attempting to hurdle it today in practice, will be training for and possibly racing the steeplechase event this spring: Stack, Levins, Hogue. In the interest of complete fairness, Stack said he ran it once in high school, a while ago, and it went poorly. So, that doesn’t count. Levins and Hogue didn’t race it in high school. In Levins’ case, he didn’t race ANYTHING in high school – he was a wrestler and baseball player during the winter and spring seasons.

All three of them practiced their barrier work today, clearing the barrier 10 times, after our silly 4x400 relay practice (that was GOOD FUN, by the way?) at the Vassar Track. After the first time over the barrier, I thought to myself, “Holy smokes (different, more descriptive, word used), what was I THINKING?” But they quickly got the hang of it. Each will develop their own hurdling style. It may not be pretty, but we’ll try to teach them effective hurdling techniques. The thing about the steeple is this: If you don’t face-plant or submerge half your body in the water, and if you are fit and tough, you can race it well. Form matters, but fitness and toughness matters more. That’s my perspective on it, anyway. Like any experiment or new venture, we will resist the temptation to judge it in the short-term. We will give it time, let it breathe. These guys are more than willing participants; I am an apprehensive but willing accomplice in their efforts. We’ll see how it goes. For one day, anyway, they are smiling, aspiring steeple freshmen.  

Alumni networking event

Please see the flyer to the left, regarding an alumni networking event in April hosted by a great friend to the program, Alyssa Gates of the Student-Athlete Enhancement Center. Many of you alums who check this blog probably have fond memories of Alyssa's great support of our team throughout your time at Marist. This would be a great way to "give back" to her area and also to help out current students who before long will be joining the ranks of alumni as well. If you are interested, please RSVP to Alyssa. And when you are in town, don't forget to look up your old coach. I might have a spare Marist Track T-shirt laying around for you ...

Updating the record board, March 2017

One of my favorite end-of-season rituals is compiling a list of broken school records to send to the company that constructed our school record board, which sits proudly in the McCann Center hallway. As the records get more and more competitive, breaking those records becomes more and more difficult. And so, the additions to this year's record board are extra special, because breaking school records is an extra-special accomplishment. We are proud of these new marks that will soon adorn our board in the hallway. All the while, we look forward to a new season and hopefully adding a few more broken records to the board in a few months' time, when the outdoor track season is complete. Here is the list that I sent to the record board company:

Men

200-meter dash: Tim Johnson 22.51 2017

Sprint medley relay: T. Johnson, D. Burns, B. Henderson, Z. Ropes 3:33.93 2016

Women

60-meter dash: Ashley Haynes 7.92 2016

300-meter dash: Ashley Haynes/Holly Burns 42.56 2016/2010

400-meter dash: Danisha Craig 58.05 2017

4x400 relay: J. Horner, A. Haynes, D. Boerke, D. Craig 3:59.04 2017

4x800 relay: S. Bohan, K. Gaye, D. Grohn, E. Burns 9:12.60 2017

ECAC Championships: DMR, second-fastest in school history

The women concluded an excellent weekend with a strong follow-up performance in the distance medley relay final. Three of the four legs were doubling back from last night’s incredible 4x800; only 400-meter leg Danisha Craig was fresh, and she did her usual stellar job with a 58.13-second leg. Danisha had an MVP-caliber season for us, start to finish. The other ladies raced tough and well, and the end result was the second-fastest time in school history for the DMR, according to Coach Chuck. This is a great way to end what has been a strong indoor season for the program. Onward to outdoors!

ECAC Championships

Boston University

Sunday, March 5, 2017

Distance medley relay

16. Marist (Shea Bohan 3:40.40, Danisha Craig 58.13, Kerry Gaye 2:21.54, Emily Burns 5:02.04) 12:02.32

Shea Bohan: 34, 69 (35), 1:46 (37), 2:23 (37), 3:02 (39), 3:40.40 (38.40)

Danisha Craig: 26, 58.13

Kerry Gaye: 33, 69 (36), 1:45 (36), 2:21.54 (36.54)

Emily Burns: 34, 72 (38), 1:50 (38), 2:27 (37), 3:06 (39), 3:46 (40), 4:25 (39), 5:02.04 (37.04)

ECAC Championships: 4x800 record SHATTERED!

