Vermont Marathon: Deedy's dandy debut

Congrats to Marist Running Alum Pat Deedy for his solid marathon debut at the Vermont City Marathon on Sunday. His post-race text included the following words: "Last 4 miles were pure pain." His splits (from screen shot he texted me here) indicate a pretty well-paced effort. Next up for Deedy = Boston. Nicely done, Deedy.

Extended family photo

With brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles and various generations, it was a rare gathering of 18 close family members from as far away as Florida and Rochester and as close as Long Island for a family barbecue and fun day at our house on Sunday. Who knows when we'll all be able to get together again? So it was nice to capture this photo on an otherwise soggy holiday weekend.

Jenna's travels in Peru

Got some really great pix here from Jenna Robinson, who is traveling and hiking in Peru with her teammates and friends Alyssa L and Boushra. Here is a short note she included in the email with these photos:

Peru is treating us well! We are having a lot of fun and getting some good high altitude hiking in! Today we climbed Huaynapicchu, which overlooks Machu Picchu. It only took an hour to ascend, but it was quite difficult at 9,000ft! We have been staying in cusco most nights, which is at about 11,200 ft. 

WXC blog returns!

Coach Chuck has revived his Marist College Women's Cross Country Blog for the summer! Here is the link if interested! runningladyfoxes.blogspot.com/

Remembering a Brother

My phone blew up with texts and alerts on Saturday afternoon when news spread of the passing of founding Allman Brothers Band member Gregg Allman. Many friends and family members know of my affinity for the ABB and related groups. Gregg Allman was the cornerstone of the group and the jam band movement that many of us know and love. He had not been in good health for some time, so the news was not surprising, but sad nonetheless. The first time I saw Gregg Allman live was in the summer of 1986 or 1987 along the Poughkeepsie riverfront. At that time, he was playing with the Gregg Allman Band (the Allman Brothers Band would re-form a few years later). The first song they played was "Don't Want You No More" (a keyboard heavy instrumental), which bled right into "It's Not My Cross to Bear." These two songs were the first two on the first ABB album back in the 1960s. The initial sound of Allman's bluesy growl of a voice that afternoon is something I'll never forget. I would go on to see the Allman Brothers Band many, many times in the 1990s and 2000s. More times than I can count. Always, always, Allman was off on the left side of the stage (from the crowd vantage point), swaying his shoulders and his shoulder-length hair, playing the keys and singing that bluesy growl. Another great voice silenced, but the ABB's music will live on forever.

Graduation 2017

Sorry for the delay in posting this (and other things!). Getting into "summer mode," which means less frequency of blog posts. Thanks to Paul Toner (Zach's dad) for sending me this awesome photo of a group of senior men at commencement last Saturday. From left: Ginty, Edsall, Toner, Spencer, Stefan. We will miss this group of seniors, a very special class of 2017.

A blessed weekend

During his college years, as a member of the track and cross country team (as well as the student body) at Marist College, he was known as “Matt” or “Matty” or “Janzo.” To those pictured here (his college friends and old coach), that’s what we still call him. But we’ll all have to slowly adjust to his new title: Father Jacob Bertrand Janczyk, O.P. It was a humbling honor and blessing to be in Washington, D.C., this past weekend to witness the ordination of Matt as a Roman Catholic Priest of Jesus Christ at St. Dominic Church, and also to be present for his first Mass as Father Janczyk, at St. Peter’s Church. This photo was taken at the Dominican House of Studies, where Matt lived, studied and worshipped for five years. It was a difficult decision to forego commencement at Marist on Saturday, but it was also wonderful to be there in DC for this blessed weekend. We are forever proud of Matt.

Alumni race report: Jillian peaks in Poconos

Extremely pumped and proud of Marist Running Alum Jillian Corley for her phenomenal marathon race at the Run for the Red Marathon in the Poconos this weekend. Jillian was second in the women’s race and 20^th overall out of 569 finishers in a startlingly great time of 2:58:41 (6:49 pace). She ran negative splits, too: 1:29:56 for the first 13.1 miles and 1:28:45 for the second 13.1 miles. In the process, she proved that her Boston race in the heat (3:43:47) did not demonstrate her true fitness level. Nicely done, Jillian!

