'Dawn' of a new era

 

This was the view on my morning walk at the North Field track. The Canadian wildfire smoke made for a hazy sunrise over the north end of campus. Forgive me if I post many sunrise photos from the track. It's a new view, and it's one that will never get old as we enter a new era of our program. Neat. 

Mark the date: Saturday, September 27!

 Yes, I know, I've already mentioned it a few times: The Victory Lap celebration of the new track (which, by the way, is friggin AWESOME) is all set for Saturday, September 27. A few more details since the last post (please note = all these details are tentative and will be confirmed in the coming days/weeks): 

--The event will be from 3p to 5p on Saturday. If you arrive early and if you stay late ... that's OK! We'll be there -- before, during and after. 

The "program" will consist of three main elements: 

--1-The actual Victory Lap, where we all walk a lap of the new track (did I mention? it's AWESOME!). Hopefully, this will be chronicled with drone (or other) footage. At the very least! Many selfies and social media posts that I will likely not see!

--2-Kids dash races, modeled after the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club summer track series (which, if we have our way, will be held on the North Field Track next summer!). It will be broken up by age groups, and dashes will range from 50 meters (for the youngest) and 200 meters (for the oldest).

--3-The Alumni Mile, which is open to all. Already, there is Much Anticipation (and perhaps even a little Trash Talking) for this race. It will be a mile, none of this 1,600 nonsense. We'll likely have pre-registration, so we have an idea of how many runners we'll have. We'll definitely have separate races by gender, and possibly by age group, again depending on the number of entries.

Aside from those three "formal" elements, mostly we'll just encourage you to hang out and soak in the somewhat surreal fact that we have an outdoor track on the Marist campus. 

Also, we may host something informal off-campus for those who want to continue to hang out + those who want to get a pre-race dinner in advance of Sunday's Dutchess County Classic road race. 

There are more things in the works for this day, but for now that's the update. Please come back to celebrate. Bring kids, family, friends, anyone! And please, spread the word to one and all. Neat.

Staff lap

 

The new North Field track is getting closer to completion, as you can SEE from this selfie taken from Coach Billy's phone with Coach Alisha and me in there as well. Not all the lines (and markings) have been completed. But it's getting MUCH closer to being a finished product. Neat. 

'Victory Lap' celebration

 Hi everyone, hope summer is going well. Historically, there are not many posts on this blog during this time of year and that will likely be the case again this year. Several alums have been inquiring about the "Victory Lap" celebration of our new track on Saturday, September 27. I don't have many additional details yet as we are still ironing them out internally. A few things that have come up: 

--Yes, the Alumni Mile will be happening, and there seems to be Great Enthusiasm for this. We will do our best to have official timing there -- no confirmation of that yet. In terms of heats, age groups, etc. = we'll see! We'll probably have some form of registration in advance so we have an idea of who will be racing.

--The Dutchess County Classic half marathon and 10km are on Sunday, September 28. It's one of the reasons we picked this weekend for the celebration, as many alums come back here to race. However, the Classic ALSO has a 5km on Saturday afternoon. Will that conflict with the "Victory Lap" celebration? No. And Yes. If you are planning to race the Alumni Mile, doing the Classic 5km probably won't be practical as the timing won't work. If you want to race the Classic 5km AND come to the celebration? Definitely doable.

--The time of day for the celebration? Still working that out, but almost definitely in the afternoon and possibly late afternoon into early evening (so we can show off the stadium lights!). But again, it's fluid and we'll be there for a few hours. But in terms of planning your travel to Poughkeepsie, if you live within a few hours, driving up Saturday morning is definitely doable.

Hope this information helps and REALLY looking forward to seeing many of you in a few months. Neat.

USATF U20s: Schaeffler 13th in steeple

Logan Schaeffler had a tough race on Thursday night, placing 13th and running a subpar (for him) time of  9:42.48 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The early pace was slow, and Shef's hurdle form from the start seemed off (aka, Not Good). And then, the lead pack gapped him, and it just kind of unraveled from there. 

