RIP, Seton Hall Track

Rolek sent the text last night and I could hardly believe it. Seton Hall University ("The Beast of the East") is dropping its men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field program, effective July 1, 2010.

For more details and quotes, check out this excellent article from the Star-Ledger in New Jersey.

This program has produced All-Americans and Olympians. Their coach, John Moon, is a living legend -- having coached on the Olympic team in the past and quite possibly in the future. According to the article, they totally "blindsided" the classy Coach Moon, who after nearly 40 years building a good name and a great program certainly deserved a lot more than that.

In the ultimate cruel irony, because of equity issues SHU actually had to ADD a new women's sport (golf) in order to make sure they were compliant. Amazing. Stunning. Sad.

Seton Hall hosted many great indoor meets back in the prehistoric (pre-Armory) days. One of our program's fondest memories happened in South Orange, when our DMR team back in 1997 qualified for ICs at the Seton Hall Last Chance Meet. We will never forget that.

Seton Hall's track program has been great champions in the Big East. They are our neighbors and friends in the Metropolitan Track Conference. They will be missed greatly, and I feel for each and every member of their coaching staff, their program and their strong, proud and loyal alumni base.

RIP to the Beast of the East.

MAAC meet splits

Major kudos to Alex Lombardozzi (LOMBI) for doing all the splits -- men's and women's. Nicely done. Enjoy the numbers, everyone ...

Men’s results

55-meter dash
7-Darren Bushey 6.89 (finals); 6.90 (prelims, qualified for finals)
13-Neal Viets 7.25

200-meter dash
11-Mike Clifford 23.67
12-Derrick Powell 23.73
13-Darren Bushey 23.78
15-Neal Viets 25.14

400-meter dash
11-Phil Krupka 51.15
13-John Kristie 52.12
15-Dan Conklin 52.61
16-Josh Lopez 53.37
19-Colin Frederickson 53.90

800-meter run
8-Kyle Havard 1:57.07
26, 57 (31), 1:26 (29), 1:57.07 (31.07)
10-Matt Panebianco 1:58.31
27, 58 (31), 1:27 (29), 1:58.31 (31.31)
13-Chris Vanzetta 2:00.25
28, 58 (30), 1:29 (31), 2:00.25 (31.25)
15-Matt Janczyk 2:01.46
27, 57 (30), 1:27 (30), 2:01.46 (34.46)
19-Alex Cuesta 2:07.24
29, 59 (30), 1:32 (33), 2:07.24 (35.24)

Mile run
4-Matt Flint 4:13.00 (IC4A qualifier)
32, 62 (30), 1:33 (31), 2:05 (32), 2:37 (32), 3:09 (32), 3:41 (32), 4:13.00 (32.00)
9-Conor Shelley 4:30.72
32, 62 (30), 1:34 (32), 2:06 (32), 2:40 (34), 3:15 (35), 3:52 (37), 4:30.72 (38.72)
11-Colin Johnson 4:34.77
33, 65 (32), 1:38 (33), 2:12 (34), 2:47 (33), 3:23 (37), 3:59 (36), 4:34.77 (35.77)

3000-meter run
3-Will Griffin 8:28.05
32, 66 (34), 1:40 (34), 2:16 (36), 2:50 (34)
3:24 (34), 3:59 (35), 4:33 (36), 5:08 (35), 5:42 (34)
6:16 (34), 6:50 (34), 7:23 (33), 7:55 (32), 8:28.05 (33.05)
Kilometer splits: 2:50, 2:52, 2:46.05
6-Curtis Jensen 8:45.21
32, 66 (34), 1:40 (34), 2:16 (36), 2:50 (34)
3:24 (34), 4:00 (36), 4:34 (34), 5:09 (35), 5:43 (34)
6:20 (37), 6:55 (35), 7:32 (37), 8:08 (36), 8:45.21 (37.21)
Kilometer splits: 2:50, 2:53, 3:02.21
7-Quimes DelaCruz 8:49.28
33, 67 (34), 1:41 (34), 2:16 (35), 2:51 (35)
3:25 (34), 4:00 (35), 4:34 (34), 5:11 (37), 5:46 (35)
6:22 (36), 7:00 (38), 7:37 (37), 8:19 (42), 8:49.28 (40.28)
Kilometer splits: 2:51, 2:55, 3:03.28
9-Alex Ward 8:56.62
35, 69 (34), 1:43 (34), 2:19 (34), 2:55 (36)
3:31 (36), 4:07 (36), 4:43 (37), 5:19 (36), 5:56 (37)
6:32 (36), 7:10 (38), 7:47 (37), 8:22 (35), 8:56.62 (34.62)
Kilometer splits: 2:55, 3:01, 3:00.62