Alumni race report: Fitz sizzles in Brooklyn

Marist Running Alum Ryan Fitzsimons, now running for the Central Park Track Club, had a monster (86-second) PR at the Brooklyn Half Marathon on Saturday. Fitz ran 1:12:06, placed 32^nd overall and 14^th in his age group, out of a total of 27,440 finishers. He averaged 5:30 per mile for 13.1 miles, and check out these fancy 5km splits:

17:04

34:29 (17:25)

51:30 (17:01)

1:08:26 (16:56)

Good stuff, nicely done!

Farewell week: Final senior selfie

On Thursday morning, I met with a group of graduating senior men for a few hours. I could have spent all day with them, and I didn’t want our time together to come to a close. I had a similar meeting with a group of graduating women on Wednesday afternoon. For the first time in recent memory, I won’t be at Friday’s or Saturday’s commencement; instead, I will be in Washington, DC, for the solemn ordination into Catholic priesthood of one of our former athletes. It is a special, one-of-a-kind event that I absolutely could not miss. Do I feel guilty about not “being there” for our athletes, after four or five years together? You bet I do. I will miss them greatly and dearly. While this one final selfie was indeed “neat,” saying goodbye to these men and women was far from it. We hope and trust they will stay in touch in the coming years and become loyal alumni. 

Farewell week: Who’s Who ceremony

The first of many celebratory events that we were aware of was on Tuesday afternoon, when several of our athletes were present to accept their entrance into Who’s Who In American Colleges and Universities. Among the track/xc athletes who were selected, the following are in this photo: Ashley Haynes, Bryn Gorberg, Molly Weeks, Brian Edsall. We are proud of them all.

Farewell week: Handing in the van keys

We’re getting toward the conclusion of Senior Week – the week of activities that culminates with the curiously named “Commencement Exercises,’’ also known as graduation, on Saturday (Friday for grad students). I get the idea of why it’s called “commencement” – yeah, you’re starting a new chapter in the rest of your life. I get that. It’s accurate. But a large part of me still yearns and longs for my college years at Marist, which concluded 31 years ago yesterday with my “commencement exercises” way back in 1986. So while it does “commence” the better part of the rest of your life, this is also a week of final farewells.

The first, and by far least meaningful, farewell was to our trusty track vans. Each year, the athletic department leases a fleet of vans. Three of them are assigned to our program. This year, we had a fancy Ford Transit van (Coach Erica usually drove that one), a standard issue white van (Toner was the main driver of that one, at least at 11 a.m. practice), and a curious looking gray van with a metal grate step up to the driver’s side door and another, sagging one, on the passenger side sliding door. This gray van had the most mileage on it and was the funkiest of the fleet. You guessed it, The Old Coach drove that one most days. In fairness? My creaky joints greatly enjoyed the metal grate step-up to the driver’s seat, so I put up with the annoying leather seats and the rather dubious interior odor.

On Wednesday morning, Coach Horton and I went by the Vassar Track one final time to pick up our hurdles. Upon returning to campus, I cleaned out all three vans. Included in the detritus of nine months of practices: Water bottles (empty, full, half-full), a lot of water bottles; granola bar wrappers; training schedule sheets; workout sheets; empty Ziploc bags from my go-to midday snacks of red peppers and celery; a stray sock; empty cups; snow rakes; a half-full gallon jug of water. Listen: From mid-August till mid-May, we spend most mornings and afternoons, and some weekends, driving these vans. They become part of our program. I’ve gassed them up more times than I care to remember; I have consumed (and spilled) my fair share of Stewart’s coffee; I’ve played Radio Woodstock, or WFAN, or more often been overruled for “better” music selections; countless bad puns have been uttered in those vans; seats have gotten sweaty, floors have gotten muddy; we’ve cleaned snow off the windshield and the roof. Basically, they have been OUR vehicles for nine months. So when I was done cleaning up, I handed in the keys and the snow rakes and thought to myself: It won’t be long before the next fleet of vans comes our way during preseason XC. 

