Raleigh Relays: Wrapping it up

We are on the bus now for our long ride back home after two days at the Raleigh Relays. Here’s hoping our trip home goes much more quickly than our trip down. While I’m loathe to make excuses, our 17-hour excursion on Thursday (6 a.m. to 11 p.m.) probably had an impact on our performances at the meet on Friday. It’s also important to note that with the cancellation of Monmouth last week, this was our first meet of the outdoor track season (although, in fairness, most athletes competing this weekend probably weren’t slated to race at Monmouth). Regardless, it’s great to get our team and our program some exposure at a big meet like this, but it’s also a bummer to travel this far and not achieve many of our stated goals. But alas, we have the remainder of the season in front of us, with some excellent meets stacked up one right after the other. The outdoor track season goes by in a blur. We’ll get back to work next week, and back on another bus in a few days for yet another trip south (Colonial Relays, next Thursday/Friday/Saturday). We had positive down here: Debbie Boerke and Danisha Craig had great meets, and several women had personal-best times or splits. Speaking of splits, complete (official) splits are listed here with the composite results.

Raleigh Relays

Paul Derr Track Stadium

North Carolina State University

Friday and Saturday, March 30-31, 2018

Men’s results and splits

3,200-meter relay

7. Marist A (Brian Henderson 1:55.31, Drew Burns 1:55.72, Zachary Ropes 1:57.97, Steven Morrison 1:55.86) 7:44.85

12. Marist B (Connor St. Germain 1:57.12, Tanner Senius 1:58.86, Steven Rizzo 1:56.87, Sami Ellougani 2:08.38) 8:01.21

5,000-meter run

113. Dietrich Mosel 14:59.73

33.84, 1:42.73 (68.89), 2:51.80 (69.07), 4:00.87 (69.08), 5:10.87 (70.01), 6:20.95 (70.08), 7:31.57 (70.62), 8:45.47 (73.91), 9:59.28 (73.81), 11:13.44 (74.16), 12:30.03 (76.59), 13:47.20 (77.18), 14:59.73 (72.54)

Women’s results and splits

400-meter dash

36. Danisha Craig 58.55

38. Debbie Boerke 58.68

1,500-meter run

35. Emily Burns 4:36.69

55.55, 2:09.08 (73.53), 3:23.69 (74.62), 4:36.69 (73.00)

40. Denise Grohn 4:37.37

52.85, 2:08.72 (75.88), 3:24.99 (76.28), 4:37.37 (72.38)

45. Shea Bohan 4:38.15

52.97, 2:06.33 (73.33), 3:21.79 (75.50), 4:38.15 (76.36)

73. Maria Smith 4:44.12

53.12, 2:09.87 (76.75), 3:28.09 (78.22), 4:44.12 (76.04)

81. Janelle Solviletti 4:45.88

55.21, 2:10.80 (75.59), 3:26.24 (75.44), 4:45.88 (79.65)

5,000-meter run

20. Hayley Collins 17:24.29

40.22, 2:07.18 (86.96), 3:28.59 (81.42), 4:50.26 (81.67), 6:12.00 (81.74), 7:34.45 (82.46), 8:57.53 (83.08), 10:21.04 (83.51), 11:46.19 (85.16), 13:11.74 (85.55), 14:37.60 (85.86), 16:02.49 (84.90), 17:24.29 (81.81)

32. Gianna Tedeschi 17:37.32

38.94, 2:02.72 (83.78), 3:26.52 (83.81), 4:49.36 (82.85), 6:13.31 (83.96), 7:37.35 (84.04), 9:01.98 (84.64), 10:26.10 (84.13), 11:51.99 (85.89), 13:18.32 (86.34), 14:45.84 (87.53), 16:12.72 (86.88), 17:37.32 (84.60)

73. Jordan Casey 18:15.76

40.57, 2:04.03 (83.47), 3:27.45 (83.42), 4:50.80 (83.35), 6:15.68 (84.89), 7:42.53 (86.86), 9:11.72 (89.19), 10:41.32 (89.61), 12:13.70 (93.38), 13:44.87 (91.17), 15:17.13 (92.27), 16:47.44 (90.32), 18:15.76 (88.32)

400-meter hurdles

9. Debbie Boerke 1:01.92 *ECAC qualifer

3,000-meter steeplechase

41. Alexandra Bartolotta 12:01.00

44.31, 2:10.77 (86.47), 3:40.26 (89.49), 5:13.40 (93.14), 6:49.49 (96.09), 8:34.35 (104.87), 10:18.47 (104.12), 12:01.00 (102.53)

3,200-meter relay

8. Marist A (Kerry Gaye 2:18.05, Denise Grohn 2:15.34, Jenna Robinson 2:19.60, Gianna Mastromatteo 2:21.01) 9:13.99 *ECAC qualifier

10. Marist B (Shea Bohan 2:16.42, Christine Gambell 2:21.36, Emily Burns 2:20.17, Maria Smith 2:22.92) 9:20.85

Raleigh Relays: Women's results and splits, Saturday

Sprinter Debbie Boerke capped off an excellent season-opening meet in style with her stellar ECAC qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles. Her time of 1:01.92 placed her ninth overall and was just an eyelash off her school record of 1:01.70. For the third year in a row, she punched a ticket to the ECAC Championships.

Our 3,200-meter relay team also dipped under the ECAC standard, but that relay had already qualified by virtue of their school-record run at the indoor ECAC Championships. Saturday, the team placed eighth in 9:13.99, while the B team was a few strides behind in 9:20.85. Both teams got some much needed early season work in the delightful sunshine in Raleigh. We are headed back north to early spring weather, where chilly rain awaits us in a few days.