5000-meter run
3-Girma Segni 14:55.91
33, 69 (36), 1:45 (36), 2:21 (36), 2:57 (36)
3:33 (37), 4:10 (37), 4:47 (37), 5:24 (37), 6:01 (37)
6:39 (38), 7:16 (37), 7:53 (37), 8:30 (37), 9:05 (35)
9:41 (36), 10:17 (36), 10:54 (37), 11:30 (36), 12:07 (37)
12:42 (35), 13:17 (35), 13:52 (35), 14:26 (34), 14:55.91 (29.91)
Kilometer splits: 2:57, 3:04, 3:03 (2:48.91)
4-David Raucci 14:58.64
35, 71 (36), 1:49 (38), 2:25 (36), 3:02 (37)
3:39 (37), 4:15 (36), 4:51 (36), 5:26 (35), 6:02 (36)
6:40 (38), 7:16 (36), 7:53 (37), 8:30 (37), 9:05 (35)
9:41 (36), 10:17 (36), 10:53 (37), 11:29 (36), 12:06 (37)
12:42 (36), 13:17 (35), 13:52 (35), 14:33 (31), 14:58.64 (35.64)
Kilometer splits: 3:02, 3:00, 3:03, 3:01, 2:52.64
5-Tim Keegan 15:08.30
37, 73 (37), 1:49 (36), 2:25 (36), 3:01 (36)
3:37 (36), 4:14 (37), 4:50 (36), 5:25 (35), 6:02 (37)
6:40 (38), 7:16 (36), 7:53 (37), 8:31 (38), 9:05 (34)
9:42 (37), 10:17 (35), 10:53 (37), 11:30 (37), 12:07 (37)
12:43 (36), 13:18 (35), 13:55 (37), 14:38 (33), 15:08.30 (30.30)
Kilometer splits: 3:01, 3:01, 3:03, 3:02, 3:01.30
6-Zak Smetana 15:21.75
35, 72 (37), 1:50 (38), 2:26 (36), 3:03 (37)
3:40 (37), 4:15 (35), 4:52 (37), 5:27 (35), 6:04 (37)
6:40 (36), 7:17 (37), 7:53 (36), 8:31 (38), 9:08 (37)
9:45 (37), 10:23 (38), 11:01 (38), 11:40 (39), 12:17 (37)
12:56 (39), 13:33 (37), 14:12 (39), 14:48 (36), 15:21.75 (33.75)
Kilometer splits: 3:03, 3:01, 3:04, 3:09, 3:04.75
10-Pat Duggan 15:35.89
36, 73 (37), 1:50 (37), 2:26 (36), 3:03 (37)
3:40 (37), 4:15 (35), 4:52 (37), 5:29 (37), 6:07 (38)
6:43 (37), 7:20 (37), 7:59 (39), 8:38 (39), 9:15 (37)
9:53 (38), 10:31 (38), 11:09 (38), 11:48 (39), 12:26 (38)
13:06 (40), 13:45 (39), 14:25 (40), 15:01 (36), 15:35.89 (34.89)
Kilometer splits: 3:03, 3:04, 3:08, 3:11, 3:09.89

Distance Medley Relay
4-Marist (David Raucci, John Kristie, Matt Panebianco, Matt Flint) 10:35.72
Raucci, 1200: 32, 63 (31), 1:35 (32), 2:07 (32), 2:39 (32), 3:11.3 (32.3)
Kristie, 400: 24, 52.7
Panebianco, 800: 27, 57 (30), 1:29 (32), 2:01.3 (32.3)
Flint, 1600: 30, 63 (33), 1:37 (34), 2:12 (35), 2:47 (35), 3:22 (35), 3:56 (34), 4:29 (33)

1,600-meter relay
4-Marist (Derrick Powell, Colin Frederickson, Phil Krupka, Kyle Havard) 3:26.86
Powell: 50.98; C-Fred: 51.25; Krupka: 51.93; Havard: 52.37

55-meter hurdles
12-Mike Clifford 8.94

Pole vault
7-Max Carow 3.90 meters

Shot put
11-Keith Peterson 10.82 meters

Men’s team scores: 1. Manhattan 153, 2. Rider 142, 3. St. Peter’s 93, 4. Iona 74, 5. Marist 32

Women’s results

200-meter dash
9-Holly Burns 26.36
20-Kelley Sullivan 28.53

400-meter dash
5-Holly Burns 59.08 (school record)
12-Rachael Eichacker 1:01.83
15-Kelley Hanifin 1:03.07
16-Nicole Weir 1:04.20