Updating the board, May 2017

With the outdoor track season complete, it's time to exhale and send a list of updated school records to the company that updates our record board in the McCann Center. Our invoice will happily be a bit more expensive, as a total of 10 new records were established (seven in women's track and three in men's track). Combined with our seven records indoors (five in women's track and two in men's track), that's a total of 17 school records established in 2016-2017. A fantastic tribute to the hard-working women and men in our program. Here are the updated outdoor track records, as sent to the company for production, for 2017.

Women

100-meter dash: Ashley Haynes 12.44 2017

200-meter dash: Ashley Haynes 25.78 2017

400-meter dash: Danisha Craig 57.83 2017

3,000-steeplechase: Nicki Nesi 10:36.48 2017

4x100 relay: A. Haynes, C. Forrest, D. Boerke, D. Craig 48.76 2017

4x800 relay: S. Bohan, E. Burns, J. Robinson, D. Grohn 9:06.60 2017

4x1500 relay: C. Gambell, E. Burns, S. Bohan, M. Schiffhauer 19:00.29 2017

Men

400-meter hurdles: Joe Cafaro 54.93 2017

4x800 relay: B. Henderson, D. Burns, S. Morrison, S. Morton 7:37.37 2017

4x1500 relay: S. Baig, Z. Ropes, S. Rizzo, S. Morton, 16:00.59 2017

ECAC Championships: Day 2 results and splits

What a fitting way to cap a record-setting 2016-2017 school year for track and cross country – with another school record! This time, it was our outdoor 4x800 relay team of Shea Bohan, Emily Burns, Jenna Robinson and Denise Grohn that shattered the previous school mark by 3.31 seconds and earned two points with a seventh-place finish at the ECAC meet. The splits were fabulous: Shea led off with a stellar 2:15.51, Emily was next in 2:17.46, Jenna had a monster 2:15.57 and Denise anchored with 2:18.07. Even better? The class years for this particular relay combo = sophomore, sophomore, junior, freshman. Now, that’s neat! Two scoring spots in the meet – Nicki Nesi in the steeple and this relay – means we finished the meet with 4 points. For those keeping score at home, that’s tied for 42^nd place. Again, very neat. A great way to head into the summer months.

ECAC Championships, Day 2

Sunday, May 14, 2017

William Weaver Track Stadium

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

400-meter hurdles

35. Debbie Boerke 1:03.83

3,200-meter relay

7. Marist (Shea Bohan 2:15.51, Emily Burns 2:17.46, Jenna Robinson 2:15.57, Denise Grohn 2:18.07) 9:06.60 *school record, old record 9:09.91 by Jenn Horner, Kristen Traub, Jenna Robinson, Janelle Solviletti in 2015

IC4A Championships: Men's results and splits, Day 2

The wonderful career of senior Stefan Morton came to a close with a career-best time in the 1,500-meter run at IC4As. Stefan placed 20^th out of 40 entrants and improved his personal-best in the event by about 1.25 seconds. As you can see from his splits, he ran an even and tough race. We are not ready to see his career end, but alas all good things must come to an end. This weekend’s meet, in which we had the largest contingent in school history, is as much about the future as it is the present and the past. The majority of our athletes – including all runners in both 4x800 relays – return for at least one more season, in some cases more than that. And although our men’s relay had a mishap in which third leg Zachary Ropes dropped the baton, it was a good run for the year for our middle-distance crew – of which Stefan was a bit part. We will miss him greatly, but he left an indelible mark on the team.

