Friday, May 19, 2023

Colors

There’s this song that I truly love, never tire of listening to it, by a band called The Black Pumas. The song is called “Colors.” It’s a beautiful, soulful song that you can sing along with after you’ve heard it a few times. If you look up the band on Wikipedia, they are described as a “psychedelic soul” band based in Austin, Texas. Their debut studio album came out in 2019, and their popularity began to soar in late 2019/early 2020 (at least, in my ear buds!).
 
That timing is not insignificant, and it’s got me thinking and reflecting, as I sometimes do. We are in the process of celebrating the Class of 2023 here at Marist College. I remember vividly when “Colors” hit the airwaves. I remember walking endless Loser Laps on our "indoor track" that winter of 2020, listening to that song and the rest of that amazing debut album. That was during the first year of the four-year journey for the Class of 2023. And what a journey it has been!
 
Now is about the time when a guy like me should insert some words about the Covid pandemic and all the impacts that it had on the Class of 2023, and how much “resilience” they gleaned from that period, the life lessons from that time. Pfffft. Blah, blah, blah. Not! I’m not saying those thoughts and words are inaccurate or unimportant. Regular readers of this fancy blog will recall my too-often ruminations about that very topic. Nope. Not here, not again, not today. I’ll leave some of these high-minded thoughts to the numerous important speakers on the dais at varying commencement exercises today and tomorrow.
 
Instead, I’ll talk about the four-year journey for the Class of 2023. They started out by walking in here for preseason and at the start of the fall semester in the late summer of 2019. They walk out of here, nearly four years later, profoundly changed as young men and women. As a coach who has seen this cycle play out for the past three decades, the juxtaposition of my world and their world never fails to amaze me. Look, we all go through cycles of changes in our lives, but the scale to which those changes occur is dramatically different based on the current chapters of our life stories.
 
Think about it: When this class started, I was turning 55. As they graduate, I am nearing my 59th birthday. What has changed in my world? On a day-to-day basis, not a whole lot. I’m still swilling gallons of coffee. I’m still walking a lot, jogging a little. I’m still thinking and saying the same stupid jokes and puns. I’m still wearing the same clothes, although flannel has definitely taken more of a center stage during this four-year journey of theirs. I still shave irregularly. I still drive slowly, think slowly, talk slowly. I’m still … me, essentially the same "me" from 2019.
 
Our graduates? They strolled in here in the late summer of 2019 – confident, excited, nervous and probably a dozen other adjectives you can think of. They were also YOUNG – 18 years old in most cases. They walk up on that stage now as mostly 22-year-olds, still young for sure, but also profoundly different. From kids to adults. So much has changed for them in these four years – athletically, academically, personally, socially, emotionally … all of it. As a coach, I get a front-row seat to this, and it unfolds gradually, like on some slow-motion animation reel. But, boy, does it ever unfold. They grow up – from boys to men, girls to women – during this time, while us adults in the room continue to spin our wheels in late middle age/advancing rapidly toward retirement age. That separation, that juxtaposition, is most definitely a good thing. While their worlds are spinning through a dizzying array of changes, we remain stable, unmovable forces that show up every day in their lives. Oh sure, we are affected by them; our lives are changed, moved and improved by their daily presence. But the scale of their growth and development pales in comparison. So rapid, so profound, so eye-blinkingly quick.
 
All these thoughts came blurring through my mind this morning as I bobbed my head and sang at my windshield to “Colors,” a song that came out at the beginning of the Class of 2023’s four-year journey. The song, and my admiration for that song, remains the same. In the meantime, so much else has evolved in their world, as they stand on the precipice of the next chapters in their life stories.
 
It’s a good day to be
A good day for me
A good day to see
My favorite colors, colors
My sisters and my brothers
They see ’em like no other
All my favorite colors
 
Farewell and fare well, Class of 2023.

Sunday, May 14, 2023

IC4A Championships: Complete results

The season concluded on Sunday with some solid performances, including a scoring placement in the 4x800 relay. The first heat results of the men's 5km was still never recovered, so we estimated Kieran Donnelly's time there. All relay splits were on my watch, as the "timing company" did not provide splits in any races. That's a wrap for this academic/athletic year, on to Year 33 (for me) and the team in a few months. Neat. 
 
