Class of 2020: Drive-in, drive-by, cap and gown

Early on in this pandemic, there was behind-the-scenes chatter among loyal followers of this blog (mostly youngish alums, several of whom have been featured in the Pandemic Papers!) that the “tone” of my posts was rather “depressing.” While I’m readily admit to “guilty as charged,” I think it is consistent with my personality of realistic (but not pessimistic, at least I don’t think so?) assessments of situations. Let’s face it: Those early days (three-plus months ago, and into April and May) were rather daunting. Not that we are out of the woods with this thing – not at ALL! Seems like there won’t be a second wave as predicted, but rather just an undulating and hopefully not endless series of mini-waves, one of which we are riding now. People! We need a VACCINE. But … I digress (as usual).  

As many of you know, my daughter graduated from high school the other night (Thursday, June 25, 2020). The Class of 2020 (no matter what level – high school, college, post-graduate, etc.) will be forever marked by this unforgettable year. I was explaining to Natalie that your high school graduation year is a permanent marker, kind of like your social security number or your birthday or the year you were born. Ask anyone of any age what year they graduated high school, and they’ll reflexively tell you. Not so much with many other life questions. Well, there is no doubt that any of us will forget the uniqueness of the Class of 2020. For our newly minted Forever Foxes, among the many things they were robbed of was a good and proper sendoff with commencement exercises. I’m certain Marist will do something, someday, for this special group. But for now, there is and was nothing.

My daughter’s graduation ceremony was held at the Hyde Park Drive-In, right next to the Farm Lane parking lot and across the street from the FDR Library and Museum. In the days and weeks leading up to the graduation, there was the usual and predictable complaining from parents beforehand, with edgy social media posts and petitions to be signed, about how our children were being robbed of this once-in-a-lifetime moment, and how the school district should be doing better by them. With all due respect? Hogwash, people. It’s a global pandemic. Life’s inconvenient at times, especially in 2020. We all need to adapt and adjust. And by golly, that’s what we did. I’ll admit to going into the idea of a drive-in graduation, where we’d have to sit in our cars and trucks for many hours, with a little skepticism. Here’s the thing! It far exceeded our expectations. It was an awesome, memorable night all around. This, in large part, can be traced to the outstanding leadership of the FDR High School principal, Mr. Rick Pardy. Mr. Pardy was a former colleague in Marist athletics, having been on the football coaching staff for many years. The guy is a born leader. He is retiring this summer and he sure went out with a bang. Nicely done, Rick! Do you remember your high school graduation? If you’re my age or thereabouts, the answer is “probably not.” You remember the YEAR but not the actual ceremony. This one, we’ll never forget; so, in some ways, it may actually turn out to have been BETTER than the “usual” graduation at the high school. It was an awesome night, truly memorable and better than we could have anticipated. Neat!

It helped that the weather was perfect. Sunny, low humidity, everything that’s great about summer weather (as I type this, it’s pouring rain out … that would have stunk). We took pictures in front of our house, marveled at the amazing generosity of the great neighbors on our short, dead-end street. And then we piled into the van and headed to … Rite Aid in East Park. Yes, the parking lot of a drug store. Natalie got together with several of her close friends at Rite Aid, so that we could caravan together and be sure to park near each other at the Drive-In. In what was a quintessential 2020 moment, the girls took pictures on the lawn of Rite Aid. Of course! This is what goes for normal this summer, right? We caravanned over, proceeded through the FDR Library and Museum, where the high school faculty and staff were parked, waving and cheering at us all. Tremendous idea, great spirit, perfect start to the night. We then drove across the street to the drive-in and waited for the sun to set – remember, we were at a drive-in and you can only see the big screen properly with darkness. While we waited, everyone got out of their cars, got together, took pictures, and mingled with friends. After being cooped up for months and months, it felt good to socialize, to feel sort of normal. Social distancing was not exactly happening. Some wore masks, others didn’t. But we were outside, in the beautiful fresh air, where the risk of infection is lower. Is this rationalizing? Did we feel guilty about this? Slightly. But come on, man. We have to live a little. No one was irresponsible; the mood was light and festive and about as “normal” as you can get for 2020.