IC4A Championships, Day 2

Sunday, May 14, 2017

William Weaver Track Stadium

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

1,500-meter run

20. Stefan Morton 3:54.87

Coach Pete splits, from start line: 62.2, 2:05.5 (63.3), 3:08.4 (62.9), 3:54.87 (46.47)

Official race splits, from finish line: 46.99, 1:49.68 (62.69), 2:53.07 (63.40), 3:54.87 (61.81)

3,200-meter relay

11. Marist (Brian Henderson 1:55.10, Drew Burns 1:54.41, Zachary Ropes 2:03.21 (dropped baton), Steven Morrison 1:55.71) 7:48.42

ECAC/IC4A UPDATED schedule for SUNDAY

IC4A/ECAC Updated Time Schedule

Weaver Stadium, Princeton

Sunday, May 14, 2017

All events final on time, slow to fast

All athletes must check in four events prior, and get hip numbers 30 minutes prior

Clerking has been moved to tunnel by the finish line

Rolling schedule starting at 9:30 a.m.

ECAC 4x100 relay

IC4A 4x100 relay

ECAC 1500

IC4A 1500: Stefan Morton

IC4A 110 hurdles

ECAC 100 hurdles

ECAC 400

IC4A 400

ECAC 100

IC4A 100

ECAC 800

IC4A 800

ECAC 400 hurdles: Debbie Boerke

IC4A 400 hurdles

ECAC 200

IC4A 200

ECAC 3000

ECAC 4x800 relay: Marist team of Shea Bohan, Emily Burns, Denise Grohn, Jenna Robinson

IC4A 4x800 relay: Marist team of Brian Henderson, Drew Burns, Zachary Ropes, Steven Morrison

ECAC 4x400 relay

IC4A 4x400 relay

ECAC/IC4A meet POSTPONED today

Because of impending heavy rain and wind, the majority of today's Day 2 of the IC4A/ECAC meet has been postponed until Sunday. The only events being contested today are the hammer throw and the men's pole vault (moved inside). All track events will be run as a final on time, rolling schedule starting at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday. All of our athletes -- Debbie Boerke in the 400-meter hurdles, Stefan Morton in the 1,500-meter run, and our men's and women's 4x800 relays -- will be racing on Sunday now. More details to follow ...

ECAC Championships: Women's results and splits

Nicki Nesi ended her remarkable career in red and white with a scoring place in the ECAC steeplechase. She admitted to feeling a bit flat and off her game, and her usual fluidity over the barriers was not there on this night. But she was still able to race tough and race well, charging into the scoring pack and earning two points for the team. She graduates with the school record in the event, as well as three of the four fastest times recorded in school history. Wonderful! In the 10,000-meter race, senior Elizabeth Wasserman concluded her strong long-distance career with a solid effort at ECACs. We thank her for her many contributions to the program throughout her three years here after transferring in. This was her second consecutive appearance in the ECAC 10km race.

ECAC Championships, Day 1

Friday, May 12, 2017

William Weaver Track Stadium

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

3,000-meter steeplechase

7. Nicki Nesi 10:40.46 *ECAC All-East scoring placement

709, 2:42 (83), 4:08 (86), 5:34 (86), 7:01 (87), 8:29 (88), 9:55 (86), 10:40.46 (45.46)

10,000-meter run

20. Elizabeth Wasserman 37:10.55

85, 2:51 (86), 4:18 (87), 5:44 (86)

7:13 (89), 8:41 (88), 10:09 (88), 11:37 (88)

13:05 (88), 14:34 (89), 16:02 (88), 17:32 (90)

19:02 (90), 20:33 (91), 22:04 (91), 23:33 (89)

25:04 (91), 26:37 (93), 28:09 (92), 29:41 (92)

31:13 (92), 32:44 (91), 34:14 (90), 35:43 (89)

37:10.55 (87.55)

5km splits: 18:17, 18:53.55

1600m splits: 5:44, 5:53, 5:55, 6:01, 6:08, 6:02

IC4A Championships: Men's results and splits

Our three men in the 10km battled gamely and had mixed results. Sophomore Mike Kennedy ran a strong and tough PR, going out aggressively and hanging on for a career-best time by five seconds. A great way to end what has been a positive second year of collegiate running. Neat. Dietrich Mosel went out with the lead pack, whose pace proved to be a bit too peppy for him and he paid the price. Live and learn. Palmer Weimann ran his second 10km in six days and literally suffered through it. Unbeknownst to all of us watching, Palmer felt a pull and a grab in his calf just five laps (5 laps!) into the 25-lap race. He winced and grimaced his way to a remarkable finish, considering this. Note that he actually INCREASED his pace AFTER his injury. He showed great toughness in gutting through this race.

