Personal tour = Dan Kuffner

 

Dan Kuffner, Class of 1968, was back on campus on Monday morning, joined by his classmate Joe Walsh and his son. Mr. Kuffner was a member of the first track teams back in the late 1960s. He had a long and distinguished teaching career in nearby Hyde Park. Through it all, he has remained a loyal Marist Athletics supporter as a longtime Red Fox Club member. Mr. Kuffner no longer lives in the area -- he splits time between Arizona and Long Island. He very much wanted to be at the Victory Lap celebration, but his schedule wouldn't permit. I told him, as I have told many others who couldn't make it back on Saturday, that whenever he was able to make it here, I would give him a personal tour. And, that's exactly what we did on Monday morning. Showing off our (new) track = it will never get old. Neat.

Drone photos = INCREDIBLE

 The following drone images were taken by Marist professor of communication Jeff Basinger. These photos are HIS property so please do not share until I get permission from him to share. There will be more. THESE ARE AWESOME PICTURES

Victory Lap = it's about the kids

 

Thanks to Mark Valentino for sending this picture via text. When we do another alumni gathering at the track -- WHEN, not IF -- we will focus on alumni children and do many more kids' dashes.

More REALLY GREAT drone photos coming soon.

WHAT A GREAT DAY

 

It was an overwhelmingly successful Saturday at the track, a day we'll never forget. There's only one "grand opening" and this one was certainly grand, as alumni, family and friends came out in full force for the Victory Lap celebration. It represented all that is so very good about our Track and Cross Country Family at Marist. 

This is one day I wish I were on social media, because I heard there were a lot of neat posts. For this post, this awesome photo will have to do -- Lisa Chase and her children, and the old coach, all smiling at the end of a fulfilling day. 

As more photos become available, I will post them here.

Saying "thank you" doesn't come close to encapsulating the gratitude I have for everything involving this day. It was a long time coming, and it was worth a lifetime of waiting. 

If you are one of the alums who could not make it today, please know that our new track is YOUR home too, and it will be forever, and when you do eventually make it back to campus, it will be my duty and honor to give you a Personal Tour of the track. 

Going home, going home
By the waterside I will rest my bones
Listen to the river sing sweet songs 
To rock my soul

Victory Lap celebration on Saturday

 Looking forward to what should be a great day at the track on Saturday afternoon. The event starts at 3p but if you are reading this and coming from outside the area? Stop by the track anytime and it's likely I'll be there! The schedule for the day looks (something) like this:

3p = arrive, check in, etc.

3:15p = welcome words

3:30p = Victory Lap group photo and lap

4p = Mile race in three sections (fast one first)

4:30p = Track team senior day

Post-event dinner/drinks will be at Mahoney's.

See you tomorrow or SOON.

The bricks!

 What an absolute Pleasant Surprise this afternoon at the track. The BRICKS -- for large donations and personalized messages -- started to be placed at the track! The work was in progress so it is not clear how many have been placed and how many more still need to be placed. It's great that some (maybe ALL?) will be on display for Saturday's Victory Lap Celebration. Highly NEAT. Here's a sampling,

(scenes from) track practice

 A loyal blog follower -- a record-setting recent graduate who now lives Far Away -- says he checks the blog frequently "when he's bored" at work. He will be (GREATLY) missed at Saturday's Victory Lap Celebration (more on that later). But I promised him to post some pictures from a (recent) practice. Admittedly, I'm not great at Taking Pictures. This was speed and power practice (this blog follower had plenty of Speed and Power in his DAY). 

Like it was always THERE

Received the following text from a (very) loyal alum/blog follower: 

Is it weird using the track. As in. Has it set in yet that it's there and it's not going away? 

This is a great question!

Now that we are several weeks into the semester, with (already) numerous practices on the Track at Gartland Commons (the official name of the track!), my general thoughts: 

--It's friggin awesome! We love it! The weather has been great!

--It's been VERY easy to get used to! As my wife said, the first time we went to see the track in the (middle of the) summer: "It's like it always belonged here."

--The energy of the team has been fantastic. They are truly thriving in this setting.

--The track is very BOUNCY and feels great.

You'll be able to witness (all this) in person on Saturday, September 27, for the Victory Lap Celebration. We have (already) topped the 100 people registration mark, with hopefully more on the way. 

Look forward to seeing many of you soon.

(ok)

Jasper meet: Women's results

Jasper Fall XC Invitational
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Twin Ponds, Montgomery, NY
Women’s team standings
1-Quinnipiac 36, 2-Bucknell 43, 3-Marist 129, 4-Seton Hall 140, 5-Fairfield 162, 6-Sacred Heart 194, 7-Fordham 197, 8-NYU 212, 9-Rider 219, 10-Siena 222, 11-Manhattan 244, 12-UAlbany 356, 13-SUNY Delhi 356, 14-Marywood 425, 15-Manhattanville 496, 16-John Jay 499
Individual results, 6km course
15-Parker O’Brien 21:49.3
25-Emily Litke 22:11.3
31-Abigail Kowalczyk 22:21.5
34-Julia Zydanowicz 22:26.4
44-Edy Livingston 22:45.5
112-Isabella Colabatistto 24:36.9
117-Christina Diorio 24:41.8
119-Evelyn Hoak 24:46.7
126-Melina Montgomery 24:58.9
177 finishers

Jasper meet: Men's results

Jasper Fall XC Invitational
Saturday, September 13, 2025
Twin Ponds, Montgomery, NY
Men’s team standings
1-Bucknell 32, 2-Siena 44, 3-Fordham 107, 4-Seton Hall 134, 5-Rider 158, 6-Marist 183, 7-Fairfield 227, 8-Quinnipiac 232, 9-NYU 232, 10-UAlbany 251, 11-Sacred Heart 292, 12-Marywood 303, 13-Manhattan 409, 14-St. Peter’s 431, 15-SUNY Delhi 441, 16-Manhattanville 506
Individual results, 8km course
20-Isaac Gross 25:39.1
29-Justin Schwartz 25:55.1
48-Sanjith Nomula 26:17.5
51-Davis Haines 26:22.1
55-Kaleb Stoeckmann 26:28.1
61-Chase Kober 26:33.3
67-Kevin Cannon 26:38.2
70-Pierce Francis 26:40.5
104-Jack Dovaras 27:12.9
179 finishers

Saturday's meet: Jasper XC Invitational

 Twin Ponds at the Farm
Montgomery, NY
Saturday, September 13
Women's 6km at 10a
Men's 8km at 10:45a
Live results at https://fat.live/meets/55535

Carrying the torch

 

It was really cool to see the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run come through campus on Wednesday morning. Numerous members of our track team were on hand to cheer them on and take this photo with them. Maybe next year, the Torch Run can take a lap around the Track at Gartland Commons!