When it was time to start the video on the big screen, everyone went back to their cars and trucks, inside or just outside of them, so we could hear the audio. The speeches, videos and presentations were pre-recorded but it didn’t matter. They were awesome and we were together as a community, for the first time in what has seemed like forever. Natalie’s name and picture was announced early. It was getting late rather quickly (for me). Did I recline the seat and shut my eyes for a little while? I’ll let YOU figure that one out. The names rattled off, as they do at graduations. Horns honked, air horns were used, whoops and hollers were heard. Music to everyone’s ears, even a drowsy old guy. At the end, Mr. Pardy was lofted into the air on a big lift and did his traditional F-D-R chant that all Presidents know so well. For the families who were in a rush to beat the traffic out on Route 9, they missed this final incredible memory of a truly memorable night. We’ll never forget the Class of 2020. Every one of them. Here’s to you, kid. Here’s to all of you.

An interview with Palmer Weimann

Palmer Weimann (Class of 2019) tells a lot of stories in this edition of the Pandemic Papers. This is no surprise at all. For those of you who have met Palmer, you can imagine in your mind’s eye his telling you these stories with a wide, bug-eyed look, a grin and lots of emotion. It was one wild ride with Palmer during his four years here. Interspersed in there were some outstanding and tough races, cementing himself as one of the better guys we’ve had here in school history. But more than that, and his daily presence and toughness and consistency of effort -- and, let’s face it, his downright weirdness (and I say that with all due affection … and for proof, just check out the last line of this interview, something about “licking doorknobs” … ) – Palmer was unpredictable. You never knew what was coming out of his mouth. Thus, we have a seemingly endless vault of “Palmer stories” we can add to his treasure trove below. Here are a couple more:

--At the MAAC XC Championships down at Disney in 2016, we were riding the bus back to the hotel from the awards ceremony. It was late and everyone was tired and a bit cranky. Not Palmer. Palmer wanted to talk. Palmer always wants to talk. Somehow, the subject of the 1978 New York Yankees comes up. Palmer has an encyclopedic memory. I mentioned Ron Guidry’s epic season that year – 25-3 record, 1.78 ERA, all those complete games, I was a teenager that summer and remember it vividly. Palmer started unleashing a fuselage of even more obscure late-1970s statistics. I can see our “frenemies” from Siena College, also on the bus, starting to get annoyed at this endless banter. Because at my heart I am an immature old man, I egged Palmer on. He kept talking and talking and talking on the 10-minute bus ride that must have seemed like 10 hours to those Saints … and everyone else. Oh well!

--This is a story that is odd because I wasn’t even there but I can clearly see it in my mind’s eye. At the Princeton XC Invitational (I wasn’t there because we had split the squad), there was a rare re-start – gun goes off, runners charge forward, gun goes off again and runners have to retreat. This happens in track but almost never in cross country. Runners line up again. Agitated, nervous, dead silence. Bob Morton (Stefan’s dad and a true Marist XC/track Super Fan) breaks the silence, yelling out: “Good luck, Palmer!” Palmer, in his inimitable loud voice, bellows back, again breaking the silence: “Thanks, Bob!” And then the gun goes off.

I loved watching Palmer race. When it hurt a lot, he would grind harder to make it hurt more. His form broke down, his face contorted, arms flailing, all effort. And always, with his loyal parents Martha and Ted there. And within minutes, my email inbox would fill up with pictures from that race from Martha – also a Super Fan, who never failed to stock us up with pre- and post-race food. We miss Palmer. We miss his verbal antics. We miss his mental and physical toughness, of which he had loads. We know he is a loyal Forever Fox. And we are confident he will do some great post-collegiate road racing as well.

How, when and why did you start running? Did you play other sports competitively before/during/after you started running?

My running career starts all the way back in 4th grade. Every year the gym coach, a wonderful man named Mr. O, would host the “FEA fun run” (I have no idea what FEA stood for). All four of our towns’ elementary schools would come out and run a race. It was a big school spirit type of event that would get well over a hundred kids in the race. The race was dominated by soccer kids, and as a baseball kid I didn’t think I stood much of a chance. And I was right, sort of. I placed 15th overall, a good but not great place. Mr. O saw this and privately told my Mom that I should seriously consider cross country in high school. As he put it “all the kids who beat him today are going to be too focused on soccer in high school. He could be one of the best runners in the school.” My Mom then did that thing she does where she remembers things forever and kept that idea in the back of her head. Shortly before going into freshman year, when it became obvious I lacked the top end speed, strength, or general coordination to play baseball or any other sport competitively, my Mom remembered her conversation with Mr. O from years ago and suggested I sign up for cross country. 