800-meter run
8-Jackie Gamboli 2:19.96
32, 65 (33), 1:42 (37), 2:19.96 (37.96)
12-Kim Bartlett 2:22.27
33, 67 (34), 1:43 (37), 2:22.27 (35.27)
15-Jillian Corley 2:24.54
34, 68 (34), 1:44 (36), 2:24.54 (40.54)
16-Briana Crowe 2:25.39
33, 68 (35), 1:45 (37), 2:25.39 (40.39)
18-Laura Lindsley 2:27.74
34, 69 (35), 1:48 (39), 2:27.74 (39.74)

Mile run
6-Erin O’Reilly 5:19.82
40, 78 (38), 1:59 (41), 2:39 (40), 3:19 (40), 3:59 (40), 4:39 (40), 5:19.82 (40.82)
8-Dayna McLaughlin 5:30.66
40, 80 (40), 2:01 (41), 2:41 (40), 3:22 (41), 4:04 (42), 4:47 (43), 5:30.66 (43.66)
12-Colleen Smith 5:41.66
42, 84 (42), 2:06 (42), 2:50 (44), 3:32 (42), 4:15 (43), 4:58 (43), 5:41.66 (43.66)
14-Kelley Gould 5:47.91
42, 84 (42), 2:06 (42), 2:50 (44), 3:32 (42), 4:16 (44), 5:02 (46), 5:47.91 (45.91)

3000-meter run
4-Brittany Burns 10:27.05
38, 79 (41), 2:00 (41), 2:43 (43), 3:24 (41)
4:05 (41), 4:47 (42), 5:29 (42), 6:11 (42), 6:55 (44)
7:40 (45), 8:24 (44), 9:08 (44), 9:49 (41), 10:27.05 (38.05)
Kilometer splits: 3:24, 3:31, 3:32.05)
9-Erin O’Reilly 10:48.75
40, 82 (42), 2:05 (43), 2:48 (43), 3:29 (41)
4:12 (43), 4:55 (43), 5:38 (43), 6:22 (44), 7:06 (44)
7:49 (43), 8:36 (47), 9:20 (44), 10:02 (42), 10:48.75 (46.75)
Kilometer splits: 3:29, 3:37, 3:42.75
11-Katie Messina 10:55.52
40, 80 (40), 2:02 (42), 2:46 (44), 3:29 (43)
4:12 (43), 4:54 (42), 5:38 (44), 6:23 (45), 7:08 (45)
7:54 (46), 8:37 (43), 9:25 (48), 10:11 (46), 10:55.52 (44.52)
Kilometer splits: 3:29, 3:39, 3:47.52)
18-Rachel Lichtenwalner 12:02.47
41, 85 (44), 2:11 (46), 2:57 (46), 3:43 (46)
4:29 (46), 5:17 (48), 6:06 (49), 6:55 (49), 7:45 (50)
8:40 (55), 9:28 (48), 10:19 (51), 11:12 (53), 12:02.47 (50.47)
Kilometer splits: 3:43, 4:02, 4:17.47

1600-meter relay
3-Marist (Kelley Hanifin, Jackie Gamboli, Rachael Eichacker, Holly Burns) 4:08.43
Kelley H: 62.5; Jackie: 62.3; Rachael: 62.1; Holly: 61.0

Distance medley relay
3-Marist (Jillian Corley, Nicole Weir, Briana Crowe, Kara Lightowler) 12:42.53
Jillian: 37, 74 (37), 1:53 (37), 2:33 (40), 3:12 (39), 3:51.7 (39.7)
Nicole: 63.8
Brianna: 33, 70 (37), 1:49 (39), 2:29.95 (40.95)
Kara: 36, 74 (38), 1:54 (40), 2:35 (41), 3:16 (41), 3:56 (40), 4:38 (42), 5:16 (38)

Pole vault
6-Justine Colabraro 2.90 meters

Triple jump
11-Brooke Kristensen 9.55 meters

Long jump
12-Brooke Kristensen 4.37 meters

Women’s team scores: 1. Manhattan 228, 2. St. Peter’s 116, 3. Rider 99, 4. Iona 75, 5. Loyola 64, 6. Marist 29

Listen to your body

It’s the cliché of coaching distance runners – any track athletes, really. Listen to your body. It’s the catch-all phrase we use when we discuss training, injuries, etc. Listen to your body. But as much as we coaches like to trot out this well-worn (but very accurate) phrase, we just as often do not heed our own advice when dealing with injured or sick runners.

In the excitement and urgency to get back for the next meet, the next championship or the next season, we as coaches often try to expedite our athletes’ return from injuries – using some artificial timetable like “by MAACs” or “by the next Boston meet” or “certainly by the beginning of outdoors.” I’m as guilty as the next guy; someone tweaks a calf or has IT Band syndrome, and automatically I’m thinking about how quickly we can get this guy back on the track.