IC4A Championships
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14, 2023
100-meter dash
18-Amari Mathis 10.89
200-meter dash
26. Amari Mathis 22.21
400-meter dash
25. Easton Eberwein 49.70 (outdoor personal-best)
1,500-meter run
13-Chris Paxis 3:50.21 (personal best, second-fastest time in school history)
33- Brendan Dearie 3:57.48
3,000-meter run
13-Gabriel Rodriguez 8:41.64
3,000-meter steeplechase
6-Daniel Czop 9:04.71 *school record, old record 9:05.01 by Mark Valentino, 2016
5,000-meter run
Kieran Donnelly 14:44.44
1,600-meter relay
13. Marist (Amari Mathis 51.47, Tyler Perry 51.91, Roshan Kalikasingh 50.04, Easton Eberwein 49.73) 3:23.50
3,200-meter relay
8-Marist (Brendan Dearie 1:56.44, Tyler Perry 1:55.06, Jack Parsons 1:58.03, Christopher Paxis 1:52.97) 7:42.64

ECAC Championships: Final results

Our long journey that was the 2022-2023 academic/athletic year is now complete. To quote Dr. Seuss? "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." On to 2023-2024!
 
ECAC Championships
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14, 2023
800-meter run
37-Parker O’Brien 2:19.90
1,500-meter run
18-Hannah Belleville 4:41.74
3,000-meter run
8-Adele Alexander 10:07.74
3,200-meter relay
12. Marist (Raven Stanet 2:21.18, Sierra Fisher 2:22.22, Anaiya Bobo 2:23.62, Parker O’Brien 2:19.47) 9:26.73
High jump
15-Grace O’Neill 1.58 meters (5 feet, 2.25 inches)
Triple jump
Kiana Pathirana 10.68 meters

Saturday, May 13, 2023

ECAC/IC4A Championships: Day 1 results (Czop = school record in steeplechase!)

Seven years ago to the DAY, I wrote the following words on this very same blog: “Sometimes in real life, stories have happy endings.’’  That was written from my hotel room in Princeton, NJ, after the first night of racing at the IC4A Championships, when Mark Valentino capped his Marist Running career with a school-record time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:05.01. Talk about symmetry: Seven years later, I’m in another hotel room, this time in Fairfax, VA. Same meet: IC4A Championships. Same event: Men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Same outcome: A career-ending school-record run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Another happy ending! In other steeplechase! How NEAT is that!
 
Senior Daniel Czop went out with an absolute bang in his last career race. Last week at the MAAC Championships, he placed third and (barely) qualified for the IC4As with his 9:19.44 (the standard = 9:19.99). Tonight, on a rainy night at George Mason University, Czop ran a truly masterful race, working his way up through the field (sorry, kids, no splits available) and wound up in sixth place, and finished with a truly remarkable, miraculous time of 9:04.71. School record (Tino’s previous mark = 9:05.01). In his last race in a Marist uniform. At IC4As. In the steeple. Symmetry. Awesome.
 
Other notes from the day:
--It rained pretty steadily and persistently through much of the afternoon – especially during Parker’s 800 and Amari’s 100, and they both raced admirably in the conditions.
--The timing system was (to be as diplomatic as possible here) a bit wonky. And, it still is. Kieran ran in the first heat of the 5km … and those results have yet to be posted! Grace’s high jump results have yet to be posted. The men’s 1,500 results are still a work in progress: the first-heat results (slowest seed times) haven’t been posted yet, but there were some pretty solid times run in that heat, which will certainly impact overall placings (but not team scores). We’ll update everything tomorrow night (might be a late post, as our bus internet seems to be not functioning).
--Speaking of the 1,500: Pax came within one second of the school record in the event in a strong effort and a personal-best time. Neat.
 
Tomorrow’s schedule includes:
--Easton Eberwein in the open 400
--Amari Mathis in the open 200
--Kiana Pathirana in the triple jump
--And three relays: men’s and women’s 4x800 + men’s 4x400.
 