You had a successful high school running career in a competitive running environment. Tell us about your training, racing, highlights and memories.

High school was a bunch of me racing the 3200 and occasionally getting to double to a shorter race. It started in my first ever outdoor track dual meet when no one on the team volunteered to race the 32, so my coach put everyone in it. I had no idea what I was doing, but around lap 5 or 6 I felt like the race was going too slow and so I took off. My strategy ended up working out because I place 3^rd, broke 11, and raced the 3200 at every dual meet of my high school career. Honestly, I didn’t mind too much because I was good at the 32 and not much else. 

There was a long stretch from my sophomore year to midway through junior year were my mile PR was just a 2 mile split. I was that runner. Because of that most of my training focused on speed work. Pyramid shaped workouts designed to get me moving fastest at the end of runs became normal. I never really did develop a kick until college, but it was not from a lack of effort. As for general highlights, here is a quick rundown of some my favorites (not my best, but my favorites):

·      --I once got to run the 4 mile quadruple in a dual meet. That’s the 4x8, mile, 800, and 2 mile. I won all four

·       --Because it was starting to hail and the other team had no one in the 32, I got to wear pajamas and run a 2 mile. I also started with blocks because at that point who was going to say no?

·      -- I ran my 2 mile PR of 9:26 at my state meet during a school day. Our meet had gotten rained out on Saturday and our championships were that next Saturday, so I ran a Monday race. We got back in time for the last two classes of the day, but chaos ensued when someone noticed we had forgotten a freshman at the meet.

·       The following Saturday you happened to be at my championship race and afterwards we had a nice conversation. Neither of us noticed my shirt was on inside out and backwards until my Mom pointed it out.

One of my favorite high school stories is about the time I held a school record for 10 minutes. It was my junior year indoor track. Me and a teammate Matt (who ran for Yale) were both racing the 3k. This event was special because Matt’s dad was the current 3k record holder at the time. Since Matt was a mid-distance runner who happened to have endurance and at the time my mile PR had come during a 2 mile, we had forever debated who would win in a neutral distance race. My coach seeded us at the same time but due to my last name being at the end of the alphabet I got put in a slower heat. So my race went off, I ran really well, my splits were nearly even, and I had managed to break a 30-year-old school record. Matt congratulated me on a good race and then promptly settled any debate as to who was the better runner by crushing my time. I had held a school record for a grand total of 9ish minutes. Seriously, I hadn’t even taken my bib off. Afterwards me and Matt decided to race weird lesser run events to insure that we would always have school records at Farmington. Matt is our 2k steeple record holder and I am our 5k record holder.

Tell us about your recruiting process -- other schools you were considering and why you chose Marist?

I got recruited by several schools, and the process was very exciting. I wanted a mid-sized school in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic area with good academics, so I was able to quickly narrowed down my list to only a handful of schools and Marist was on that list. After a few visits I had it narrowed down to two colleges, Marist and Elon. Anyway, the coach of Elon had promised me a certain amount of scholarship money, and based on that promise I made a verbal commitment to Elon. I was ready to sign on until I saw his final offer was a few thousand dollars short of where he promised it would be. If he wasn’t going to honor his verbal commitments neither was I. One phone call later, I was a Red Fox.

What was your major at Marist and how did you choose it?

How many people would notice if I just copy pasted Joe Miller’s response here?  I knew I wanted to go into Finance or Accounting because I took a few classes in high school. I also figured it would be a good fit for my skill set and give me good employment opportunities post collegiately. I started with Accounting because the freshman year accounting classes would be used in a Finance major, while the reverse was not true. I ended up enjoying my accounting classes so I stuck with it. I then added an Economics minor because I had room in my schedule and I enjoyed those classes too. A lot of people find Accounting boring, which is fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Plus most people’s hatred of accounting makes my accounting skills more valuable.  That’s a little economic concept called supply and demand.

You had a strong training and racing career at Marist. Tell us some of your highlights and fondest memories of your four years as a Running Red Fox.

Running at Marist was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I could go on for hours about all the great times, but I will keep it short.