We've seen this movie before. Freshman athlete has strong first year of collegiate running, qualifies for (what we used to call) Junior Nationals, we have a fun and exciting trip to Oregon (or some other far-off destination) and we get there, race time comes and ... pffft. Why? My theory = it's a long grind of indoor/outdoor and trying to carry that for another month -- especially for a distance runner -- is very difficult (maybe even impossible). Add to that training at home, with no coach or teammates to motivate/guide you ... and, you get what you get.

As we sit in the PHX airport on a 5-hour layover, we ponder this and realize that most of our athletes who have had subpar U20 meets in June/July bounce back to have strong to great sophomore years and/or strong to great collegiate careers. So there you go. Another trip to Oregon is in the books. We look forward to getting home, even if the forecast is calling for 100-degree days!

Greetings from Track Town USA

 We are here in Oregon for the USATF U20 meet (aka "Junior Nationals" to previous generations. Logan Schaeffler is racing the 3,000-meter steeplechase tonight at 5:47p (west coast time). It is cool and cloudy here in Oregon -- I know that is NOT the weather back home! Tomorrow's weather here will be cooler and rainy (high 58, rain all day). We will be flying back to the heat. Anyway, I've lost count as to how many times I've been out here for this (or other, similar) meet(s), but it's always nice to be in Track Town USA, even just for a few days. This year, this meet coincides with Nike Outdoor Nationals (high school), so there is a lot going on, as usual. Will update with result(s) later. 

More details on "Victory Lap" celebration

Confirmed: Saturday, September 27, afternoon/early evening.

What: Celebration of the completed track facility at North Field, a "Victory Lap" for generations of Marist track/cross country alums.

Yes! We will have an alumni mile, with official timing. 

Yes! We will have children's dash races (bring the family!).

Yes! We will have food trucks.

Yes! This will be an informal "family" celebration as we welcome back every generation of Marist track/cross country alumni, family, friends, parents, etc. The more the merrier.

Yes! We WILL do a "Victory Lap" with (hopefully) hundreds of you in attendance.

No! There will NOT be a formal "ribbon cutting" or formal speeches, etc. That event will happen, but it will be separate from this informal gathering of Forever Foxes. When details of that ribbon cutting event happen, we will let you know in case you want to attend that as well.

Please spread the word. We'd love to have as many generations of Marist Running back on campus (for this).

Neat.

Dutchess County Classic: Marist alumni discount code

 The Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club has shared with me a discount code for the Dutchess County Classic, for all Marist alumni runners. Please text me at 845 309 3640 or email me at Peter.Colaizzo@marist.edu and I will share the code with you. For obvious reasons, I don't want to put it out in "public" on this blog, even with the very limited readership. More details to follow on your "track celebration" on Saturday, 27 Sept. Neat.

Save the date: Track dedication/'grand opening' on Saturday, 27 September!

 More details to follow but for now? Save this date (or weekend?): Saturday, Sept 27, when the new North Field Track and Turf facility will be officially opened and dedicated. This date was picked to coincide with the Dutchess County Classic road race, which will be held on Sunday, Sept 28 (half marathon and 10k) just up the road from Marist. We hope you can make a weekend out of it.

Again, details are still in the works, but if I have my way we'll have a "victory lap" with as many alums, children, friends, etc., as possible, followed by an "Alumni Mile" race, followed by good old family fun on the turf and the track -- celebrating a facility that we at Marist have been anticipating for ... well, forEVER! 

Neat.

Masters mile in NJ

 

Thanks to (Sean) Prinz for texting results and photos from a masters road mile in which he and (Chris) Camp both ran well. Prinz for the win in 4:48 and Camp in ninth in 5:19, "us old men still got it," was Prinz' message, along with "40-year-old milers beware, I'm coming for ya" in his breaking-the-tape picture. Neat. 