Well, no more. Over the past few years – and certainly this year – I have developed a new, kindler-and-gentler philosophy toward recovery from injuries, illnesses, anemia (can anyone say VESS?) and whatever other maladies are likely to strike our athletes. I probably had this concept in the back of my mind all along and maybe even implemented it from time to time in the past. Now, I’m trying to make it the norm.

What’s the new philosophy? Listen to your body!

Huh? Isn’t that where we started this thing? Well, yes.

To elaborate further, my feeling on this subject is this: A runner who has been knocked down but whatever the malady needs to aggressively treat it in whatever way is most prudent and possible. The goal should be to get back to pain-free running training as quickly as possible. But here’s the kicker: “As quickly as possible” needs to become its own timetable. No artificial, manmade (coach or athlete) timetable for return. You get back when you get back.

Of course, there are exceptions. An athlete in his or her final season of eligibility in a particular season can be “forced” to “run through” and “race through” certain things, knowing full well that this is the “last chance” for that person to be part of the team dynamic. Well, that’s probably the only real exception that comes to mind.

Otherwise, you come back when your body says you are ready. Hopefully it’s a matter of days or at most weeks. If it is longer, it is longer. So be it. As long as you do your due diligence in recovery and rehab, all that artificial timetables will do will be to stress out athlete and coach alike, make you do things you should not do and perhaps worst of all, delay true healing – which defeats the purpose of it all in the first place!

Regrettably, we have several real-life examples of the Listen to Your Body theory on both the men’s and women’s teams. We need to stick with the plan. We need not to force things. We need not to rush things. (Note: Are you listening, Vess?)

Here’s one real-life example from a proud Running Red Fox who has been down for the injury count, on and off, for the past year or so – Brian Townsend. I love Brian. He’s all heart, and he wants to run long and run hard and run strong so badly that sometimes he is his own worst enemy. He and I have been guilty of the “artificial timetable” a few times in the past year. His experiences (our experiences, really) have really opened my eyes to the Listen to Your Body theory.

He’s still battling lower leg injuries, but I would say the fight is much more positive than negative now. We had a discussion about this the other day. Will he race outdoors? That was the question posed. The answer: He will race outdoors if and when he is ready to race outdoors. And not a day sooner than that. If he is not ready to race outdoors, well by golly, he’ll have gotten a jump-start on his summer training for xc-2010.

Again, last summer and to a lesser extent this fall, we kind of forced the issue. Both athlete and coach share the blame on this one. We are both learning our hard-earned lessons. My hard-earned lessons over the years will, hopefully, translate into better decisions about our athletes – now and in the future.

Listen To Your Body. Certainly not an original thought; but it’s just about the best advice you can give or receive.

MAAC splits; bad weather

Still working on MAAC splits. Will get them up soon.

Snow. Snow. Snow. That pretty much sums up this week. From now till the end. Our ability to get to the NYU Fastrack meet may be hampered by this weather pattern.

Stay tuned ...

The residue of design

In my last post, I quoted a historical baseball figure. Today, I quote another: Branch Rickey. Rickey was widely considered the most astute baseball mind of his time – perhaps of history. Among his many accomplishments, he is probably best known for being the driving force in breaking the color barrier in Major League Baseball with Jackie Robinson joining the Dodgers.

One of Rickey’s most famous quotes goes like this: “Luck is the residue of design.” I love this quote. Loosely translated, it can be taken as: “You make your own luck.” It’s a great philosophy with more than a grain of truth to it.

In comes to mind as I continue to fester over our dual, last-place finishes at indoor MAACs.

One of the things I have thought about repeatedly – and not just recently, but in the past few seasons – is how our “luck has run out” in terms of having really, true quality track and field athletes (not pure distance runners) on both our men’s and women’s squads.

I literally cried when the DeMarco/Quinn/Bamberger era graduated three years ago, as those guys (and others) were the best true track talents this program probably has ever seen. But prior to that, our men’s programs had been blessed with some amazing field event guys that we more or less lucked into getting. Eli Bisnett-Cobb, perhaps the most well-rounded track athlete in our program’s history, literally showed up at freshman orientation, contacted me and asked me for a spot on the team. A few school records, MAAC individual titles and IC4A qualifiers later, I was sure glad he did.

On the women’s side, we have had numerous athletes like that – mostly the doing of then-assistant coach Chuck Williams’ aggressive and successful recruiting efforts in the non-distance area. Chrissy McDevitt and Jen McNamara are two recent examples that instantly pop into my head. So for many years, Phil and I unwittingly had pretty good track and field teams, while we continued to focus our recruiting and coaching efforts predominantly on the distance events.

The past several years, our luck has run out. But again: Luck is a residue of design. If you fashion yourself as a top-notch distance program and focus your effort on that, that’s what you’ll get. That’s what we’ve got. With another top-notch distance program (Iona) in our league that is better than us in that area, you get what you get in the team standings; it might not be pretty. Again, this is not an excuse for a last-place finish. Rather, it might be considered the unfortunate residue of our design.