·       Freshman year I suffered from a combination of exercised induced asthma, vocal cord disfunction, and multiple deviated septums. These required medication, therapy, and surgery respectively to fix, so I was a bit light on individual highlights. The team placing second at MAACs is one of my favorite memories, I just kinda forgot about the individual race I had that day.

·       Sophomore year outdoor track I PRed in my first 5 races. I was finally healthy for almost an entire semester (got through 99% of the season before pulling calf early into my final race of the season). The big highlight was Bucknell where I broke 15 in the 5k. I remember the race went out slow, 12:04 through 4k, but then I was able to find a new gear for the last k to get under 15. Who would’ve guessed that all I needed to develop a kick was longer races?

·       My junior year highlight came at the Monmouth invitational. Yup, the MAAC preview race in September. Before the race I saw that they were handing out shirts to the top finishers and I decided my goal was to win a shirt. I ran a great race and I knew I was in borderline shirt territory. Results came back, and I had placed 11^th. In high school I had once missed out on a shirt because I had placed 11^th when top 10 got shirts, so I was having flashbacks to that day. Then at the awards ceremony they gave out shirts to the top 12 instead of the top 10. Made my season.

·       Senior year, I got Lyme disease. Always tick check. The big highlight for me was my final race. I was running my first 10k of the season at MAACs in a “qualify or your season is over” race. I gave the race my all, placed 8^th, and missed the IC4A standard my a second. Sucked at the moment but I look back on the race with pride.

You had a (well-earned) reputation of being a bit of a wacky personality. Do you agree with that and if so where do you think it came from?

I cannot say where or when I got the reputation for being wacky, but I’ll make a list of things I did and somewhere in there I garnered a reputation for being one of the more interesting members of the team:

• I tried to grow a MAAC mustache freshman year. When I utterly failed to grow facial hair, I decided to shave my hair into the shape of an arrow. I also tried to dye it red because why not at that point, but it didn’t work. I may have dyed a few towels red, but my hair looked the same.
• At Bucknell my freshman year you promised me I could run a leg of the 4x8 (Editor’s note: I don’t remember this at ALL and I rarely “promise” anything, but I’ll take his word for it). I had spent my entire senior year of high school running 2:04 (I did it three times in relays and once in an open) and was really hoping to break that time now that I was in college. You promised me I could do it after I ran a pretty good 5k. You then ripped my heart out the next morning when you told me that this team still had dignity and I would not be running an 800. The next year you relented and let me run a leg of the upperclassman 4x8. I split a 2:04.
• For sophomore year I decided to see if the athletic department actually paid attention to our height/weight stuff, so I wrote in 5’12 as my height. Evidently they do because someone corrected it to 6’0. 
• At a community service event someone volunteered me to dress up in an oversized carpet and go on stage in front of an elementary school. The person who volunteered me claimed it was to “force me to be quiet for a few minutes” because Shooter does not talk. I give serious credit to whatever poor soul has to stay in that walking sauna for entire basketball games.
• While at Disney I managed to get stuck on three separate rides. Those rides were: the EPCOT globe, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and the Small World ride. If that sounds bad, it gets worse. The EPCOT globe ride was in German, because Pat Hickey selected that language before I could sit down. All I learned was how to say jelly donut in German. 
• Later that Disney trip I was part of the group that almost caused us to miss our flight. Busses went every 15 minutes and right before we were at our stop the bus pulled out. Naturally, I ran after the bus Peter Parker style (from the original Spiderman). The bus driver ignored me, and we were stranded for the next 15 minutes waiting for the next bus.
• I had friends give me haircuts from my sophomore year on. If no one was around and I wanted a cut, I’d just do it myself. I saved a ton of money and this pandemic hasn’t been as tough on me as on most people. But seriously, if you are willing to risk getting COVID for a haircut please re-examine your priorities. You should care a lot more about your health than your hair.
• I got impaled by a tree branch on my leg while on the first run of indoor track my junior year. I then got a ride back to campus from an undercover cop. After the trainers, health services, and even the ER had a good laugh at my misfortune, some doctor cut open my leg to remove the branch. I got to keep all the wood the was removed from my leg. (Editor’s note: I forgot about this one, too! This was so bad that multiple sports medicine/ER folks were stunned that Palmer wasn’t in shock from the pain; they clearly don’t know Palmer like we know Palmer)
• I had my head shaved right before the Marist invite my senior year. So all my senior day pics have me rocking the Lex Luthor cut. No regrets.
• I spent all of cross country senior year as a testing dummy for the workouts because I had to do workouts at 8 a.m. and no one else did. This worked out once when we learned that the Cator Loop was too muddy and I got a nice new scar on my leg. I’d like to thank Nick Cruz for attending all of those workouts, that meant a lot. 
• I did Meet the Foxes. It was going great for 30 seconds until the fire alarm went off. The highlight of my episode was me discussing my love for Taco Tuesday.
• For Halloween senior year I dressed as Danny Phantom, a cartoon character from my childhood. (Show was on from 2004 to 2007) It was a homemade costume and I put in some A plus effort into. I wore black tights with silver underwear on the outside, white shoes, white high socks, white gloves and silver spray hair dye. The thing that brought the outfit together though was a black t-shirt with the Danny Phantom P logo I had gotten as a senior gift the year before (thank you, Duggan). I was slightly hyped about my costume since I had put some decent effort into it unlike normal years where I’d clobber something together at the last minute. Everyone thought I was a pepper shaker. 

