At the time of his graduation in 1999,
Mike Melfi was indisputably the greatest distance runner in school history. By
every metric, despite his relatively diminutive frame, Mike stood head and
shoulders above the history of our program to date. Among his accomplishments:
--He sat atop the all-time Van Cortlandt
Park list, which at the time was THE metric to gauge all generations of Marist
men’s cross country athletes.
--He set the school record for 5,000
meters on the outdoor track, paving the way for future distance runners by
running a killer race at Penn Relays after I basically had to sell my soul to gain
him acceptance into the world-renowned meet. I remember those back-and-forth phone
calls with Penn Relays director Dave Johnson, pulling out every superlative I
could muster from my vocabulary in an effort to convince him to let Mike run. He
finally relented and we are forever grateful.
--He broke and re-broke the school
record at 3,000 meters indoors, becoming the first-ever IC4A qualifier in that
event. Back then, if you can believe it, there were trials and finals in that
distance event indoors. Mike had barely qualified for the meet, but then he
shocked everyone – including me and him – by qualifying for the Sunday final,
and then scoring at that final, at Cornell University. It’s embarrassing to
admit this, but we were so certain that Mike wouldn’t make finals that we didn’t
even book hotel rooms for Saturday night in Ithaca; fortunately, we were able
to get back in there for one more night. The achievement was so noteworthy that
the legendary coach Frank “Gags” Gagliano (then at Georgetown) even took note
of it, congratulating Mike after the race.
So yeah. Mike did a lot of things that
no other Marist runners had done before. Equally important, he paved the way
for future generations to go ahead and exceed those results and break those
records. More than 20 years later, Mike remains a close friend and a towering
figure in our sport. He had a great post-collegiate racing career and he still
trains at a relatively high level. And now, he is a collegiate coach, at
SUNY-ESF (College of Environmental Science and Forestry) in his hometown of
Syracuse, NY -- where he has achieved instant success as a coach. We talk all the time, and he also remains in close communication
with Coach Chuck, who was his roommate in college. Mike often turns to Chuck
for advice on collegiate recruiting. So as we try to continue to toggle from
one era to another in the Pandemic Papers, today we turn the page back to the
late 1990s, to a runner who set the stage for all great things to follow in the
men’s program. Thank you, Mike, for taking the time to answer these questions!
You had a strong high school career at Henninger High School in
Syracuse. How and why did you choose Marist? Tell us about the recruiting
process and the other schools you considered. What sold you on Marist?
Two people come to mind when I think
about why I went to Marist: Marist alum Bob Sweeney and my mom! I received the
typical letters from many Northeast colleges -- D1, D2, D3. Just a few weeks
ago, I was cleaning out some bins and noticed all my letters from colleges. I
decided to show my 13-year-old son. I had a few handwritten letters from top
programs … Indiana, South Florida and Syracuse … but I got a lot of interest
from Plattsburgh, Canisius and Monmouth. I narrowed it down to Canisius and
Monmouth and then late in the process, my high school coach asked me if I would
be interested in Marist? Apparently, one of his former athletes, Bob Sweeney,
went to Marist and graduated with Pete (Editor’s
note: Not really, but close enough … Bob was a little younger than me, but we
trained together post-collegiately and became close friends). I adored my
high school coach and if he told me to go to Marist, I would have went there!! But,
he always made it very clear he would not get involved with my college process
(in case things did not work out)! However, he seemed to think Marist would be
a good fit and said, "the coach down there is really good!”
I ended up going down on a Sunday in
late winter. I stayed overnight with Matt Pool. Pete put my parents up in the Super
8 in Hyde Park. Prior to staying overnight with Pool, my parents and I had
lunch with Pete across from campus at some bar! My parents, mainly my mom, just
loved Pete! Pete was so personable but the fact that Pete was Italian made my
mom like Pete even more. Pete ended up recruiting my mom, more than me. Pete
told my parents to go to dinner at Coppola’s (across the street from the Super
8). My parents loved it at Coppola’s, which resulted in my parents liking Pete
even more! The rest is history. I told Pete about a week later I was going to
attend Marist (without my mom, of course)!
When
did you start running and how did you get involved in the sport?
In my hometown, I attended a
Syracuse City Parks and Recreation Track camp the summer of 5th grade. They got
me into running and had me try out for Junior Olympics where I made it to the
regionals in Red Hook, NY. Coincidently, I am now the director of that summer
camp and I ended up attending college just south of Red Hook!
Talk
about your time at Marist, academically and athletically. First, academically:
How did your education at Marist prepare you for a career in education?
First, it should be known
that I received my master’s degree in Literacy from Syracuse University. However,
Marist, by far was a better fit for me than Syracuse. I did learn a lot at
Syracuse … but the small tight “family like” atmosphere at Marist prepared me
for a life of education beyond what I can write here. Pete and even his wife
Heidi helped me SO much and I am so grateful for this. Pete, who was working
part time at the Poughkeepsie Journal as well as being the part-time Marist
coach, took time at night to re-read my academic papers. Heidi helped me with
the creative part of getting a certification in elementary education. I
remember going to Pete and Heidi’s house on a Friday night. Heidi helped me put
together my teaching portfolio (something I would bring on job interviews). I
recall principals telling me how awesome it was. Professors were amazing at
Marist and always available. I was a low 80 student in high school and at
Marist, the style of teaching was perfect for my learning style which resulted
in some really great grades.