Here’s the thing: Even if we changed our “model” so to speak, and started aggressively pursuing non-distance track and field athletes, I’m not sure how much better we would be. Our lack of on-campus facilities definitely would hamper our efforts (Side Note: I am never one to complain about our lack of a track and I do not do so here; I’ve always said, “No Track, No Problem,” and I stick by that philosophy). Additionally, especially on the men’s side, our relative lack of scholarship money would probably make it foolhardy to try and spread the athletic aid dollars over an entire track and field team. So, we don’t, and we hope like heck that we can get the next generation of Eli Bisnett-Cobbs, Adam Waterburys, Brian DeMarcos -- and yes, even crazy Denis McManuses -- to come and be part of the Marist Track Family.

But until that time, unfortunately for now our residue of design has just about run out of luck.

Maybe Leo Durocher was right ...

Most of you know that I am a huge fan of baseball history. One notorious figure in 20th Century Major League Baseball is Leo Durocher, the feisty manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers (and other clubs) back in the day.

Leo The Lip is most well remembered by his famous quotation: "Nice guys finish last." As with most things etched in historical stone, there is only a fragment of truth to his utterance. There is ample evidence that he never actually said that (similar to Yogi Berra's famous "It ain't over till it's over" quote). Nonetheless, the quotes are forever linked with Leo The Lip and Yogi ... and based on their respective reputations and personalities, rightfully so.

Anyway, the quote comes to mind a day after the MAAC Indoor Championships, in which your beloved Foxes and Foxettes did, indeed, finish last. It is not the first time it has happened. Probably won't be the last. It never feels good.

Oh sure, we can expound upon the "reasons" for this here, most of which are valid. I'm not going to bother. Bottom line: As a coach (and you all, as athletes) with competitive juices, finishing last does not feel nice. Last night, it was inevitable; but it still sucks.

Having said that ... there were many fine performances in a meet that has become more and more competitive over the years (especially on the women's side).

On the men's side, we scored and scored well in all distance events, this despite a strong presence and showing by mostly Iona but also Rider and Manhattan. The sprint crew had a really strong night as well, and they are really hitting their stride now. Great to see! Let's hope to build on this next week and into the outdoor season.

On the women's side, it was great to see Holly Burns nab that elusive school record in the 400-meter dash. Nicely done! Both of our meet-ending relays ran very strong as well, medaling in third in the DMR and 4x400.

But at the end of the day (or late at night, in this case), last place is last place. It does not lessen my pride in this team and this program, and I look forward to the next practice and the next competition with the same vigor as always.

Results are below. Lombi did splits for all races (men and women). I will type them up in the coming days as my schedule allows. We will also detail the NYU Fastrack meet, IC4As and preparation for outdoor track. It never ends, my friends ...

MAAC Indoors 2010

Men’s results

55-meter dash
7-Darren Bushey 6.89 (finals); 6.90 (prelims, qualified for finals)
13-Neal Viets 7.25

200-meter dash
11-Mike Clifford 23.67
12-Derrick Powell 23.73
13-Darren Bushey 23.78
15-Neal Viets 25.14

400-meter dash
11-Phil Krupka 51.15
13-John Kristie 52.12
15-Dan Conklin 52.61
16-Josh Lopez 53.37
19-Colin Frederickson 53.90

800-meter run
8-Kyle Havard 1:57.07
10-Matt Panebianco 1:58.31
13-Chris Vanzetta 2:00.25
15-Matt Janczyk 2:01.46
19-Alex Cuesta 2:07.24

Mile run
4-Matt Flint 4:13.00 (IC4A qualifier)
9-Conor Shelley 4:30.72
11-Colin Johnson 4:34.77

3000-meter run
3-Will Griffin 8:28.05
6-Curtis Jensen 8:45.21
7-Quimes DelaCruz 8:49.28
9-Alex Ward 8:56.62

5000-meter run
3-Girma Segni 14:55.91
4-David Raucci 14:58.64
5-Tim Keegan 15:08.30
6-Zak Smetana 15:21.75
10-Pat Duggan 15:35.89

Distance Medley Relay
4-Marist (David Raucci, John Kristie, Matt Panebianco, Matt Flint) 10:35.72

1,600-meter relay
4-Marist (Derrick Powell, Colin Frederickson, Phil Krupka, Kyle Havard) 3:26.86

55-meter hurdles
12-Mike Clifford 8.94

Pole vault
7-Max Carow 3.90 meters

Shot put
11-Keith Peterson 10.82 meters

Men’s team scores: 1. Manhattan 153, 2. Rider 142, 3. St. Peter’s 93, 4. Iona 74, 5. Marist 32