Speaking of which! Your Colonial Relays psych-up rant has been referenced in other Pandemic Papers interviews. Here's your chance to tell your story of that memorable night. Go!

About time! I’ve seen this night referenced in multiple other pandemic papers and my speech was left out BOTH TIMES! So here is the blog post to prove that, yes this really happened: http://runredfox.blogspot.com/2017/04/colonial-relays-day-2-palmers-pr-magic.html?m=0

Before the last two events of the second day at the Colonial Relays, the 1500 and the 5k, a massive thunderstorm came in. The races were delayed and we all took the bus back to the hotel room. As we were waiting in the hotel, we got notice from Twitter that the meet was going to resume much earlier than any of us had anticipated. The bus ride back to the track was very somber at the least. Everyone was freaked out over how sudden we were going to have to race; Joe was pissed, Shea was complaining that she had drank too much coffee (first time for everything), and apparently some freshman who’s name Chuck couldn’t pronounce (Editor’s note: Huh?) had been left at the stadium the whole time. So I decided that, since these races were already going to suck, we might as well have fun with it. I stood up, and channeled one of my favorite characters ever; Jeff Winger, and gave a speech. Was it over the top, nonsensical, and absurd? Yup. Did it work? Very much. Everyone who heard the speech and then ran PRed. Correlation does mean causation, but I have to take some credit. I feel like people went into the race in a better head space than most other teams and the results showed it. I honestly cannot say what exactly I said during the speech and the parts I do remember will not be repeated here because they wouldn’t make any sense.

You've kept running since you graduated. Tell us about your marathon training and race and your future plans in the sport.

I got in really good shape in order to race the Hartford Marathon this past October. Unfortunately, I injured my Achilles driving up for the walkway half marathon. These things happen to me, so I decided to just race through it because I could walk in the morning. I ended up winning the race and walking with a limp the rest of the day so I don’t know if it was a good decision or not. What I do know is I spent the next month trying to give myself some time off and trying to prepare for a marathon, which doesn’t really work. Marathon race day I was tapered, nervous, and hyped up on adrenaline. So naturally I did what everyone told me not to do and went out way too hard. So to cut to the chase I hit the wall hard. My first 2 miles were at 5:30 pace and my last 2 miles were at 7:30 pace. Not a fun experience. Highly recommend. 

Tell us about your post-collegiate path career-wise.

I had an interview on my Mom’s birthday, and her happy birthday call also ended with the news that I got a job offer from WithumSmith+Brown. I accepted the offer and have been working in their NYC office as an auditor since. I specialize in multi-employer retirement plans, which are plans for employees who stay in one field but will work for different companies. For example, construction companies would all have a multi-employer retirement plan, so when workers move from one company to another they can stay in the same retirement plan. I enjoy it a lot because the work is not too taxing (little accounting joke there). I’m also working towards getting my CPA (Certified Public Accountant) so my free time has been limited. This pandemic really hasn’t hampered my social life too much because the constant studying would have robbed me of most of my free time anyway. Not to say the pandemic has been a good thing, but I do have a silver lining.

You didn't graduate from Marist too long ago and still have close ties to the team. What messages have you imparted on our recently graduated senior class who lost so much?