Just a thought: Maybe we can host a Masters Alumni Mile on the soon-to-be-completed North Field Track?!

Class of 2025

 

What a VIEW

 

Getting closer to reality ...

IC4A Championships: Complete results (and splits)

IC4A Championships
Saturday/Sunday, May 17-18, 2025
George Mason University
100-meter dash (trials)
2. Amari Mathis 10.62 *qualified for final
100-meter dash (final)
8. Amari Mathis 10.99 (tripped out of blocks) *IC4A All-East
200-meter dash
7. Amari Mathis 21.52 *IC4A All-East
400-meter dash
19. Easton Eberwein 49.26
1,500-meter run
11. Miles Chamberlain 3:55.46 *personal-best time
47.047, 1:04.940, 1:03.790, 59.684
18. Logan Schaeffler 4:04.89
3,000-meter run
5. Logan Schaeffler 8:50.91 *IC4A All-East
35.734, 1:09.910, 1:11.191, 1:09.862, 1:11.983, 1:09.110, 1:10.938, 1:12.183
6. Kevin Cannon 8:57.88 *IC4A All-East
36.137, 1:09.890, 1:11.318, 1:09.966, 1:11.991, 1:13.669, 1:15.092, 1:09.815
7. Steven Viera 9:14.80 *IC4A All-East
36.129, 1:09.904, 1:11.569, 1:11.810, 1:16.028, 1:16.654, 1:17.024, 1:15.680
10,000-meter run
2. Gabriel Rodriguez 32:02.13 *IC4A All-East
72.308, 71.523, 74.180, 74.824
74.203, 75.619, 77.240, 74.460
74.624, 75.141, 77.118, 76.462
75.885, 77.847, 77.844, 78.773
79.790, 79.334, 79.416, 79.355
80.626, 81.113, 80.196, 79.355
74.900
400-meter hurdles
14. Miracle Okoli 55.84
3,000-meter steeplechase
9. Kevin Cannon 9:52.13
43.708, 1:12.186, 1:12.820, 1:15.855, 1:20.580, 1:23.530, 1:23.974, 1:19.480)
Long jump
17. Ramsey Heredia 6.39 meters (20 feet, 11.75 inches)
1,600-meter relay
9. Marist (Simon Advento 51.4, Weston LaBrecque 49.5, Miracle Okoli 49.370, Easton Eberwein 50.557) 3:21.30
3,200-meter relay
8. Marist (Joseph Logan 1:58.064, Sean Wilson 1:59.425, Joaquin Bell-Andujar 1:56.307, Miles Chamberlain 1:54.211) 7:48.01 *IC4A All-East
Team standings
14 of 27 teams with 21 points

ECAC Championships: Complete results (and splits)

ECAC Championships
Saturday/Sunday, May 17-18, 2025
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
100-meter dash (trials)
32. Alyssa Dapont 12.90
800-meter run
11. Julianna Mirabile 2:14.81 *personal-best time
1:07.336, 1:07.473
20. Grace Fletcher 2:17.19
1:06.221, 1:10.960
24. Parker O’Brien 2:18.45
1:05.945, 1:12.505
1,500-meter run
9. Sierra Fisher 4:36.81 *personal-best time
55.696, 1:14.043, 1:15.018, 1:12.048
3,000-meter run
10. Julia Radjenovic 10:34.62
40.393, 1:21.282, 1:24.000, 1:24.283, 1:24.910, 1:26.716, 1:27.040, 1:25.989
100-meter hurdles (trials)
17. Madison LaCreta 15.09
3,000-meter steeplechase
3. Emily Litke 10:59.57 *ECAC All-East
46.469, 1:23.399, 1:26.376, 1:27.150, 1:27.369, 1:29.115, 1:30.677, 1:29.014
3,200-meter relay
4. Marist (Grace Fletcher 2:18.437, Parker O’Brien 2:17.517, Julianna Mirabile 2:16.338, Sierra Fisher 2:16.928) 9:09.22 *ECAC All-East
Team standings
20^th of 28 teams with 11 points