IC4A/ECAC Championships
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Day 1 results
IC4A 100-meter dash trials
14-Amari Mathis 10.89
IC4A 1,500-meter run
13-Chris Paxis 3:50.21 (personal best, second-fastest time in school history)
33- Brendan Dearie 3:57.48
IC4A 3,000-meter run
13-Gabriel Rodriguez 8:41.64
IC4A 3,000-meter steeplechase
6-Daniel Czop 9:04.71 *school record, old record 9:05.01 by Mark Valentino, 2016
IC4A 5,000-meter run
TBA, official results pending: Kieran Donnelly 14:44
ECAC 800-meter run
37-Parker O’Brien 2:19.90
ECAC 1,500-meter run
18-Hannah Belleville 4:41.74
ECAC 3,000-meter run
8-Adele Alexander 10:07.74
ECAC high jump
Grace O’Neill 1.58 meters (place unavailable)                                                                                         

Thursday, May 11, 2023

ECAC/IC4A Championships: Entries

 Our spring season concludes this weekend at George Mason in Fairfax, VA, for the IC4A/ECAC Championship meet. Here is the schedule with our entries: 
IC4A/ECAC Championships
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Saturday/Sunday, May 13-14
Marist entries
Saturday
2:30p: IC4A 100 dash preliminary: Amari Mathis
2:50p: ECAC 1,500: Hannah Belleville
3:15p: IC4A 1,500: Chris Paxis, Brendan Dearie
4:45p: IC4A 100 dash trials: Amari Mathis
5p: IC4A pole vault: Noah Brown
5p: ECAC high jump: Grace O’Neill
5:05p: ECAC 800 run: Parker O’Brien
5:45p: ECAC 3,000 run: Adele Alexander
5:55p: IC4A 3,000 run: Gabe Rodriguez
6:45p: IC4A 3,000 steeplechase: Daniel Czop
7:45p: IC4A 5,000 run: Kieran Donnelly
Sunday
12 noon: IC4A 400 dash: Easton Eberwein
12 noon: ECAC triple jump: Kiana Pathirana
1:40p: IC4A 200 dash: Amari Mathis
Rolling schedule of relays
2p: ECAC 4x800 relay: Parker O’Brien, Anaiya Bobo, Raven Stanet, Sierra Fisher
IC4A 4x800 relay: Brendan Dearie, Tyler Perry, Jack Parsons, Chris Paxis
IC4A 4x400 relay: Amari Mathis, Roshan Kalikasingh, Tyler Perry, Easton Eberwein

Monday, May 8, 2023

MAAC Championships: Men's results, day 2

The men capped an outstanding weekend with some more strong performances. Amari Mathis and Easton Eberwein were absolutely foundational to our success, and their contributions were monumental in the open and relay sprints. Pax ran the second-fastest time in school history in the 1,500 in old-school fashion -- chasing faster Iona guys! For about four minutes anyway, it was nice to see the old-world order again -- Iona leading, Marist chasing. And Brendan Dearie saved the best for last, with a wonderful weekend of racing just weeks before his graduation. Neat. Next up = IC4As. 

MAAC Outdoor Championships
Mount St. Mary’s University
Emmitsburg, MD
Day 2 results, men
100-meter dash
3-Amari Mathis 10.84 *IC4A qualifier
200-meter dash
7-Amari Mathis 22.07 *IC4A qualifier
400-meter dash
6-Easton Eberwein 49.83
800-meter run
8-Tyler Perry 1:58.00
1,500-meter run
4-Christopher Paxis 3:51.17 *IC4A qualifier, second-fastest time in school history
9-Brendan Dearie 3:56.80
5,000-meter run
20-Jon Kittredge 15:40.85
24-Dominic Mastromatteo 15:59.87
25-Christopher Walsh 16:02.94
400-meter relay
4-Marist (Easton Eberwein, Amari Mathis, Roman Katona, Reed Dexter) 42.81 *IC4A qualifier
1,600-meter relay
5-Marist (Roman Katona, Reed Dexter, Roshan Kalikasingh 50.030, Easton Eberwein 49.049) 3:23.64
3,200-meter relay
4-Marist (Brendan Dearie 1:55.845, Tyler Perry 1:56.950, Jack Parsons 1:58.755, Christopher Paxis 1:55.115)
7:46.67
Team standings
1-Rider 210, 2-Mount St. Mary’s 192, 3-Iona 111, 4-Manhattan 99, 5-St. Peter’s 89, 6-Marist 52, 7-Canisius 32, 8-Siena 25