This situation sucks. But there is nothing that can be done to change that. The advice I left them with is the same advice I will reiterate here: “The pain is temporary, but the memories are forever.” When I read these Pandemic Papers, no one mentions how sore they were after lifts, how much running in the rain sucked, or how hard Minnewaska was because the pace got pushed. All people remember are the great races, the great people, and how many great memories they have. Don’t look back on your time at Marist and let one bad semester ruin it. Look back on the 3 ½ years you had and be grateful you got to experience it. 

How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected you and your family? Where do you see it going in the short- and long-term?

My family has been fortunate thus far and we have all been healthy and safe. My parents and me are working from home full time, my brother recently got a job at Stop and Shop to make some money over the summer, and my dog has been happy everyone is around more often. As for where this is going? I do not know. I’m no expert and I would recommend everyone listen to the smartest people, not the loudest. I can say for certain that 2020 is a turning point in American history. We all need to do our part to make sure this is a positive change. Always do the right thing.

What are your future plans -- career-wise and running-wise?

I’m trying to refrain from making long-term plans right now because who knows what 2020 is going to throw at us next. When the apocalypse ends, I hope to get my CPA and start racing some half marathons and 5ks for fun. But for now, I’m just taking life day by day and making the most of it. 

Anything else you'd like to add ...

Remember, licking doorknobs is illegal on other planets.

An interview with Mark Valentino

Relentlessly upbeat. Exceedingly positive. Always smiling. These are a few of the two-word phrases that come to mind when thinking back on Mark “Tino” Valentino’s five years as an undergraduate and graduate student on our team. So many great memories and feel-good moments from one of the true Good Guys of our program, who took the time to be part of the Pandemic Papers series here today. Hard to believe that he chose Marist at the last minute. I actually remember being a little short-tempered with him on the phone in late April of 2011, as he continued to waffle about whether he was going to attend Marist or go someplace else. By that point in the recruiting process, I’ve had enough and just want a yes or a no! Little did I know that we would become (and remain) quite close as a coach-athlete relationship.

His was a storybook ending that you couldn’t really make up. In his final race in red and white, at the 2016 IC4A Championships, he broke the school record in his beloved race – the 3,000-meter steeplechase. As if that weren’t special enough, it got his name on our recently donated school-record board, which was dedicated to the memory of his grandparents. Mark’s parents, Tom and Louise, were phenomenal supporters of our program and continue to follow us. Special people, and it was great to connect with them when Tino got married last summer on Long Island. I could ramble on and on about Mark, but perhaps the most significant thing to me what that he was such a great standard bearer for the Gregory J. Salamone Memorial Scholarship. As the first recipient of this award, Mark truly “got” what it meant – to me, to Greg’s parents (Mike and Rosemary) and to the legacy of our program. And yes, again with the storybook ending: Tino left with the steeple record, one of two records (the other being 10,000 meters) that Greg graduated with back in 2001. More than any of the happy and memorable moments in Tino’s five years here, his shepherding of the inaugural scholarship will be what I remember when I’m a truly old man. Thank you.

When, how and why did you start running? Did you play any other sports before/during beginning your time as a runner?

I actually remember running my first 5K race! I had to look up the date but it was November 24th, 2005 (the annual Smithtown Turkey Trot). I was 12 years old and ran 20:41. From that point forward, I took a liking to running and competing in local 5K races. I have some fond memories of competing in the Long Island State Park Summer Run Series at a young age. I was pretty small in stature at that age (I did not have my growth spurt until the second half of high school), so I always was that little kid that seemed like he did not belong at the starting line. My Dad always encouraged me to not be afraid and get myself to the front. Many race directors questioned me when I snuck my way up there! 

As far as other sports go, I started playing soccer when I was 5 years old. I also grew up playing hockey. I recall having to make some very tough decisions by the time I got to high school in regards to choosing between soccer and running. The fall season of my freshman year of high school, I picked soccer over cross country (a decision I still kick myself over to this day). From that point forward, I was a three-season runner in school. 

Talk about your high school running career -- fondest memories, highlights, etc. I know you had a close relationship with one of your coaches who passed away too young. What was that like and how did you honor his memory?