Raleigh Relays

Paul Derr Track Stadium

North Carolina State University

Saturday, March 30, 2018

Women’s results and splits

400-meter hurdles

9. Debbie Boerke 1:01.92 *ECAC qualifer

3,200-meter relay

8. Marist A (Kerry Gaye 2:18.05, Denise Grohn 2:15.34, Jenna Robinson 2:19.60, Gianna Mastromatteo 2:21.01) 9:13.99 *ECAC qualifier

10. Marist B (Shea Bohan 2:16.42, Christine Gambell 2:21.36, Emily Burns 2:20.17, Maria Smith 2:22.92) 9:20.85

Raleigh Relays: Men's results and splits, Saturday

Both of our men’s 3,200-meter relay teams got in some good early-season efforts on Saturday at Raleigh. Our A team placed seventh and our B team placed 12^th. All the splits were decent to solid for the beginning of the outdoor season. It should be noted that senior captain Sami Ellougani pulled his groin in the first lap of his anchor leg, and his last lap was an agonizing death march. He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 sprain/pull, which will shut him down for a few weeks. We give him credit for bulling out that leg and for being a late replacement on the relay.

Raleigh Relays

Paul Derr Track Stadium

North Carolina State University

Saturday, March 30, 2018

Men’s results and splits

3,200-meter relay

7. Marist A (Brian Henderson 1:55.31, Drew Burns 1:55.72, Zachary Ropes 1:57.97, Steven Morrison 1:55.86) 7:44.85

12. Marist B (Connor St. Germain 1:57.12, Tanner Senius 1:58.86, Steven Rizzo 1:56.87, Sami Ellougani 2:08.38) 8:01.21

Raleigh Relays: A different kind of sprint medley

Here at the Raleigh Relays, the sound system at the Paul Derr track facility plays a steady soundtrack of popular music that our athletes love to groove to. Here, you'll see coach Terry Horton getting into the sway (after much cajoling) with his two prized sprint pupils, Danisha Craig and Debbie Boerke. There is so much down time at a track meet that these fun moments are ones that we cherish -- even if it's not exactly the type of music us old coaches listen to in our own spare time.

Raleigh Relays: Friday night's race

Sometimes, things don’t go according to plan. Sometimes, the proverbial wheels fall off. That’s what happened with our ace distance runner, Dietrich Mosel, last night in the 5,000 at Raleigh. The wind whipped. The air was filled with the tension of great expectations. And Dietrich just flat out had a bad race. He’s had a marvelous senior year filled with great performances since September. Last night was a clunker, and not indicative of what we believe is to come in the next month and a half. He has secured his spot as one of the greatest distance runners in school history. Here’s hoping he will reaffirm that belief with future performances.

Raleigh Relays

Paul Derr Track Stadium

North Carolina State University

Friday, March 30, 2018

Men’s result

5,000-meter run

113. Dietrich Mosel 14:59.73

Raleigh Relays: Women's results, splits from the afternoon

The afternoon races for our athletes were a mixed bag, with mostly positive performances. Our 400-meter sprinters (Debbie Boerke, above) posted excellent season-opening times and our 1,500-meter ladies posted several PRs and set themselves up for a monster school record next week at Colonial (where last year, the school-record team averaged 4:45 per leg). Steepler Ali Bartolotta suffered a back injury and toughed it out to the finish. One more event tonight, with Dietrich Mosel in the 5,000-meter run.

Raleigh Relays

Paul Derr Track Stadium

North Carolina State University

Friday, March 30, 2018

Women’s results

400-meter dash

36. Danisha Craig 58.55

38. Debbie Boerke 58.68

1,500-meter run

35. Emily Burns 4:36.69

55.55, 2:09.08 (73.53), 3:23.69 (74.62), 4:36.69 (73.00)

40. Denise Grohn 4:37.37

52.85, 2:08.72 (75.88), 3:24.99 (76.28), 4:37.37 (72.38)

45. Shea Bohan 4:38.15

52.97, 2:06.33 (73.33), 3:21.79 (75.50), 4:38.15 (76.36)

73. Maria Smith 4:44.12

53.12, 2:09.87 (76.75), 3:28.09 (78.22), 4:44.12 (76.04)

81. Janelle Solviletti 4:45.88

55.21, 2:10.80 (75.59), 3:26.24 (75.44), 4:45.88 (79.65)

3,000-meter steeplechase

41. Alexandra Bartolotta 12:01.00

Raleigh Relays: Women's 5km results

The morning started out with a steady, heavy rain, which let up just in time for our athletes in sections three and four of the women’s 5,000-meter run in the mid-morning. Our ladies were a little off across the board. I’m not one to make excuses for our athletes, and they would shudder for me to do so, but perhaps our long journey yesterday had an impact on them. We didn’t arrive at our hotel until after 11 p.m., and the bus left the hotel this morning at 8 a.m. Again, no excuses, and we’ll Be Better as the season progresses. Sorry for the lack of splits. The soggy morning, combined with the fact that I assumed (wrongly) that the flash results would include splits, led me to keeping my split notebook in the backpack. Sorry about that. The weather is clearing up nicely for the afternoon/evening races. More later. 