Sometimes, it all comes together. Every team member in a relay clicks, and it’s like magic. That’s what happened with our women’s 4x800 on Saturday night at the ECAC Championships. We were in the second section of three, and the pace was blistering. Shea Bohan ran her fastest split to date, and yet handed off at the back of the sizzling hot race; she ran awesome, 2:17.95! Kerry Gaye broke 2:20 for a split for the first time, tremendous; same story, back of the race; Denise Grohn, same thing, awesome splits, awesome leg, back of the field; Emily Burns took charge like any great anchor, caught another team’s anchor, brought home the relay in a monstrous – and I mean HUGE – school record. The 5-year-old school record is now nearly eight seconds (8 seconds!) in the rearview mirror. That’s the true definition of shattering a record. Shattered. Nicely done!

ECAC Championships

Boston University

Saturday, March 4, 2017

3,200-meter relay

13. Marist (Shea Bohan 2:17.95, Kerry Gaye 2:19.19, Denise Grohn 2:19.12, Emily Burns 2:16.01) 9:12.60 *school record, old record 9:20.43 in 2012 by Bree Crowe, Christine Coughlin, Colleen Meenan, Jackie Gamboli; **ECAC outdoor track qualifier

Shea Bohan: 32, 67 (35), 1:42 (35), 2:17.95 (35.95)

Kerry Gaye: 32, 68 (36), 1:44 (36), 2:19.19 (35.19)

Denise Grohn: 32, 67 (35), 1:43 (36), 2:19.12 (36.12)

Emily Burns: 32, 67 (35), 1:42 (35), 2:16.01 (34.01)

IC4A Championships: Relay results and splits

The men’s indoor track season has come to a close today in Boston. The DMR finish was disappointing, but anchor leg Stefan Morton raced extremely well. The 4x800 was a pleasant surprise. Zach Ropes handed off in the lead, Josh Siegel ran strong, Steven Rizzo ran gamely one week after racing a 5km (!) and Anthony Colasanto had a breakthrough effort on the anchor leg. Overall, we believe the future is very bright for the 4x800 relay … and that future starts with the outdoor season, which begins NOW!

ICAAAA Championships

Boston University

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Distance medley relay

24. Marist (Brian Henderson 3:12.32, Tim Johnson 50.38, Drew Burns 1:57.80, Stefan Morton 4:11.07) 10:11.89

Brian Henderson: 31, 62 (31), 1:33 (31), 2:05 (32), 2:38 (33), 3:12.32 (34.32)

Tim Johnson: 23, 50.38

Drew Burns: 26, 56 (30), 1:27 (31), 1:57.80 (30.80)

Stefan Morton: 29, 60 (31), 1:30 (30), 2:02 (32), 2:34 (32), 3:06 (32), 3:38 (32), 4:11.07 (33.07)

3,200-meter relay

17. Marist (Zach Ropes 1:54.71, Josh Siegel 1:58.62, Steven Rizzo 1:59.50, Anthony Colasanto 1:56.40) 7:49.59

Zach Ropes: 28, 57 (29), 1:26 (29), 1:54.71 (28.71)

Josh Siegel: 27, 58 (31), 1:28 (30), 1:58.62 (30.62)
Steven Rizzo: 26, 55 (29), 1:26 (31), 1:59.50 (33.50)

Anthony Colasanto: 27, 56 (29), 1:26 (30), 1:56.40 (30.40)

Alum Justin Harris: Making a difference on a different national team

Check out this excellent article on Marist Running Alum Justin Harris, now Associate Head Track Coach at Vassar College. Justin has been working with the U.S. Skeleton and Bobsled Team on some biomechanic research, trying to help them get an extra edge and a few extra hundreths of a second in their daring and complex sport. It's a great read, written by our old friend Larry Hertz (I worked with Larry for many years at the Poughkeepsie Journal). We are very proud of Jut -- in this and all his endeavors, at Vassar and elsewhere. Neat!