Athletically: To be honest,
I was not happy with my freshman year. I actually wanted to transfer back home
(to Lemoyne College). I had some class conflicts so I had to workouts on my own
and I raced very poorly. I did not give up and Pete adjusted his training to
fit my needs. Things took off from there. Pete actually set me up to peak as a
runner the few years after college. My one regret: Pete wanted me to run a
marathon soon after college. He knew I was ready to run sub 2:20 based on my
14:30 (5k), 30:30 (10k) and 67:17 (half marathon). I decided to wait until I
was closer to 30 years old. I still ran a solid marathon time (2:29) but I
should have listened to Pete and ran it right after college!
You
had a great running career here at Marist. At the time of your graduation, you
were among the greatest student-athletes we've ever had here. What are some of
your favorite highlights and memories of your time as a runner at Marist?
Without a doubt, my favorite
memory was being the first Marist (distance) runner to compete at the Penn
Relays. I remember when Pete tried to get me into the meet. They initially denied me. The Poughkeepsie
Journal did some article and it was on the front cover of the sports section!
Finally, they let me race and I PRed (and ran a school record) and beat many
good runners. I also remember my senior year, last XC race (they call it regionals
now) to determine who goes to nationals. It was 10k at VCP. At mile 4, I was
qualified and I'll never forget running by Chuck and Pete and them yelling at
me to hold on, I am in! I did fall back a little to 25th place. I needed to be
15th to make it!
However, Coach Chuck (and my
former roommate) often reminds me about my fastest 8k time, 24:17. In 1998, we
went to the National Catholic Invite at Notre Dame. I ran out of my mind out
there finishing 3rd overall and only getting beat by just one ND
guy. At the time, ND was ranked in the NCAA top 20. My buddy, Tim Englehardt,
ran for them. Tim was an All-American high school XC runner who was highly
recruited. He could have went anywhere. I blew him away and a few days after
the race, the ND guys were asking him who I was and trying to research my
times, etc. Wearing that Marist uniform and running that time out there was
beyond memorable.
For
younger athletes on the team, tell them what it was like to be a
student-athlete at Marist back then as opposed to now. What are some of the
similarities and some of the differences?
One major similarity... Pete
and Chuck! These two are so loyal to the program, it's fascinating!! I
see a difference is the gear received, social media, busses to meets, the
seriousness of the team.
How
are you and your family managing the Covid-19 pandemic -- you and your wife as
teachers with distance learning, and your children adapting to the same. How is
it going?
I am sure my 13-year-old
son, Dante and my 9-year-old daughter Gianna are enjoying having two parents as
teachers!! Ha ha! It's going OK! We are all managing trying to support local as
much as we can as well. My son Dante was ready to run modified track. He plays
soccer too but has been running somewhat consistently since Thanksgiving to
gain a base. Obviously, his track season got canceled but he is running
consistently. We ran 4 miles the other day on a trail. By the end we were going
low 7 pace and he said, "dad, this feels to good, I think I can run forever!"
That's always a good to hear!
You
are coach of the XC/track programs at SUNY ESF in Syracuse. Tell us how you got
the job and how much the program has grown under your leadership.
Next year, I will be going
into my 4th year on the job there. I was coaching at high school and
modified level for about 10 years before SUNY ESF. My brother saw the posting
and then a mother of someone I used to coach in high school reached out to me
and asked if I would be interested. She works at SUNY ESF. We are a young
athletic program (XC has only been around 14 years, track, 5 years). Our
national affiliation is the USCAA (small colleges across the country). However,
each week we compete at NCAA D1, D2, D3 invites so we train like a NCAA Division
1! Two XC season ago, we won our first ever USCAA national women’s XC title.
This was a monumental moment for the XC program. Our men have been national
runner up for the last three seasons. Last season, we had the best XC men’s
team in school history based on times. At our national meet in Virginia Beach,
we had our top 5 guys under 28 minutes for (8k). One guy under 26, another
under 27 and 3 guys under 28 minutes. Pete has always come up with team mottos.
We do as well. Despite being a young program, underfunded, etc, we always “FIND
A WAY!”
Regarding
the pandemic, how are you and your staff managing that with your team and how
do you envision this situation impacting your team in the short- and long-term
future?
My staff and I are certainly
worried about the future, especially XC. We are planning like it will happen.
We text and email our student athletes all the time. I send out training plans
as well. I hope my seniors can stay in shape and hit up a road race in the
summer (assuming there will be road races). We had some big goals for this
outdoor season based on what we did indoor.
Seniors
in high school and seniors in college are missing out on the end of their
senior years. What message can you give to Marist runners who are missing out
on their final outdoor track season as well as their final few months as
student-athletes at Marist?
The best thing about running
is you always have another race. It’ doesn’t matter how old you are or if races
are canceled for moment. You will have a chance to shine. Good runners are
patient. Just like in your training … It takes time to develop and be a great
runner and PR. Same thing with this situation. Be patient, get your training in
and you will get through this and have your chance.
How
are you managing that with the Mighty Oaks too? What message of hope or
guidance can you give with regard to the future and the "new normals"
we may have to adapt to?
We have to be prepared for
anything. I know there will be budget issues that we will have to figure out a
well as new normals. As of now, recruiting has taken over a lot of my time and
that has changed. We are excited to start up life again while realizing it may
look a bit different.
Anything
else you’d like to add …
One thing I forgot to write
is that I still run very consistently, 12-15 mile long runs each week and about
40-50 miles a week. Never took a break from the days I left Marist in 1999.
Great article melfi!
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