Raleigh Relays

Paul Derr Track Stadium

North Carolina State University

Friday, March 30, 2018

Women’s results

5,000-meter run

20. Hayley Collins 17:24.29

32. Gianna Tedeschi 17:37.32

73. Jordan Casey 18:15.76

Raleigh Relays: Notes from the road

Our bus pulled out of the McCann Center parking circle in the predawn darkness, at around 6:10 a.m. Nearly 12 hours later, we are still nowhere near Raleigh. Hey. I’m from Jersey. I’m allowed to complain about Jersey traffic, in which we sat for the better part of the morning. For the record? Jersey traffic sucks. So, too, does the dreaded I-95 corridor. Did I mention that Delaware traffic stinks too? Oh yeah. It does. A noted, loyal blog and program follower is a grizzled veteran of such I95 wars. Not fun. No Bueno. And so, this trip has dragged on and on and on.

We just got done with a delightful stop in a delightful southern town (actually not being sarcastic, for once), Ashland, VA. We needed to drop our first driver (Andy) at a hotel off the highway. Surmising that we wouldn’t make it to NC State before dark for our pre-meet practice, we made the decision to get our run in here in Ashland, home of Randoph-Macon College. Much to this old coach’s extreme delight, it was sunny, breezy and 80 degrees. 80 blessed degrees! Shorts and short-sleeve shirt. For the first time in 2018, the wool socks came off, in favor of the stylishly challenged tube socks. While our athletes were getting their pre-meet running in, I took a brisk walk around Randolph-Macon. I found a nice lacrosse/football stadium, and it was surrounded by a one-lane “track” that was quite nice (see?). Hey. It’s better than what WE got, for sure.

We’re back on the road now for a dinner stop, a few more hours on the highway, and finally checking in to the hotel. This heat wave is short-lived, but for a few hours it was nice to glimpse summer. Actually, once the racing starts tomorrow, summerlike weather is exactly what we don’t want for our athletes. Here’s hoping for good weather and good racing in Raleigh.

Raleigh Relays: Entries and schedule

We are bringing our largest contingent in school history to the adidas Raleigh Relays. We leave via bus early on Thursday and the meet is Friday and Saturday. Here are our entries and the meet schedule for the events in which we are entered:

Raleigh Relays

Friday and Saturday, March 30-31

Paul Derr Track Facility

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, NC

Final schedule of events

Friday

9 a.m.: Sections (7) of the women’s 5km

Section 3, 9:42 a.m.: Gianna Tedeschi, Jordan Casey

Section 4, 10:02 a.m.: Hayley Collins

1:45 p.m.: Sections of the women’s 400

Sections TBA: Debbie Boerke, Danisha Craig

2:44 p.m.: Sections (10) of the women’s 1500

Section 1, 2:44 p.m.: Maria Smith, Denise Grohn

Section 4, 3:02 p.m.: Janelle Solviletti

Section 5, 3:08 p.m.: Shea Bohan

Section 6, 3:14 p.m.: Emily Burns

4:17 p.m.: Sections (3) of the women’s steeplechase

Section 2, 4:31 p.m.: Ali Bartolotta

7:21 p.m.: Sections of the men’s 5000

Section 5, 7:38 p.m.: Dietrich Mosel

Saturday

1 p.m.: Sections of women’s 400 hurdles

Debbie Boerke

3:00 p.m.: Sections of the women’s 3,200 relay

Section 2: Marist A (Gaye, Grohn, Robinson, Mastromatteo) and Marist B (Bohan, Solviletti, Gambell, Burns, Smith)

3:20 p.m.: Sections of the men’s 3,200 relay

Section 1: Marist A (team TBA)

Section 2: Marist B (team TBA)

Alumni race report: Brianna 'loves' Philly

Here's a photo and excellent race report from Marist Running Alum Brianna Freestone, who had a great PR run in Philadelphia this weekend:

I finished in 1:35:15, a PR by almost 5 minutes! I was 14th in my age group, 276 overall. I was very happy with that, especially since training didn't quite go as planned. I averaged 3-4 runs per week, but I did get in some really solid long runs which definitely improved my confidence going into the race. Conditions were a little cold -- it was about 30 degrees with a bitter wind -- so standing around at the start was tough, but once we got going I was fine! I went out a little too quick, but ended up averaging 7:13 pace in the first five miles, 7:18 pace in the next five and 7:16 in the final three. The course was very flat, with only one uphill between miles 7 and 8, a downhill before mile 9, and a slight incline right before the finish. Overall I was pleasantly surprised, and had a lot of fun with it!  

Home of the Red Foxes

Thanks to Hillman for texting me this photo of a friendly red fox spotted on campus last week on the hill near Sheehan Hall. Our friendly fox was just minding his own business and perhaps reminding us that well before Marist College existed the red foxes roamed the land. Now, we are proud Red Foxes on their soil. Neat.

NYC Half Marathon results

In the better late than never category … huge shout-out to 2017 Marist Running Alum Elizabeth Wasserman for her truly stellar effort at last Sunday’s United Airlines NYC Half Marathon. Elizabeth was third out of 774 in her age group, 31^st out of 11,074 in the race and ran an amazing 1:20:24 (6:08 pace) for 13.1 miles. And check out her 5km splits: 20:01, 38:47 (18:46), 57:48 (19:01), 1:16:32 (18:44). Wow.

Also, congrats to Marist Running Alums Omar Perez and Catherine Ferreri, as well as Catherine’s dad Anthony, for their great races. Despite very limited training due to graduate school studies, commuting and work, Omar placed 30^th in his age group in 1:22:27 (6:18 pace) and Catherine ran a monster PR of 1:44:58 (83^rd in age group). Tony ran 1:34:48, tearing through the final miles in Central Park and placing 34^th in his age group (55-59) with a 7:14 pace.

And Marist’s Dean of Undergraduate Admission, Kent Rinehart, posted a stellar PR of 1:31:41 (7:00 pace), getting 79^th in the 45-49 age group. Kent is training for his first Boston Marathon. Nicely done, one and all!