ECAC/IC4A: Day 1 results + Day 2 schedule

IC4A/ECAC Championships
Saturday/Sunday, May 17-18, 2025
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Saturday results
ECAC 100 dash (trials)
32. Alyssa Dapont 12.90
IC4A 100 dash (trials)
2. Amari Mathis 10.62 *qualified for final
IC4A 400-meter dash
19. Easton Eberwein 49.26
ECAC 800-meter run
11. Julianna Mirabile 2:14.81 *personal-best time
20. Grace Fletcher 2:17.19
24. Parker O’Brien 2:18.45
ECAC 1,500 run
9. Sierra Fisher 4:36.81 *personal-best time
55.696, 1:14.043, 1:15.018, 1:12.048
IC4A 1,500 run
11. Miles Chamberlain 3:55.46 *personal-best time
47.047, 1:04.940, 1:03.790, 59.684
18. Logan Schaeffler 4:04.89
IC4A 10,000 run
2. Gabriel Rodriguez 32:02.13 *IC4A All-East
ECAC 100 hurdles (trials)
17. Madison LaCreta 15.09
ECAC 3,000 steeplechase
3. Emily Litke 10:59.57 *ECAC All-East
IC4A 3,000 steeplechase
9. Kevin Cannon 9:52.13
IC4A long jump
17. Ramsey Heredia 6.39 meters (20 feet, 11.75 inches)
Sunday schedule
11:10a: ECAC 4x100 relay
11:20a: IC4A 4x100 relay
11:30a: ECAC 100 hurdles (final)
11:40a: IC4A 110 hurdles (final)
11:50a: ECAC 100 dash (final)
12 noon: IC4A 100 dash (final): Amari Mathis
12:15p: ECAC 400 hurdles
12:25p: IC4A 400 hurdles: Miracle Okoli
12:40p: ECAC 200 dash
1:05p: IC4A 200 dash: Amari Mathis
1:20p: ECAC 3,000 run: Julia Radjenovic
1:35p: IC4A 3,000 run: Kevin Cannon, Steven Viera, Logan Schaeffler
1:55p: ECAC 4x800 relay: Marist team
To follow: IC4A 4x800 relay: Marist team
To follow: ECAC 4x400 relay
To follow: IC4A 4x400 relay: Marist team

ECAC/IC4A: Getting here + updated time sked

 What a long, strange trip ...

I95 traffic on a Friday afternoon = slow, construction, congestion.

Tornado warning in Baltimore = sky black, bus swaying on a bridge, scary stuff.

Well-timed tunnel in Baltimore = out of the tornado-ish weather, out the other side to reasonably OK weather.

Finally arrived at Fairfax, VA after about 8.5 hours of traveling.

Fortunately! As you can see below? We have a very leisurely schedule on Saturday with the meet starting even later than the original schedule. Distance races were moved back into the evening to avoid the hot weather forecasted for tomorrow. OK!