IC4A Championships, Day 1

Friday, May 12, 2017

William Weaver Track Stadium

Princeton University

Princeton, New Jersey

10,000-meter run

14. Mike Kennedy 31:16.81

73, 2:32 (79), 3:44 (72), 4:56 (72)

6:10 (74), 7:24 (74), 8:38 (74), 9:54 (76)

11:07 (73), 12:21 (74), 13:38 (77), 14:53 (75)

16:05 (72), 17:19 (74), 18:33 (74), 19:50 (77)

21:07 (77), 22:24 (77), 23:40 (76), 24:57 (77)

26:14 (77), 27:30 (76), 28:48 (78), 30:04 (76)

31:16.81 (72.81)

5km splits: 15:30, 15:46.81

1600m splits: 4:56, 4:58, 4:59, 4:57, 5:07, 5:07

19. Dietrich Mosel 31:37.16

72, 2:32 (80), 3:42 (70), 4:53 (71)

6:05 (72), 7:17 (72), 8:30 (73), 9:43 (73)

10:57 (74), 12:10 (73), 13:26 (76), 14:43 (77)

16:00 (77), 17:18 (78), 18:33 (75), 19:55 (80)

21:15 (80), 22:33 (78), 23:52 (79), 25:13 (81)

26:32 (79), 27:52 (80), 29:10 (78), 30:25 (75)

31:37.16 (72.16)

5km splits: 15:21, 16:16.16

1600m splits: 4:53, 4:50, 5:00, 5:12, 5:18, 5:12

20. Palmer Weimann 31:44.97

74, 2:33 (79), 3:46 (73), 5:00 (74)

6:16 (76), 7:32 (76), 8:47 (75), 10:03 (76)

11:19 (76), 12:34 (75), 13:49 (75), 15:03 (74)

16:17 (74), 17:31 (74), 18:46 (75), 20:02 (76)

21:20 (78), 22:36 (76), 23:55 (79), 25:16 (81)

26:33 (77), 27:54 (81), 29:12 (78), 30:28 (76)

31:44.97 (76.97)

5km splits: 15:40, 16:04.97

1600m splits: 5:00, 5:03, 5:00, 4:59, 5:14, 5:12

IC4A/ECAC Championships: Athletes entered, schedule

We head down to Princeton on Friday for the ECAC and IC4A Championships this weekend. We have what we believe to be our largest contingent of qualifiers for the meet – four individual men and a relay, and three individual women and a relay. The schedule of events is listed below; you’ll note the dubious nature of the schedule (25 minutes allotted for the women’s 10km?), but that’s how it was presented to us. The weather looks horrendous, at least on Saturday – heavy rain, wind and chilly temperatures. Is spring ever going to arrive for good? We’ve been shivering through Little League games and track meets for weeks now – and it’s not just me! I see other parents huddled under blankets or watching games from the warmth of their cars. Come on, man. Anyway! We are proud of our entrants and we are hopeful to extend our stay in Princeton through Sunday. It won’t be easy, but that’s the GOAL. OK!

Friday night distance races

5:20 p.m., ECAC steeplechase: Nicki Nesi

6:20 p.m., ECAC 10,000-meter run: Elizabeth Wasserman

6:45 p.m., IC4A 10,000-meter run: Dietrich Mosel, Mike Kennedy, Palmer Weimann

Saturday events

10:50 a.m., IC4A 1,500-meter trials: Stefan Morton

1:25 p.m., IC4A 4x800 relay trials: Brian Henderson, Drew Burns, Zachary Ropes, Steven Morrison

5:05 p.m., ECAC 400-meter hurdle trials: Debbie Boerke

5:45 p.m., ECAC 4x800 relay trials: Shea Bohan, Emily Burns, Denise Grohn, Jenna Robinson

Sunday events

TBA, based on qualifiers from Saturday