Bianca and Jenn at Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon

Although complete results are not yet available, congrats to 2017 Marist Running Alums Bianca Luparello and Jenn Horner for going 1-2 in their age group at Saturday’s Sleepy Hollow Half Marathon. They sent this photo and texted that Bianca ran 1:30 and Jenn ran 1:45. Good stuff.

A Palm Sunday tradition

For Catholics and Christians, we enter the holiest week of the year, starting today with Palm Sunday and concluding a week later with Easter Sunday. The Palm Sunday Mass is among the most lengthy of the year. During the Mass this afternoon, our daughter Natalie fashioned crosses out of the palms (as you can see). This gave me chills and reminded me of my youth, when my grandmother would do the same thing. She would hand the palm/crosses out and implored us all to put smaller ones in the glove box of the car for good luck and safety while driving. Why did this give me chills? Natalie was named after my grandmother, my father’s mother, who lived downstairs in our house growing up. Somehow, some way this symmetry was eerily neat, and you would like to think that somewhere on high, the original Natalie Colaizzo is smiling down on us all.

Monmouth meet canceled

Enough already with the snow-related posts! Major League Baseball season starts in less than a week! Anyway. Yeah. The Monmouth Season Opener -- the meet we always joke about how bad the weather is? -- well, no jokes this year. It's so bad that the meet has been called off due to the nor'easter that slammed the area. It's a darn shame and we appreciate the time and effort that Monmouth track coach Joe Compagni and his staff took in an effort to salvage this meet. But based on this photo that I just received from Marist Running Alum Gary Wiesinger, who was at Monmouth this morning for a coaches meeting, there was no way the meet could happen. Only one thing to say: Dang. Time to move forward and make the best of our rapidly shrinking outdoor track schedule. Geez!

Role reversal, re snow!

Most often in these parts, we get snow when areas to the south of us get a mix or not much at all. And then there is today's late season nor'easter. Nary a flake has fallen here. Weather geeks have a name for this: Virga. It's when the air is so cold and dry that the snow from the clouds evaporates before reaching the ground. The ground. As in. My lawn. My driveway. The Vassar track. Rail trails. Snow not welcome in any of these areas and more. Virga rocks! No such luck to the south, where Loyal Correspondent Marty McGowan sent the following scenes from Staten Island, USA. While we are tempted to say "na na na na na" ... we have to be careful because further south in West Long Branch, NJ (home of Monmouth University's season opening track meet on Saturday), it's also a winter wonderland. We don't want that. We want to race. Here's hoping the storm ends soon. In the meantime, we'll sit up here in the mid-Hudson Valley and ... NOT shovel!

Spring break: Denise in Telluride

Sophomore Denise Grohn spent spring break with her family on a ski trip in Colorado. "Ski trip" sends shivers of fear and loathing through a worry wort coach's body like me, but I should know better. Denise is a great athlete and she made it through unscathed. Here are some photos and her report that she texted to me and to Chuck:

"Successfully made it through a week of skiing without getting hurt! Here are some amazing views from this week's running adventures. Getting some altitude work in for outdoor! This first is me suffering through the tempo workout at 9000 feet in Telluride, CO. Lungs burning. Definitely felt it during workouts. Normal runs weren't so bad, but there was plenty of wheezing going on during the workouts! And the second is my sister and I rejoicing after an amazing desert run at 5,000 feet in Arches National Park."

Hopefully, as Coach Chuck pointed out, this brief foray in altitude training will pay dividends when she returns to sea level training.

Spring break: Jenna in Iceland

Thanks to senior captain Jenna Robinson for her report and photos from Iceland. Here's the email she sent with the photos: 

It was so fun to see Eamonn down in the city of Reykjavík this week! Red Foxes far and wide over Spring break.

We stayed about a half hour outside of the city, which I’m hoping will pay off tonight with a possible viewing of the aurora borealis.

I look forward to training with the team again next week! Below I attached a photo of myself running on the road our house is on, on lake Havartn as well as the edge of the North American tectonic plate. Iceland is one of the only locations where you can see a divergent plate boundary on land! About 2km to the East you could find a similar wall of rock facing this wall, at the edge of the Eurasian plate (I’m a bit of a geology nerd).

Spring break: Christine and Mariah in Norway

In our continuing series on the globetrotting Running Red Foxes ... today's edition comes from Norway, where seniors Christine Gambell and Mariah Christian are enjoying their week (as you can see with the photos and read from their email to me below). I thought it was a joke when I heard that there are extremely inexpensive flights from Stewart Airport in Newburgh to Norway. Huh? Since when did little Stewart become international? Anyway ... here's the report from northern Europe:

Hi Pete!

Just wanted to send you an update on our trip to Norway! The views on the runs have been breathtaking (get it??). Bergen is gorgeous and we have been so lucky to have beautiful sunny weather all week! 

We hiked up one of the mountains outside the city. It was a gravel path, probably 2.5 miles in total (from the bottom, in the city, to the top). Mariah and I were winded while hiking and the footing was a bit icy. We were shocked when we heard footsteps behind us and saw people running up the mountain!! Apparently most of the locals do it every morning, how crazy!?

We were also lucky enough to find a very large turf field (with a 100 meter track on the side, pictured). We found it on our first day here, so we knew it would be a perfect location for our workout! It seemed to be about 400 meters around the perimeter, so it worked perfectly (and the views weren’t bad either)! 

Can’t wait to tell you more when we get back! Hopefully it isn’t too cold and snowy at home!