When I think back on high school running memories, I mostly think about the incredible relationships I formed with teammates, fellow competitors, and my coaches. As you mentioned, one of my track coaches--Pat Harmon--died after a long battle with brain cancer during my junior year at the age of 30. It was really tough for our team. Coach Harmon came to practices and meets through his battle. It was so inspiring to me that he was so selfless during a time in which everyone would have understood if he missed a practice or meet due to his circumstances. To honor him, I put together the 5K Run/Walk for Pat Harmon on October 10th, 2011, in which 672 people participated, helping to raise $15,583 for Brain Cancer Research. 

As far as high school running memories are concerned, there are a lot! One memory that sticks out would be qualifying for the State Meet in what would have been my final high school race. I was Suffolk County Champ in the 3000M Steeplechase and made it to my first ever State Meet. I missed the last day of high school to compete!

Talk about the recruiting process. From my recollection, you decided on attending Marist at the very last minute. What other schools were you considering and what ultimately led you to Marist over other schools?

Yeah, I did decide at the last minute! I had been accepted to 10 different schools, but never really formed a solid relationship with any coaches other than the New Paltz (assistant) coach, who at the time was Jut Harris (a Marist alum!). I also did not fall in love with any schools until I stepped foot on the Marist College campus. It speaks for itself, but I immediately knew my decision when I met you and the rest of the guys on the team. I remember hanging with some guys at the Old Gartland houses and thinking about how I wanted that to be me. It was definitely a weird process, but I am so thankful with how it all worked out.

What was your major at Marist and how did it prepare you for your teaching career?

My major at Marist was Mathematics/Secondary Education. I can confidently say that Marist did a great job preparing me for my teaching career. Not only did I learn a lot, but I was challenged. The courses were both extremely difficult and at the same time fulfilling. I also got my Masters Degree at Marist in Educational Psychology. My student teaching at Marist helped land me my first leave replacement teaching job, and from there I got the experience I needed to land the teaching job that I have now had for four years in Roslyn. 

You had a GREAT career as a student-athlete at Marist. What are some of your favorite memories and highlights?

Phew! I’ll have to list some running highlights first. To start, competing at Junior Nationals at the University of Indiana my freshman year was a fantastic experience. I’ll never forget those meals we shared at Yogi’s! Breaking 15 minutes in the 5K is another memory I won’t forget. Fun fact, my high school teammate Jason Santos was in the same heat as me so it was special to experience that with one of my best friends alongside me. That and all of my incredible teammates plus coaches that collectively occupied lanes 4-6 of the magic carpet in Boston during that painful last 1000m. I was also lucky enough to be able to compete at Penn Relays three times in the 3K Steeple event while at Marist, which I’ll always be appreciative of. I have so many Marist steeplechase memories I could share ... I think you mentioned once that I may have raced in that event more than anyone else!? One of my fondest cross country memories is actually a race that I did not participate in. The MAAC Championship my 5th year when we shocked the MAAC to take 2nd was an experience I’ll never forget. Even though I did not race with that team it was amazing to be a part of it. I still have the manila envelope that had our bibs/pins from that day tucked away somewhere safe, it really was that special of a day. 

Race highlights aside, I’m so thankful for all of the lifelong relationships I formed at Marist. Countless memories in the cafeteria and at Red Fox Eatery (you know how much I love my post-run meals). I’m also particularly fond of my memories spent with the Student Athlete Athletics Committee and our donation of bikes each year for the giving tree mass. Playing piano at those Masses each year was always such a special experience. 

You saved the best for last -- ending your career with a school record. What was THAT like?

That was a day that I will never forget. It’s funny because I began that day teaching up in Hyde Park! Not only that but I woke up pretty sick, a rather annoying congestion/head cold came over me. I drove myself down to Princeton after a half-day of work and ran a race that really would not have been possible without so many outside motivations. The steeplechase school record was something I had my mind set on/was going after for quite some time. At the start of my fifth year I wrote 9:05 on a Post-It note and it was hanging in my room above my desk for me to look at each and every day. I wanted to remind myself what I was working towards. Our school record board had also recently been put up in the McCann Center. The record boards were donated in honor of my grandparents, and I really wanted to get my name up on that board for them. The race itself was pretty wild--on the first water barrier my foot split through my racing shoe which was not exactly optimal. I remember you telling me that I needed a 70 on the final lap to get the record and in that moment, I truly believed I was going to do it. I shared so many unforgettable hugs after that race. With you, my parents, my teammates that were there to support. Nobody does it alone, and that day was a true testament to that. 