MAAC Championships: Women's results, day 2

A strong finish by the ladies, highlighted by Grace O'Neill's scintillating school record in the high jump and Kate Murtagh's huge PR in the 5km, and then the always exciting relays. ECACs is next. 

MAAC Outdoor Championships
Mount St. Mary’s University
Emmitsburg, MD
Day 2 results, women
1,500-meter run
8-Adele Alexander 4:47.48
High jump
3-Grace O’Neill 1.62 meters (5 feet, 3.75 inches) *school record
11-Madison LaCreta 1.47 meters (4 feet, 9.75 inches)
Triple jump
15-Kiana Pathirana 10.86 (35 feet, 7.75 inches)
16-Madison LaCreta 10.58 (34 feet, 8.5 inches)
5,000-meter run
16-Kaitlyn Murtagh 19:05.10
400-meter relay
7-Marist (Sydney Villani, Kiana Pathirana, Madison LaCreta, Breelyn McNamara) 52.23
1,600-meter relay
7-Marist (Natalie Tidler 65.04, Julia Kropo 61.74, Grace LaCapra 1:05.50, Breelyn McNamara 1:02.80) 4:15.66
3,200-meter relay
5-Marist (Raven Stanet 2:23.412, Parker O’Brien 2:19.238, Anaiya Bobo 2:28.945, Sierra Fisher 2:23.994) 9:35.59
Team standings
1-Rider 252, 2-Quinnipiac 132, 3-Mount St. Mary’s 135.5, 4-St. Peter’s 80, 5-Manhattan 67, 6-Iona 60, 7-Siena 49, 8-Canisius 18, 9-Marist 17.5, 10-Niagara 17

Saturday, May 6, 2023

MAAC Championships: Men's results, day 1

Men scored in all of Saturday's finals and qualified for Sunday's finals in all events in which they were entered on Saturday. Noah Brown was a surprise winner (MAAC champion!) in the pole vault and Czop went out with a medal spot (3rd) in the steeple. 

MAAC Outdoor Championships
Mount St. Mary’s University
Emmitsburg, MD
Day 1 results, men
100-meter dash
3-Amari Mathis 10.86 *IC4A qualifier, qualified for finals
10-Reed Dexter 11.21
200-meter dash
6-Amari Mathis 22.04 *IC4A qualifier, qualified for finals
16-Reed Dexter 23.13
400-meter dash
8-Easton Eberwein 49.79 (qualified for finals)
17-Marcel Stewart 53.87
800-meter run
8-Tyler Perry 1:54.45 (qualified for finals)
19-Roshan Kalikasingh 1:58.73
21-Jack Parsons 1:59.92
29-Jacob Anderson 2:04.09
1,500-meter run
Brendan Dearie 3:52.88 *IC4A qualifier, qualified for finals
Christopher Paxis 3:54.46 *IC4A qualifier, qualified for finals
3,00-meter steeplechase
3-Daniel Czop 9:19.44 *IC4A qualifier
10,000-meter run
6-Kieran Donnelly 31:49.97
9-Gabriel Rodriguez 32:09.69
16-John Ignacz 33:59.37
18-Anthony Citera 34:54.26
Pole vault
1-Noah Brown 4.10 meters (13 feet, 5.25 inches) *MAAC Champion!
Javelin
7-Liam Haggerty 42.36 meters (138 feet, 11 inches)
Team standings
1-Rider 61, 2-Mount St. Mary’s 40, 3-Manhattan 31, 4-St. Peter’s 28, 5-Iona and Marist 21, 7-Canisius 15, 8-Siena 11
Sunday’s schedule
12 noon, 4x100 relay
12:10p, 1,500 run (Paxis and Dearie)
12:55p, 400 dash (Eberwein)
1:15p, 100 dash (Mathis)
1:30p, 800 run (Perry)
2:10p, 200 dash (Mathis)
2:25p, 5,000 run (Czop, Kittredge, Mastromatteo, Walsh)
3:10p, 4x800 relay
3:40p, 4x400 relay

MAAC Championships: Women's results, Day 1

Julia Kropo's stellar javelin throw was a big highlight on Day 1. Adele Alexander qualified for 1,500 finals, and Sara Leavens had a strong 10km race. 