Love,

Christine & Mariah

Spring break: Kennedy in Mexico

Very proud of junior Mike Kennedy, who is on a service trip with Marist's campus ministry down in Mexico. Here are some photos along with his email report from there, where he has limited training terrain (loops are great, though!):

Hope all is well back in the States and you’re having a good break. Training here has been going pretty well. Just have been doing loops on the soccer field here. Ready to GO in 3 weeks!

It’s hard to put it into words but this trip has been an eye opening experience. The joy and the love the people who live here express is something I’ve never seen before. I am very grateful to be here with such a great group of fellow Marist students and Marist Young Adults.

The community center we are staying at is sponsored by the Marist Brothers and is called the “CEMADE Center” in Merida, Mexico. One of the main goals of the center is to use the food grown in their gardens and feed 200 local children lunch every Saturday. Ultimately though the Marist Brothers here want to be able to serve these children lunch every single day of the week. The 3 projects we are working on are cleaning up & repairing the main garden on the property, expanding the greenhouse, and creating an enclosed space for the animals the center has to live in. The work is tough but very fulfilling.

Attached are some pictures of the greenhouse where we are beginning to lay down the cement blocks and the garden where we finished weeding and are now going to put up a fence! The week is going by fast but we still have two more days to get everything done before coming home on Saturday.

Spring break: Postcards from Myrtle Beach

Now. This is what spring break is all about.

--Old coach, back home, muttering to self about the bleeping snow and cold and useless Snow Day that kept the kids home.
--Young athletes, bright sunshine, warmish temperatures, doing work while on break in Myrtle Beach.

The dichotomy is startling and fitting.

Spring break: Eamonn is Iceland

Our athletes are spread all over the globe during this spring break and we’ll try to chronicle their travels over the coming days. Junior Eamonn Beers is on a family vacation in Iceland (yes, Iceland!). He sent this photo, along with this email, on Saturday: “I got my run in today along the mountains of Reykjavik, Iceland! It ended up being a five-hour time difference so we got here at 6 a.m. this morning and we left New York yesterday evening. Waking up early tomorrow morning for long run then off to the Blue Lagoon! (Representing Red Foxes with Marist hat).''  

Spring break: Bowled over in central New York, part 2

For this past weekend, the bowlers were like Rock Stars in Syracuse. My daughter Natalie, on the Section 9 composite team at the state championships, was among the best high school bowlers in the state. The competition was fierce and the lane conditions were challenging – a complex oil pattern that messed with everyone’s averages (listen to me, like I know what I’m talking about here). Natalie and her team struggled but did well enough to remain competitive over the six games, which ended late on Saturday night. We’re proud of her for representing FDR – the Section 9 composite team consisted of five Saugerties bowlers and one FDR bowler (Natalie). Well worth the trip.

Spring break: Bowled over in central New York, part 1

Thanks to Marist Running Alum (and good friend) Mike Melfi for allowing my family to use his house as a home base this past weekend, as my daughter Natalie represented FD Roosevelt High School (and Section 9) at the New York State Bowling Championships at the Oncenter in downtown Syracuse. The Oncenter, a huge convention center, was converted into a bowling alley for this championship and for the upcoming USBC National Championships. It was quite a spectacle. Mike and his family kindly hosted me, my younger son James and after the tournament Natalie and her friend Lindsey (who was an alternate on the Section 9 composite team). It was great to be with folks who are like family, as opposed to in a generic hotel, in snowy central New York (yes, it snowed between Utica and Syracuse on the drive there and back … of course).

Spring break: Enough snow already

There is a laundromat near our home that has an electronic message board, posting pithy and funny comments. Such as: “Clean Clothes Start Here.” Or “Happy Birthday, Shorty.” Or “Make a difference today.” As I drove by this morning, the board said, “Enough snow already.” With another winter weather advisory/storm on the way for tonight and tomorrow, all I say is “Amen to that.” We are still reeling from last week’s storm and now more is on the way. Aside from the usual annoyances of March snow, the more practical matter is that this may limit our ability to practice on the Vassar track starting next week, when we return from Spring Break. Enough snow already. Indeed.

March sadness

As the college basketball tournament season heats up – conference tournaments, automatic bids, at-large bids, bubble teams, the Big Dance – we introduce you to one dark side of that high stakes, competitive, cutthroat sport: Good men who lose their jobs. Exhibit A here at Marist is men’s basketball coach Mike Maker, who on Monday was “relieved of his duties” as part of a “change in leadership.” Late comedian George Carlin, a master of language, would have a field day with these euphemisms. Carlin would probably say: “How about this? Marist fired Mike Maker. Blunt. Brutal. To the point.” Yeah, that’s just me going off on an English language riff. Whatever. Anyway, it is not my job nor is it my place to debate the merits of this decision, especially in a public forum like this blog. The team did not perform well on the court. Multiple losing seasons. In the revved up world of college basketball, that costs coaches – even honorable, upstanding men like Mike Maker – their jobs. What fans and followers of the sport sometimes forget is that, even though these coaches do get paid well, there is a domino effect of unintended consequences. Most of these men have families and lives away from the hardwood. When they get fired, it upends households and sends them into a whirl of confusion and unplanned, unexpected change.