UPDATED TIME SKED

IC4A/ECAC Championships
Saturday/Sunday, May 17-18, 2025
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Saturday track
3:20p: Open 100
3:30p: Open 800
3:35p: Open mile
3:55p: ECAC 400
4:05p: IC4A 400: Easton Eberwein
4:15p: ECAC 100 hurdles (trials): Madison LaCreta
4:30p: IC4A 110 hurdles (trials)
4:45p: ECAC 100 dash (trials): Alyssa Dapont
5p: IC4A 100 dash (trials): Amari Mathis
5:15p: ECAC 800 run: Julianna Mirabile, Parker O’Brien, Grace Fletcher
5:35: IC4A 800 run
5:55p: ECAC 1,500 run: Sierra Fisher
6:10p: IC4A 1,500 run: Miles Chamberlain, Logan Schaeffler
6:25p: ECAC 3,000 steeplechase: Emily Litke
6:40p: IC4A 3,000 steeplechase: Kevin Cannon
8p: ECAC 5,000 run
8:20p: IC4A 5,000 run
8:40p: ECAC 10,000 run
9:20p: IC4A 10,000 run: Gabriel Rodriguez
Saturday field
3:30p: IC4A long jump: Ramsey Heredia
Sunday track
11:15a: ECAC 4x100 relay
11:20a: IC4A 4x100 relay
11:30a: ECAC 100 hurdles (final)
11:40a: IC4A 110 hurdles (final)
11:50a: ECAC 100 dash (final)
12 noon: IC4A 100 dash (final)
12:15p: ECAC 400 hurdles
12:25p: IC4A 400 hurdles: Miracle Okoli
12:40p: ECAC 200 dash
1:05p: IC4A 200 dash: Amari Mathis
1:20p: ECAC 3,000 run: Julia Radjenovic
1:35p: IC4A 3,000 run: Kevin Cannon, Steven Viera, Logan Schaeffler
1:55p: ECAC 4x800 relay: Marist team
To follow: IC4A 4x800 relay: Marist team
To follow: ECAC 4x400 relay
To follow: IC4A 4x400 relay: Marist team

Home turf

 

The "turf" part of the North Field Track and Turf facility is coming along quickly (down there). Hopefully, the track surface will be put down just as efficiently. Our dream is (slowly) becoming a reality. Neat.

ECAC/IC4A Championships: Schedule/entries

UPDATED TIME SKED

IC4A/ECAC Championships
Saturday/Sunday, May 17-18, 2025
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Saturday track
3:20p: Open 100
3:30p: Open 800
3:35p: Open mile
3:55p: ECAC 400
4:05p: IC4A 400: Easton Eberwein
4:15p: ECAC 100 hurdles (trials): Madison LaCreta
4:30p: IC4A 110 hurdles (trials)
4:45p: ECAC 100 dash (trials): Alyssa Dapont
5p: IC4A 100 dash (trials): Amari Mathis
5:15p: ECAC 800 run: Julianna Mirabile, Parker O’Brien, Grace Fletcher
5:35: IC4A 800 run
5:55p: ECAC 1,500 run: Sierra Fisher
6:10p: IC4A 1,500 run: Miles Chamberlain, Logan Schaeffler
6:25p: ECAC 3,000 steeplechase: Emily Litke
6:40p: IC4A 3,000 steeplechase: Kevin Cannon
8p: ECAC 5,000 run
8:20p: IC4A 5,000 run
8:40p: ECAC 10,000 run
9:20p: IC4A 10,000 run: Gabriel Rodriguez
Saturday field
3:30p: IC4A long jump: Ramsey Heredia
Sunday track
11:15a: ECAC 4x100 relay
11:20a: IC4A 4x100 relay
11:30a: ECAC 100 hurdles (final)
11:40a: IC4A 110 hurdles (final)
11:50a: ECAC 100 dash (final)
12 noon: IC4A 100 dash (final)
12:15p: ECAC 400 hurdles
12:25p: IC4A 400 hurdles: Miracle Okoli
12:40p: ECAC 200 dash
1:05p: IC4A 200 dash: Amari Mathis
1:20p: ECAC 3,000 run: Julia Radjenovic
1:35p: IC4A 3,000 run: Kevin Cannon, Steven Viera, Logan Schaeffler
1:55p: ECAC 4x800 relay: Marist team
To follow: IC4A 4x800 relay: Marist team
To follow: ECAC 4x400 relay
To follow: IC4A 4x400 relay: Marist team

MAAC Championships: Day 2 results, men

 --Amari's double-win (100/200) and MAAC Performer of the Meet was epic, a meet for the ages.

--Easton continues to prove why he is the most valuable and enduring long sprinter in program history. He is our rock, and everything stems from him. Solid open 400 in a time that would win many (previous) MAAC meets. Want more roof? Look at his 4x4 split!