Women’s results
200-meter dash
9-Holly Burns 26.36
20-Kelley Sullivan 28.53

400-meter dash
5-Holly Burns 59.08 (school record)
12-Rachael Eichacker 1:01.83
15-Kelley Hanifin 1:03.07
16-Nicole Weir 1:04.20

800-meter run
8-Jackie Gamboli 2:19.96
12-Kim Bartlett 2:22.27
15-Jillian Corley 2:24.54
16-Briana Crowe 2:25.39
18-Laura Lindsley 2:27.74

Mile run
6-Erin O’Reilly 5:19.82
8-Dayna McLaughlin 5:30.66
12-Colleen Smith 5:41.66
14-Kelley Gould 5:47.91

3000-meter run
9-Erin O’Reilly 10:48.75
11-Katie Messina 10:55.52
18-Rachel Lichtenwalner 12:02.47

1600-meter relay
3-Marist (Kelley Hanifin, Jackie Gamboli, Rachael Eichacker, Holly Burns) 4:08.43

Distance medley relay
3-Marist (Jillian Corley, Nicole Weir, Briana Crowe, Kara Lightowler) 12:42.53

Pole vault
6-Justine Colabraro 2.90 meters

Triple jump
11-Brooke Kristensen 9.55 meters

Long jump
12-Brooke Kristensen 4.37 meters

Women’s team scores: 1. Manhattan 228, 2. St. Peter’s 116, 3. Rider 99, 4. Iona 75, 5. Loyola 64, 6. Marist 29

MAAC schedule

Here is the schedule for the MAAC meet Friday night at the Armory. Note to athletes in events that have sections: They will go SLOW to FAST, which is a departure from the norm in meets. Plan accordingly. The meet will NOT run ahead of schedule. It is usually on time.

Running Events
6:30pm Women’s 5000 M Run
6:50pm Men’s 5000 M Run
7:15pm Women’s 55 M Hurdles Trials
7:25pm Men’s 55 M Hurdles Trials
7:35pm Women’s 55 M Dash Trials
7:40pm Men’s 55 M Dash Trials
7:45pm Women’s Mile Run
7:55pm Men’s Mile Run
8:05pm Women’s 55 M Hurdles Finals
8:10pm Men’s 55 M Hurdles Finals
8:15pm Women’s 55 M Dash Finals
8:20pm Men’s 55 M Dash Finals
8:25pm Women’s 400 M Run
8:35pm Men’s 400 M Run
8:45pm Women’s 800 M Run
8:55pm Men’s 800 M Run
9:05pm Women’s 200 M Dash
9:15pm Men’s 200 M Dash
9:30pm Women’s 3000 M Run
9:45pm Men’s 3000 M Run
10:00pm Women’s Distance Medley Relay
10:15pm Men’s Distance Medley Relay
10:30pm Women’s 1600 Relay
10:35pm Men’s 1600 Relay
*-All Running Events are timed finals except Dash and Hurdles

Field Events
6:30pm Men’s 35lb Weight Throw
7:30pm Women’s 20lb Weight Throw
7:00pm Women’s Pole Vault
6:45pm Men’s and Women’s Triple Jump
8:00pm Men’s Pole Vault
8:30pm Men’s and Women’s Long Jump
8:30pm Men’s Shot Put
9:00pm Men’s and Women’s High Jump
9:45pm Women’s Shot Put

Come in, have a seat

Recent visitors to my always-cluttered office in the McCann Center have noticed a new addition. I’m pretty excited about it. It’s a COUCH. Back in the day (waaaaay back in the day), when Phil and I shared a cramped office with the diving coach, we somehow wedged a couch into that small space. There is a long, funny story attached to how that couch got in there, but I will save that for another day. Ask me about it sometime.

Anyway, that old couch went to the dumpster when the McCann Center coaches area was renovated back around 1996. I’ve always thought it would be great to get a couch back into the office. I asked Vess if he might be able to scam me an old, beat-up couch back in Connecticut. He's always good about getting second-hand, recycled junk.

But before he could come through on it, a stroke of luck occurred. Coach Jim Parady, the fine and friendly Marist football head coach, had a blue couch in his office. One day, while walking past his office, I noticed the couch wasn’t in there. Where was it, I asked?

Oh, he said, it was too ratty and old to have recruits and their families sitting on it, so he moved it out into the hallway by the water cooler. Ha! I asked if I could wedge it into my hopelessly cluttered office, and he gave his approval. So after rearranging the garbage in my office (which now includes the remnants of my 23-year career at the Poughkeepsie Journal along with all the coaching stuff collected through the years), I was able to fit the couch into the corner underneath the cork board.