Here at Marist, Coach Maker’s wife, Erica, has been an integral part of our track and cross country family as an assistant coach for nearly two years. Be Better? She has made us all – athletes, coaches, alumni, all of us – better by her graceful presence on a daily basis. Now that her husband has been let go, this obviously makes her ability to stay on as coach at the same school an untenable situation. We had an emotional team meeting last night. There were tears and there were hugs. There were a lot of tears. There was some anger at the situation, sure. But mostly there was love and there were tears. I told the team last night, and I tell the followers of this blog today: Although Erica was part of our program for a short time, the mark she left with all of us was indelible. And we will all take a little bit of her poise, her charm and her coaching brilliance with us moving forward, now and always. Saying goodbye is never easy. In this most unusual of circumstances, it is a bit confusing and extra difficult. We will continue to strive to Be Better, because that’s what we do, and that’s what Erica contributed to our program for the too-brief time she was with us. We wish the Maker family success and we bid them adieu, with love from us all.

ECAC Championships, Day 2 results: DMR school record!

The magic continued (and concluded) on the Magic Carpet for our women’s team. The DMR team of Denise Grohn, Danisha Craig, Shea Bohan and Janelle Solviletti took down one of the older records on the books, obliterating the 2011 mark of 11:54.75 with a stellar 11:48.96, which finished us just out of the last scoring spot. We are so proud of Denise for bouncing back from a tough 1,000-meter race on Saturday afternoon to deliver the crucial opening 1,200-meter leg that sets the tone for the rest of the relay. Kudos to Danisha Craig, one of the toughest and best sprinters we’ve ever been around, for handling two incredibly difficult relay passes in traffic with the grace and poise we have come to expect from her. And oh, by the way, in between, she blitzed a 58.3-second leg. Shea Bohan ran aggressively from the very start after bobbling that delicate relay pass for a stellar 2:15.1 split (Coach Chuck had 2:14.9 on his watch!), and then Janelle Solviletti brought it home with her strongest anchor leg yet. Add it up, and it’s a school record by nearly four seconds and a mark that our young team will have to chase next winter and beyond. When a relay comes together like this, it is literally poetry in motion and a joy to watch.

Freshman Maria Smith capped off the afternoon – and the season – with a strong run in the 3,000, improving upon her earlier season performance with an excellent last lap. The early laps were a bit peppy, but Maria hung tough and broke 9:50 by staying tough over the final kilometer. Not bad for a girl who never ran indoor track in high school. The sky’s the limit as we head into outdoor track in a few weeks. Nicely done!

ECAC Championships

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Boston University

Women’s results and splits

3,000-meter run

13. Maria Smith 9:49.28

36.5, 75.0 (38.5), 1:53.5 (38.5), 2:32.8 (39.3), 3:12.2 (39.4)

3:51.7 (39.5), 4:31.8 (40.1), 5:11.9 (40.1), 5:51.3 (39.4), 6:30.9 (39.6)

7:11.3 (40.4), 7:51.6 (40.3), 8:32.0 (40.4), 9:12.0 (40.0), 9:49.28 (37.28)

Kilometer splits: 3:12.2, 3:18.7, 3:18.38

Distance medley relay

9. Marist (Denise Grohn, Danisha Craig, Shea Bohan, Janelle Solviletti) 11:48.96 *school record, old record, 11:54.75, Jackie Gamboli, Hayley Hartnett, Brianna Crowe, Brittany Burns, 2011

Denise Grohn: 34, 72 (38), 1:49 (37), 2:26 (37), 3:03 (37), 3:39.0 (36.0)

Danisha Craig: 26, 58.3

Shea Bohan: 32, 65 (33), 1:40 (35), 2:15.1 (35.1)

Janelle Solviletti: 35, 72 (37), 1:49 (37), 2:27 (38), 3:05 (38), 3:43 (38), 4:20 (37), 4:56.5 (36.5)

IC4A Championships: Day 2 result and splits

Senior Dietrich Mosel ended his indoor track career in proud fashion with a strong effort in an ultra-competitive 3,000-meter run at IC4As. Racing in the faster of the two sections, based on his best time from the 2018 season, Deet had to endure a blistering early pace (4:24 through 1600!), hanging on for dear life in the back of the pack and surely feeling the effects of his historic 5km the day before. The slower of the two sections would have been a better fit, but alas we cannot choose such things. He hung tough in the later laps and still posted a respectable time. We are proud of Dietrich’s indoor season and we look forward to one more season with him as outdoor track beckons.

IC4A Championships

Sunday, March 4, 2018

Boston University

Men’s results and splits

3,000-meter run

23. Dietrich Mosel 8:27.50

31.9, 65.1 (33.2), 1:38.2 (33.1), 2:10.9 (32.7), 2:43.7 (32.8)

3:16.2 (32.5), 3:50.0 (33.8), 4:24.0 (34.0), 4:58.6 (34.6), 5:33.3 (34.7)

6:08.7 (35.4), 6:44.1 (35.4), 7:19.5 (35.4), 7:54.4 (34.9), 8:27.50 (33.10)

Kilometer splits: 2:43.7, 2:49.6, 2:54.10

IC4A Championships, Day 1 results: Dietrich's monster 5km, 4x800 school record!

We couldn't have asked for a much better day from our men: 

--Dietrich Mosel posted one of the more remarkable breakthrough races in our long and illustrious program history. In the span of a few weeks, Dietrich has lowered his 5km PR from 14:49.74 (entering this season) to 14:40.39 (Terrier) to 14:38.24 (MAACs) to 14:19.14 (wow!) today. For those keeping score at home, that's a 30.60-second drop, an All-East (top-8) performance by placing fourth and most significantly in history the second fastest time in school history, trailing only his idol Girma Segni by less than one second. See updated list below, clearly vaulting Dietrich into the upper echelon of Marist distance lore.

--Our much maligned middle distance crew (battered by injury and illness all winter) came through when it mattered, as our cobbled together 4x800 relay (photo above) notched a school record and very significantly an IC4A outdoor championship standard with a consistent 7:42.74 mark -- three 1:55s and one 1:56. Very proud of this group.