MAAC Outdoor Championships
Mount St. Mary’s University
Emmitsburg, MD
Day 1 results, women
200-meter dash
27-Natalie Tidler 29.22
400-meter dash
14-Julia Kropo 1:02.66
17-Breelyn McNamara 1:03.77
18-Grace LaCapra 1:04.75
20-Nina Florio 1:05.42
21-Grace Reynolds 1:05.73
24-Caroline Bell 1:08.88
800-meter run
14-Parker O’Brien 2:20.84
16-Raven Stanet 2:22.29
18-Hannah Belleville 2:23.39
20-Anaiya Bobo 2:23.86
23-Greta Stuckey 2:25.03
29-Mackenzie Schubert 2:30.39
1,500-meter run
11-Adele Alexander 4:48.20 *qualified for finals
14-Hannah Belleville 4:53.15
18-Sierra Fisher 4:57.63
22-Caitlin McCann 5:03.16
23-Christina Diorio 5:03.99
24-Kaitlyn Hastings 5:07.18
3,000-meter steeplechase
10-Emily Litke 12:05.94
11-Mary Dougherty 12:28.09
10,000-meter run
11-Sara Leavens 39:45.58
Javelin
6-Julia Kropo 35.87 meters (117 feet, 8 inches)
Team standings
1-Rider 69, 2-Quinnipiac 47, 3-Manhattan 41, 4-Mount St. Mary’s 39, 5-Iona 20, 6-Siena 11, 7-St. Peter’s 4, 8-Marist 3, 9-Canisius and Niagara 0
Sunday’s schedule
10a, triple jump: Kiana Pathirana, Madison LaCreta
12 noon, high jump: Grace O’Neill, Madison LaCreta
12:05p: 4x100 relay
12:17p, 1,500-meter run (Adele Alexander)
2:45p, 5,000-meter run (Kaitlyn Murtagh)
3:25p, 4x800 relay
3:55p, 4x400 relay

Friday, May 5, 2023

Ridin' with Reed

We are very much looking forward to this weekend’s MAAC Outdoor Championships at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD. As stated earlier, it’s been a long time since we’ve been here. A long, long time! (1996, for those keeping score at home)
 
Friday’s travel to The Mount was … well, interesting! It’s a long story, but along with two buses, we (as in, I!) had to drive a van all the way down here. Basically, there weren’t enough field event officials to handle implement weigh-ins, and all weigh-ins for Saturday throwing events needed to be completed on Friday afternoon. Again, for those keeping score at home! We have two javelin throwers – Liam Haggerty, Julia Kropo. Their javelins needed to be weighed in. On Friday afternoon. Since our hotel is located 45 miles and about an hour north of The Mount (another long story), it would have been beyond impractical to have one of the buses make the long trip to Emmitsburg, then back to Mechanicsburg, PA (where we are staying). And so? I drove one of our athletic department vans, with the javelins on the floor, to get them weighed in on Friday. So our throwers could throw on Saturday.
 
As I was about to depart the Hannaford’s Plaza in Highland, by myself, with audiobooks/podcasts cued up, one of our student-athletes called me. Wanted to ride along in the van and keep me company. That would be … sophomore sprinter/football player Reed Dexter! Reed (or Dex, as we sometimes call him) said it had been a long time since we had a chance to talk and he wanted to catch up on things with me. Hmm. That’s ONE perspective. Here’s another! The old coach (me) has been mildly annoyed at Dex’s lack of attendance at practice this week. Oh sure, we knew that Dex was getting in his work -- going to the track on his own, etc. But we are hoping to put together a 4x100 relay and we need Reed to be a big part of that. His not being able to join his fellow sprinters at the track that often this week, coupled with his remarkable lack of follow-through on text messages, left me in an agitated state for much of the week.
 