Captain Janczyk is proud of the fact that he was the first person to “swamp ass” the couch, on the first day it was in the office. This was inevitable, as the sweaty post-run shorts/pants of the guys have always “swamp-assed” the seats in my office for many generations.

Coach Chuck was so impressed by the new addition to the office that he had the brainstorm of going out and getting a couch for his office. His brand-new, big and comfy love seat was delivered on President’s Day. Janzo was quick to out that his couch was much nicer than mine. Which, of course, is true.

I think the couches are a reflection of the coaches and the offices that they are in. Mine: Old, weather-beaten, not stylish, but functional and somewhat useful. His: New, stylish and classy, worthy of attracting and impressing one and all.

So come on in and have a seat. And hey, bring some coffee too, will ya!

Women's results from BU

I missed the women's meet because of the way the schedules were at Valentine, so I only got these results online and did not actually witness the races. Overall, a pretty positive day for the Lady Foxes ...

200 dash

Rachael Eichaker 27.82

400 dash

Holly Burns 1:00.33
Rachael Eichaker 1:02.30
Nicole Weir 1:03.97
Kelley Sullivan 1:05.01 (won her heat)

800 run

Jackie Gamboli 2:19.46 (season best)
Briana Crowe 2:22.08
Sarah Keating 2:25.99
Kim Bartlett 2:27.35
Kara Lightowler 2:27.77
Rebecca Denise 2:30.95
Emilie Cardone 2:38.04

1000 run

Jillian Corley 3:08.98
Laura Lindsley 3:10.28

Mile run
Brittany Burns 5:16.13 (first meet back after injury)
Erin O’Reilly 5:18.96 (personal best)
Jillian Corley 5:21.01
Katie Messina 5:28.69
Dayna McLaughlin 5:32.97
Colleen Smith 5:41.84
Allyson O’Brien 5:43.20
Kelley Gould 5:46.59

Sprinting into Marist history

At Saturday's Valentine meet, Marist Alumni Racing Team history was made as Mike Cocca (Class of 2009) was the first sprinter to don the MART colors -- in the 200-meter dash.

"Coke" did great! He sprinted to 23.82 seconds, not much slower than his collegiate days! This is amazing considering he has basically been working out on a treadmill and doing little else. Wow. Without the benefit of a team or training facilities, he's still on top of his game.

Hopefully, he will continue to wear the MART uniform in future meets this winter and spring.

Look for more MART action at the NYU Fastrack meet in a few weeks at the Armory ...

Valentine men's results and splits

Here is what I typed up on my laptop on the bumpy and noisy ride home from Boston late last night. Hope it is accurate and makes sense.

Kudos to Lombi (with a small assist from Mr. Awesome Curtis) for these splits.

Speaking of Mr. Awesome: He had a pretty awesome PR in the 3k, as did Zak (3k), Fitz (3k) and Duggan (5k). In addition, the 4x400 looks very strong heading into MAACs. Lastly, nicely done by our hurdler Mike Clifford with a big 200-dash PR. This bodes well for the IH outdoors, which is probably his best event.

More later in the week as we head into the MAAC Championships. Note to alums: Meet starts Friday at 6:30 p.m. Plenty of time for you to get there after work and maybe enjoy a Barley Pop or two over at Coogan's ... Note to team: Coogan's is very much off limits ... until you are an alum. I'm serious about that!

OK. Here you go ...

BU Valentine Invitational, 2.13.10

55-meter dash

Mike McCloskey 6.90 seconds (personal best)
Darren Bushey 7.00 (personal best)

55-meter hurdles

Mike Clifford 8.93 seconds (personal best)

200-meter dash

Mike McCloskey 23.52 (personal best)
Mike Clifford 23.59 (personal best)
Darren Bushey 24.60

400-meter dash

Phil Krupka 51.10 (collegiate best)
Josh Lopez 53.22

500-meter dash

Colin Frederickson 1:06.92
Dan Conklin 1:08.72
John Kristie 1:09.09

800-meter run

Alex Cuesta 2:04.58. 28.8, 58.5 (29.7), 1:29.8 (31.3), 2:04.58 (34.78)

Trevor Thomas 2:11.66. 29.8, 61.3 (31.5), 1:34.6 (33.3), 2:11.66 (37.06)

1000-meter run

Matt Janczyk 2:31.04. 28.2, 56.7 (28.5), 1:27.1 (30.4), 1:58.0 (30.9), 2:31.04 (33.04)

Kyle Havard 2:33.82. 31, 62.1 (31.2), 1:34.0 (31.9), 2:03.7 (29.7), 2:33.82 (30.12)

Matt Panebianco 30.5, 62.1 (31.6), 1:33.5 (31.4), 2:03.1 (29.6), 2:36.19 (33.09)