--Our DMR posted a very respectable showing, led by freshman James Moehringer's clutch 1200-meter leg to lead things off.

All in all, a wonderful day for a special group of young men.  

IC4A Championships

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Boston University

Men’s results and splits

5,000-meter run

4. Dietrich Mosel 14:19.14 *IC4A All-East, second-fastest time in school history

32, 66 (34), 1:40 (34), 2:14 (34), 2:48 (34)

3:23 (35), 3:57 (34), 4:32 (35), 5:07 (35), 5:43 (36)

6:17 (34), 6:52 (35), 7:27 (35), 8:01 (34), 8:36 (35)

9:10 (34), 9:45 (35), 10:20 (35), 10:55 (35), 11:30 (35)

12:05 (35), 12:39 (35), 13:13 (34), 13:47 (34), 14:19.14 (32.14)

Kilometer splits: 2:48, 2:55, 2:53, 2:54, 2:49

All-time 5km list

1-Girma Segni, 14:18.42, 2009*

2. Dietrich Mosel 14:19.14, 2018

3. Will Griffin, 14:23.43, 2013 **

4. Arquimedes DelaCruz, 14:29.82, 2013

5. Adam Vess, 14:33.41, 2008

6. Peter Pazik, 14:35.84, 1986

7. Matt Flint, 14:37.45, 2010

8. Ken Walshak, 14:37.53, 2011

9. Michael Melfi, 14:42.36, 1998

10. Justin Harris, 14:42.88, 2007

11. David Raucci, 14:42.92, 2006

12. Michael Nehr, 14:45.61, 2001

13. David Swift, 14:50.24, 1995

14. Zak Smetana, 14:50.39, 2011

15. Kirk Dornton, 14:50.89, 2002

16. Nick Webster, 14:52.54, 2009

17. Conor Shelley, 14:52.67, 2008

18. Palmer Weimann, 14:53.61, 2017

19. Joel Moss, 14:54.57, 2012

20. Greg Salamone, 14:55.79, 2000

21. Tim Keegan, 14:56.45, 2009

22. Mark Valentino, 14:56.77, 2016

23. Steven Rizzo 14:56.99, 2017

24. Stefan Morton, 14:58.19, 2016

25. Ryan Scrudato, 14:58.43, 2013

26. Spencer Johnson, 14:58.46, 2015

* indoor school record

** outdoor school record holder (14:31.91)

Bold indicates current team member

3,200-meter relay

14. Marist (Brian Henderson 1:55.2, Zachary Ropes 1:55.2, Connor St. Germain 1:56.4, Steven Morrison 1:55.5) 7:42.74 *school record, old record 7:44.69 by Morton, Burns, Taylor, Morrison, 2016; **IC4A outdoor qualifying mark

Brian Henderson: 28, 56 (28), 1:24 (28), 1:55.2 (31.2)

Zachary Ropes: 27, 55 (28), 1:24 (29), 1:55.2 (31.2)

Connor St. Germain: 26, 54 (28), 1:24 (30), 1:56.4 (32.4)

Steven Morrison: 27, 56 (29), 1:25 (29), 1:55.5 (30.5)

Distance medley relay

13. Marist (James Moehringer 3:06.4, Tanner Senius 51.4, Matthew Hawker 1:57.3, Steven Rizzo 4:19.1) 10:14.49

James Moehringer 30, 61 (31), 1:32 (31), 2:03 (31), 2:33 (30), 3:06.4 (33.4)

Tanner Senius: 24.2, 51.4

Matthew Hawker: 26, 56 (30), 1:26 (30), 1:57.3 (31.3)

Steven Rizzo: 31, 63 (32), 1:36 (33), 2:09 (33), 2:42 (33), 3:14 (32), 3:46 (32), 4:19.1 (33.1)

ECAC Championships, Day 1 results: Two school records!

The Magic Carpet strikes again as it was an awesome Day 1 for our women: 

--Emily Burns broke Kristen Traub's mile school record by more than two seconds and nearly qualified for Sunday's final with a breakthrough 4:53.11.

--The 3,200-meter relay team (photo above) broke last year's school record in consistent and stellar fashion -- three 2:16 legs! -- in 9:09.91.

--Our 5km ladies battled in a brutally crowded race for fantastic finishes: Freshman Hayley Collins and junior Jordan Casey with PR times, and freshman Gianna Tedeschi with a near-PR time.

Nicely done, one and all!

ECAC Championships

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Boston University

Women’s results and splits

1,000-meter run

25. Denise Grohn 2:59.83

34.2, 70.2 (36.0), 1:45.3 (35.1), 2:21.4 (36.1), 2:59.83 (37.43)

Mile run

11. Emily Burns 4:53.11 *school record, old record, Kristen Traub, 4:55.31, 2015

36, 72 (36), 1:49 (37), 2:26 (37), 3:04 (38), 3:40 (36), 4:17 (37), 4:53.11 (36.11)

14. Shea Bohan 4:56.09

37, 73 (36), 1:50 (37), 2:26 (36), 3:04 (38), 3:41 (37), 4:19 (38), 4:56.09 (37.09)

5,000-meter run

14. Hayley Collins 17:08.52

38, 79 (41), 1:59 (40), 2:40 (41), 3:21 (41)

4:02 (41), 4:41 (39), 5:21 (40), 6:03 (42), 6:45 (42)

7:26 (41), 8:07 (41), 8:48 (41), 9:29 (41), 10:10 (41)

