It sure was lonely up at the front of the bus.
This was Friday morning. We were heading down to Ocean Breeze for the NYC Gotham Cup. Other than the Winter of Our Discontent (2021) when our indoor season was canceled, getting on a cold bus and going to an endless indoor track meet is something we’ve been doing for decades. When I say “we,” I mean our remarkably stable coaching staff. I’ve mentioned this before, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a coaching staff more stable than Marist College Track and Cross Country.
--At the head of the pack is the forgetful idiot sipping coffee at the front of the bus, 32 years and still going. If you count my time as a runner at Marist, the affiliation goes back more than 40 years (I arrived as a scared and skinny freshman way back in August 1982).
--Then, there is Coach Chuck Williams, who has been part of the program for almost as long. Starting in 1995, when he arrived as a freshman, Chuck has been here – first as an athlete, then as a volunteer coach, then as an integral assistant coach, and since 2008 as the leader of our women’s program (with a still strong impact on our men’s team as well!).
--And lastly, there is Terry Horton. While his affiliation with Marist Track (circa 2008) is much shorter than the coffee-swilling fool writing this post and the multi-faceted Coach Chuck, his affiliation with the SPORT is older than Coach Chuck and almost as old as me.
Terry is 74 years old but looks much younger than that. In fact, it has been noted – accurately – but some that Terry looks younger than I do (for those keeping score at home, I’m currently 58 and getting older by the second). After a stellar athletic career (football and track) at both Arlington High School and SUNY Cortland, Terry immediately got into coaching (and teaching) at Arlington. Between Arlington, where he coached until his retirement from teaching, then a brief stint at Dutchess Community College and now at Marist, Terry has been coaching pretty much non-stop for 53 years!
That’s literally thousands of track meets, and a similar number of bus rides to track meets. Which gets me back to Friday’s lonely bus ride.
For the first time in all these decades, Terry missed a meet. Don’t worry! Terry is fine. He might be the healthiest 74-year-old in Dutchess County. But alas, not everyone is Terry’s busy household is currently as healthy as the old horse who has been coaching forever. And so, Terry had to stay home on Friday to take care of things there. This is understandable, even laudable, as we have always preached a “family first’’ mantra.
Terry is as
reliable and stable as they come. Not having him on the bus, and at the meet,
was jarring. We know he’ll be back, and we won’t take that for granted.
Highlights
--Christopher Paxis, first place in 800 in a personal-best indoor time
--Tyler Perry, personal best by 7 seconds in the mile
--Daniel Czop, personal-best in the mile
--Christopher Boston, personal best in the 60 dash in collegiate debut
NYC Gotham Cup
Friday, January 20, 2023
Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex
Staten Island, NY
Men’s results
60 dash
14. Amari Mathis 7.12
17. Christopher Boston 7.14
25. Roman Katona 7.19
200 dash
17. Amari Mathis 22.61
400 dash
15. Easton Eberwein 51.39
24.58, 26.82
28. Reed Dexter 52.23
23.79, 28.44
31. Ryan Bahnsen 52.35
24.69, 27.66
800 run
1-Christopher Paxis 1:54.31
29.33, 57.10 (27.78), 1:25.61 (28.51), 1:54.31 (28.71)
23. Jack Parsons 2:02.00
29.78, 59.56 (29.79), 1:30.30 (30.74), 2:02.00 (31.71)
1,000 run
22. Marcel Stewart 2:42.38
Mile run
18. Tyler Perry 4:16.36
32.21, 64.87 (32.67), 1:36.54 (31.67), 2:08.68 (32.15), 2:40.67 (32.00), 3:13.10 (32.43), 3:45.75 (32.66), 4:16.36 (30.60)
28. Daniel Czop 4:23.60
33.78, 66.49 (32.71), 1:39.15 (32.66), 2:12.22 (33.07), 2:45.59 (33.38), 3:18.75 (33.17), 3:51.86 (33.11), 4:23.60 (31.74)
34. Gabe Rodriguez 4:26.02
45. Jon Kittredge 4:34.82
3,000 run
10. John Ignacz 8:49.87
2:56.63, 5:52.68 (2:56.05), 8:49.87 (2:57.19)
23. Jack Dovaras 9:14.63
2:58.63, 6:07.26 (3:08.63), 9:14.63 (3:07.37)
4x400 relay
9. Marist (Ryan Bahnsen 51.42, Roman Katona 51.03, Easton Eberwein 49.88, Marcel Stewart 54.75) 3:27.08
4x800 relay
3. Marist (Jacob Anderson 2:02.10, Tyler Perry 1:58.77, Chris Paxis 1:57.16, Roshan Kalikasingh 2:04.05) 8:02.07
Highlights from Coach Chuck:
--Sierra Fisher, personal best in 1,000 in collegiate debut
--Breelyn McNamara, collegiate- and season-best time in 400 dash
--4x400 relay, season-best time, anchored by personal-best splits from Alexa Mocko and Raven Stanet
--4x800 relay, second place
NYC Gotham Cup
Friday, January 20, 2023
Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex
Staten Island, NY
Women’s results
60 dash
39. Isabella Cipolla 8.75
45. Nina Florio 9.10
200 dash
55. Nina Florio 29.54
400 dash
18. Breelyn McNamara 1:02.56
29.27, 32.29
38. Julia Kropo 1:04.87
29.29, 35.58
39. Alexa Mocko 1:05.95
30.23, 35.73
800 run
11. Greta Stuckey 2:27.73
36.53, 36.22, 38.08, 36.91
13. Raven Stanet 2:28.37
35.80, 36.39, 38.23, 37.97
14. Hannah Belleville 2:28.38
35.91, 36.02, 38.10, 38.37
1,000 run
14. Sierra Fisher 3:09.56
35.60, 37.80, 39.03, 39.11, 38.04
21. Christina Diorio 3:16.64
36.28, 37.56, 39.81, 41.63, 41.38
28. Mackenzie Schubert 3:28.85
37.44, 39.63, 42.44, 44.96, 44.40
Mile run
24. Mary Dougherty 5:48.40
38.22, 39.61, 43.15, 45.03, 45.73, 46.54, 46.20, 43.95
60 hurdles
17. Sydney Villani 9.97
18. Madison LaCreta 10.10
4x400 relay
11. Marist (Julia Kropo 64.48, Juliana Fame 66.01, Alexa Mocko 63.57, Raven Stanet 62.85) 4:16.90
4x800 relay
2. Marist (Anaiya Bobo 2:31.05, Hannah Belleville 2:27.61, Grace Reynolds 2:31.92, Greta Stuckey 2:32.22) 10:02.77
High jump
10. Grace O’Neill 1.45 meters (4 feet, 9 inches)
Long jump
23. Isabella Cipolla 4.57 meters (15 feet, 0 inches)
27. Ciena Lentz 4.13 meters (13 feet, 6.5 inches)