--Weston! Didn't make the cut at the indoor championships, and anchors the school-record 4x4 with a monster split!

--Making the finals in most MAAC events is incredibly hard now. Three freshmen -- Joaq, Miles, Miracle -- did that and scored valuable, hard-earned points.

Entering the final event, we were sitting in sixth place, a few points ahead of Sacred Heart. Their 4x4 was fantastic, winning the meet and edging past us. I mean, our guys DID run a school record! But ... they do keep score and we're aiming for better. We're getting there. Stay tuned, these next few years could be fun.

MAAC Outdoor Championships
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Michael P. Brady Track
Rider University
Lawrenceville, NJ
100-meter dash
1 - Amari Mathis, 10.34
200-meter dash
1 - Amari Mathis, 21.26
400-meter dash
5 - Easton Eberwein, 48.76
800-meter run
8 - Joaquin Bell-Andrade, 1:56.41
1,500-meter run
7 - Miles Chamberlain, 3:59.39
5,000-meter run
15 - Justin Schwartz, 15:43.76
18 - Isaac Gross, 15:47.38
400-meter hurdles
6 - Miracle Okoli, 56.43
400-meter relay
7 - Marist (Maxwell Sylver, Weston LaBrecque, Simon Advento, Ramsey Heredia), 43.37
1,600-meter relay
5 - Marist (Simon Advento 50.3, Ryan Trocolar 48.9, Easton Eberwein 47.8, Weston LaBrecque 49.1), 3:16.83 *school record
3,200-meter relay
2 - Marist (Joseph Logan 1:57.055, Sean Wilson 1:57.165, Joaquin Bell-Andrade 1:58.161, Miles Chamberlain 1:56.580), 7:48.96
Men team standings
1-Rider 156, 2-Mount. St. Mary’s 143, 3-Manhattan 111, 4-Merrimack 102-5, 5-Iona 97, 6-Sacred Heart 69.5, 7-Marist 66, 8-Siena 37, 9-St. Peter’s 24, 10-Canisius 11

MAAC Championships: Day 2 results, women

--Julianna's 400 hurdle final was fantastic, especially the last two hurdles to the finish!

--Sierra scored in a hard-fought, tactical, 12-runner field in the 1,500

--5km women fought gamely in very hot conditions for distance running

--End-of-meet relays provided (great) excitement ... and a MAAC title!

MAAC Outdoor Championships

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Michael P. Brady Track
Rider University
Lawrenceville, NJ
Day 2 results
1,500-meter run
6 - Sierra Fisher, 4:47.65
5,000-meter run
11 - Adele Alexander, 18:14.93
20 - Mallory Holloway, 18:44.91
23 - Edy Livingston, 18:59.67
29 - Tori Mariano, 19:33.46
400-meter relay
9 - Marist (Alyssa Dapont, Breelyn McNamara, Nina Florio, Julia Kropo), 49.50
1,600-meter relay
9 - Marist (Stephania Granados 59.9, Julia Kropo 57.8, Nina Florio 60.8, Julianna Mirabile 59.5), 3:57.92
3,200-meter relay
1 - Marist (Kayla Hawkins 2:17.488, Grace Fletcher 2:17.879, Sierra Fisher 2:16.104, Parker O'Brien 2:17.100), 9:08.57
400-meter hurdles
3 - Julianna Mirabile, 1:04.10
Triple jump
20 - Kiana Pathriana, 10.52m
Shot put
21 - Grace Murphy, 10.24m
23 - Jenna Borselle, 10.10m
Discus
21 - Kelly Ballen, 30.38m
Women team standings
1-Rider 230, 2-Sacred Heart 137.5, 3-Mount St. Mary’s 121.5, 4-Quinnipiac 99, 5-Manhattan 44, 6-Merrimack 43, 7-Iona 42, 8-Siena 41, 9-Marist 27, 10-Niagara 17, 11-Canisius 10