You were the first recipient of the Greg Salamone Memorial Scholarship. Talk about how much that meant to you and the legacy that he created and you started with the scholarship. 

It is such an honor to be the first recipient of the Greg Salamone Memorial Scholarship. I know how much Greg meant to you, and how hard his passing was. I remember our team rallying around his memory many times during practices/workouts/races. You did an amazing job honoring his memory by telling stories of his toughness and dedication to the sport. We ran as a team for Greg. Personally, being that Greg was a steeplechase school record holder at the time of his graduation, I felt a special connection to his legacy. It is always phenomenal to hear who the scholarship recipient is each year. It was also very special to be able to share a beautiful lunch with Greg’s parents, my parents, and you at Hyde Park Brewery. It is so important that we remember our roots. So many great athletes came before us and helped to pave the way for future athletes. Greg certainly did that--he wore the Red & White with pride and that’s something I always aspired to do. He is a reminder that this sport, and really everything we do in life, should never be taken for granted. 

Talk about your career, running and LIFE path since you left Marist. A lot has happened -- all of it GOOD! 

Since graduating from Marist, I landed a teaching job at Roslyn High School on Long Island. I am just now completing my fourth year, crazy! I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Cross Country and Track at the high school. Our spring track team was Nassau County Champs two years ago--an accomplishment that I was never able to achieve as an athlete--so it was truly special. Running wise--I’ve been able to stay in shape and run the occasional 5K here or there. I’ve run two marathons (both the Suffolk County Marathon), both on no “real” training and in the pouring rain. I ran 3:07 in 2017 and 3:04 in 2019 (running with Bryan Buttigieg the race winner!). I’m not done with the marathon distance just yet! I’ll save the best for last ... LIFE highlights! Since graduating I had the unforgettable experience of completing both the Rim to Rim and the Rim to Rim to Rim Challenge in the Grand Canyon. Back in 2017 while completing Rim to Rim I buried my marriage proposal at the bottom of the canyon with plans to uncover it at a later date to propose to my future wife. Soon thereafter, I had the pleasure of connecting with that person, and in 2018 we hiked down to the bottom of the canyon, uncovered my marriage proposal, and I asked her to marry me! I married my wonderful wife, Alexis, in July of 2019! Shout out to Butti for being the best best man a friend could ask for--that speech will go down in history! Alexis and I have since bought a house in Wantagh, NY and live happily with our dog, Ella! 

How has the pandemic affected you professionally and personally? Where do you see this thing going?

Professionally, I’ve been teaching from home for just about three months now! It’s crazy how time has seemed to both fly and stand still at the same time during this pandemic. From a teacher standpoint, I mostly feel for the students and parents. Their lives have been turned upside down and I give the kids a lot of credit for the work they are doing. I am currently teaching predominantly 6th graders ... they’re 11 or 12 years old! I’m very proud of all the work they are completing remotely. Personally, it’s meant a lot of time at home with Alexis and the pup which has been very nice. I am hopeful that we will soon have a vaccine for the virus, because without one I do not think we will see true normalcy for quite some time. 

As you know, our recently graduated seniors lost so much with the shuttering of school. What message can you impart of these men and women?

I feel a close association to the pain that the recently graduated seniors are feeling as the high school seniors I coach also missed out on their respective “last” season. What I will say is this--no one else will carry that feeling with them. The seniors DO. And it is their choice what they decide to do with their feelings. The seniors that lost out on so many incredible celebrations/last races/last chances KNOW what it feels like to go without. To me, that should only make their future celebrations/races/life moments mean even more. Every new day and moment is an opportunity to make something count. These individuals know what it means to truly miss out, I hope they use that as motivation to move forward and make the most of everything that comes their way. 

Anything else you'd like to ADD …

Thank you for having me! It was a lot of fun to reminisce on past memories. Marist holds five years of life moments in my heart that I will always be grateful for. My gratitude to the running community is endless--running has given me everything I could have ever wanted in life--true love, lasting friendship, and the constant reminder that we can ALWAYS be better in everything that we do. I also have to thank you, Coach Pete, for always supporting me and helping to shape the man I have become. I also owe a major thanks to my parents for supporting me and never missing a race when I donned the Red & White. Go Red Foxes!