10:52 (42), 11:33 (41), 12:16 (43), 12:58 (42), 13:40 (42)

14:23 (43), 15:05 (42), 15:47 (42), 16:29 (42), 17:08.52 (39.52)

Kilometer splits: 3:21, 3:24, 3:25, 3:30, 3:28.52

17. Jordan Casey 17:22.83

40, 82 (42), 2:01 (39), 2:43 (42), 3:23 (40)

4:04 (41), 4:45 (41), 5:26 (41), 6:05 (39), 6:47 (42)

7:28 (41), 8:11 (43), 8:54 (43), 9:35 (41), 10:18 (43)

11:01 (43), 11:45 (44), 12:27 (42), 13:10 (43), 13:54 (44)

14:37 (43), 15:20 (43), 16:02 (42), 16:43 (41), 17:22.83 (39.83)

Kilometer splits: 3:23, 3:34, 3:31, 3:36, 3:28.83

18. Gianna Tedeschi 17:23.12

40, 81 (41), 2:01 (40), 2:43 (42), 3:23 (40)

4:04 (41), 4:45 (41), 5:25 (40), 6:05 (40), 6:46 (41)

7:27 (41), 8:09 (42), 8:52 (43), 9:34 (42), 10:16 (42)

11:00 (44), 11:43 (43), 12:26 (43), 13:09 (43), 13:53 (44)

14:36 (43), 15:19 (43), 16:02 (43), 16:42 (40), 17:23.12 (41.12)

Kilometer splits: 3:23, 3:23, 3:30, 3:37, 3:30.12

3,200-meter relay

14. Marist (Kerry Gaye 2:16.8, Emily Burns 2:20.4, Jenna Robinson 2:16.0, Gianna Mastromatteo 2:16.4) 9:09.91 *school record, old record, 9:12.60 by Bohan, Gaye, Grohn, Burns, 2017

Kerry Gaye: 33, 67 (34), 1:41 (34), 2:16.8 (35.8)

ECAC/IC4A: Qualifiers and schedule

Here are our qualifiers for this weekend's meet. 

Individual, women

1,000-meter run: Denise Grohn

Mile run: Emily Burns, Shea Bohan

3,000-meter run: Maria Smith

5,000-meter run: Hayley Collins, Gianna Tedeschi, Jordan Casey

Individual, men

5,000-meter run: Dietrich Mosel

3,000-meter run: Dietrich Mosel

Relays

Men's and women's: DMR and 4x800

Time schedule

IC4A/ECAC meet schedule

SATURDAY MARCH 3rd

9:30 AM IC4A 60 HH – Heptathlon

10:30 Pole Vault - Heptathlon

10:00 IC4A 60 HH – Trials

10:00 IC4A Long Jump – T/F

10:00 IC4A 35 Wt. Throw – T/F

10:15 IC4A 60 Dash – Trials

10:30 IC4A 1 Mile – Trials

10:50 IC4A 60 HH – Semi Final

11:00 IC4A 60 Dash – Semi Final

11:00 IC4A High Jump – Final

11:10 IC4A 400 – Trials

11:25 IC4A 500 – Trials

11:35 IC4A 800 – Trials

11:50 IC4A 1000 – Trials

12:05 IC4A 200 – Trials

12:25 IC4A 5000 - Sections

To Follow IC4A DMR - Trials

To Follow 4x800 – Trials

To Follow 4x400 – Trials

3:00 PM ECAC 60 H – Trials

3:00 ECAC Long Jump – T/F

3:00 ECAC 20 Wt. Throw – T/F

3:00 ECAC Pole Vault – Final

3:20 ECAC 60 Dash – Trials

3:30 ECAC High Jump – Final

3:35 ECAC 1 Mile – Trials

3:50 ECAC 60 H – Semi Final

4:00 ECAC 60 Dash- Semi Final

4:15 ECAC 400 – Trials

4:35 ECAC 500 – Trials

4:50 ECAC 800 – Trials

5:05 ECAC 1000 – Trials

5:20 ECAC 200 – Trials

5:40 ECAC 5000 -Sections

To Follow ECAC 4x800 – Trials

To Follow ECAC 4x400 – Trials

SUNDAY MARCH 4th

9:30 AM IC4A Triple Jump – T/F

To Follow ECAC Triple Jump – T/F

9:30 ECAC Shot Put – T/F

To Follow IC4A Shot Put – T/F

10:00 ECAC 3000 Unseeded Sections – If Necessary

10:30 IC4A 3000 Unseeded Sections – If Necessary

11:00 IC4A Pole Vault – Final

11:00 ECAC DMR – Sections

11:45 ECAC 60 H – Final

11:55 ICAAAA 60 HH – Final

12:00 ECAC 60 Dash – Final

12:05 ICAAAA 60 Dash – Final

12:10 ECAC 1 Mile – Final

12:15 ICAAAA 1 Mile – Final

12:25 ECAC 400 – Final

12:30 ICAAAA 400 – Final

12:45 ECAC 500 – Final

12:50 ICAAAA 500 – Final

1:00 ECAC 800 – Final

1:05 ICAAAA 800 – Final

1:10 ECAC 1000 – Final

1:15 ICAAAA 1000 – Final

1:20 ECAC 200 – Final

1:30 ICAAA 200 – Final

1:40 ECAC 3000 – Seeded Sections

2:00 ICAAAA 3000 - Seeded Sections

2:20 ICAAAA DMR – Final

To Follow ECAC 4x800 – Final

To Follow ICAAAA 4x800 – Final

To Follow ECAC 4x400 – Final

To Follow ICAAAA 4x400 – Final