But alas … Reed is Reed and we love his drive, passion and dedication to everything he does. It’s just that … these past few weeks, “everything he does” has been too much: Spring football (practices, lifts, spring game, meetings, etc.) and academic pursuits (papers, exams, group projects) have left Reed quite stressed out in trying to fit everything into his schedule (track included). Join the club, kid. So, OK, in the van he goes. We stopped at Stewart’s for essentials (gas, then coffee) and on the road we went. We chatted the whole way through to Scranton and south, then it was nap time (for him, not me!). I (and then we) listened to a bit of Cuesta’s podcast interview with Vess, stopped at a truck stop, and eventually made it to The Mount for weigh-in and some block starts for Reed, followed by an excellent dinner stop in Gettysburg at a Jersey Mike’s.
 
Ridin’ with Reed (or, maybe, Drivin’ with Dex?) made the day go by. Reed loves to talk, and I enjoy our conversations. He’s from northern Virginia, so he doesn’t quite have a southern drawl, but there are hints of it. He talks fast, I listen slow, and the miles flew by. There’s a lot more driving ahead of us in the next 48 hours. And oh yeah, a track meet, too!

Thursday, May 4, 2023

MAAC Championships: Order of events

After so many years of having conference championships at Rider University (and a few at Monmouth), we venture to a new venue this weekend -- Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The last time we were at The Mount was in 1996, when we were in the Northeast Conference. For those keeping score at home, that was 27 years ago! In the vague recesses of my mind, I recall a few things about The Mount: It's in a pretty remote location; there is a beautiful shrine near the campus; it was hot; Lurch grabbing the last scoring spot in the men's 10k, crossing the line, hugging me and saying, "that one's for you, Pete." Lurch! Yeah. That was a long time ago. Time to make some new memories there and prepare for yet another long bus ride ...
 
MAAC Championships
Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7, 2023
Mount St. Mary’s University
Emmitsburg, MD
Saturday, May 6
Track events
1:20p: Men’s 1,500 trials
1:45p: Women’s 1,500 trials
2:10p: Men’s 110 hurdle trials
2:25p: Women’s 100 hurdle trials
2:40p: Men’s 400 dash trials
2:50p: Women’s 400 dash trials
3:10p: Men’s 100 dash trials
3:25p: Women’s 100 dash trials
3:40p: Men’s 800 run trials
4p: Women’s 800 run trials
4:20p: Men’s 400 hurdle trials
4:35p: Women’s 400 hurdle trials
4:50p: Men’s 200 dash trials
5:05p: Women’s 200 dash trials
5:20p: Men’s 3,000 steeplechase
5:40p: Women’s 3,000 steeplechase
5:55p: Men’s 10,000 run
6:35p: Women’s 10,000 run
Field events
1p: Long jump (men then women)
3p: Men’s pole vault
3:30p: Men’s javelin
5:30p: Women’s javelin
Sunday, May 7
Track events
12 noon: Men’s 4x100 relay
12:05p: Women’s 4x100 relay
12:10p: Men’s 1,500
12:17p: Women’s 1,500
12:30p: Men’s 110 hurdles
12:40p: Women’s 100 hurdles
12:55p: Men’s 400 dash
1p: Women’s 400 dash
1:15p: Men’s 100 dash
1:20p: Women’s 100 dash
1:30p: Men’s 800 run
1:35p: Women’s 800 run
1:50p: Men’s 400 hurdles
2p: Women’s 400 hurdles
2:10p: Men’s 200 dash
2:15p: Women’s 200 dash
2:25p: Men’s 5,000
2:45p: Women’s 5,000
3:10p: Men’s 4x800 relay
3:25p: Women’s 4x800 relay
3:40p: Men’s 4x400 relay
3:55p: Women’s 4x400 relay
Field events
10a: Women’s triple jump
12 noon: Women’s high jump