Mile run
Matt Flint 4:16.98 (personal best). 32.5, 66.8 (34.3), 1:38.2 (31.4), 2:09.9 (31.7), 2:41.5 (31.6), 3:13.7 (322), 3:45.7 (32.0), 4:16.98 (31.28)

Will Griffin 4:17.31. 30.2, 61.3 (31.1), 1:33.1 (31.8), 2:04.5 (31.4), 2:36.4 (31.9), 3:09.2 (32.8), 3:42.4 (33.2), 4:17.31 (34.91)

Quimes DelaCruz 4:21.03. 32.1, 66.2 (34.1), 1:38.0 (31.8), 2:09.4 (31.4), 2:41.7 (32.7), 3:14.1 (32.4), 3:47.2 (33.1), 4:21.03 (33.93)

3,000-meter run

Adam Vess 8:11.98. 32.8, 65.5 (32.7), 1:37.6 (32.1), 2:10.2 (32.6), 2:42.7 (32.5), 3;14.5 (31.8), 3:47.5 (33.0), 4:20.8 (33.3), 4:53.9 (33.1), 5:27.0 (33.1), 6:00.8 (33.8), 6:33.9 (33.1), 7:07.1 (33.2), 7:40.0 (32.9), 8:11.98 (31.98)
1km: 2:42.7; 2km: 5:27.0 (2:44.3); 8:11.98 (2:44.98)

Girma Segni 8:29.20. 33, 68 (35), 1:42 (34), 2:15 (33), 2:49 (34), 3:23 (34), 3:57 (34), 4:32 (35), 5:06 (34), 5:40 (34), 6:13 (33), 6:48 (35), 7:22 (34), 7:56 (34), 8:29.20 (33.20)
1km: 2:49; 2km: 5:40 (2:51); 3km: 8:29.20 (2:49.20)

Curtis Jensen 8:32.49 (personal best). 34, 69 (35), 1:43 (34), 2:16 (33), 2:50 (34), 3:24 (34), 3:58 (34), 4:32 (34), 5:06 (34), 5:40 (34), 6:14 (34), 6:49 (35), 7:24 (35), 7:58 (34), 8:32.49 (34.49)
1km: 2:50; 2km: 5:40 (2:50); 3km: 8:32.49 (2:52.49)

David Raucci 8:42.94. 34, 69 (35), 1:44 (35), 2:17 (33), 2:51 (34), 3:25 (34), 3:59 (34), 4:33 (34), 5:07 (34), 5:41 (34), 6:15 (34), 6:50 (35), 7:27 (37), 8:03 (36), 8:42.94 (39.94)
1km: 2:51; 2km: 5:41 (2:50); 8:42.94 (3:01.94)

Zak Smetana 8:47.95 (personal best). 35.0, 70.5 (35.5), 1:46.0 (35.5), 2:22.0 (36.0), 2:57.5 (35.5), 3:32.9 (35.4), 4:07.9 (35.0), 4:43.0 (35.1), 5:18.0 (35.0), 5:53.0 (35.0), 6:28.3 (35.3), 7:04.0 (35.7), 7:39.5 (35.5), 8:14.0 (34.5), 8:47.95 (33.95)
1km: 2:57.5; 2km: 5:53.0 (2:55.5); 3km: 8:47.95 (2:54.95)

Joel Moss 9:11.85 (personal best). 35.8, 71.5 (35.7), 1:47.5 (36.0), 2:24.3 (36.8), 3:00.0 (35.7), 3:35.7 (35.7), 4:12.4 (36.7), 4:49.5 (37.1), 5:27.5 (38.0), 6:05.3 (37.8), 6:42.5 (37.2), 7:20.7 (38.2), 7:59.2 (38.5), 8:36.7 (37.5), 9:11.85 (35.15)
1km: 3:00.0; 2km: 6:05.3 (3:05.3); 9:11.85 (3:06.55)

Ryan Fitzsimons 9:23.79 (personal best). 35, 72 (37), 1:48 (36), 2:26 (38), 3:03 (37), 3:41 (38), 4:19 (38), 4:57 (38), 5:35 (38), 6:12 (37), 6:50 (38), 7:29 (39), 8:07 (38), 8:46 (39), 9:23.79 (37.79)
1km: 3:03; 2km: 6:12 (3:09); 9:23.79 (3:11.79)

Will Schanz 9:27.40. 35, 72 (37), 1:48 (36), 2:25 (37), 3:02 (37), 3:40 (38), 4:17 (37), 4:55 (38), 5:33 (38), 6:10 (37), 6:49 (39), 7:27 (38), 8:05 (38), 8:46 (41), 9:27.40 (41.40)
1km: 3:02; 2km: 6:10 (3:08); 3km: 9:27.40 (3:17.40)

5,000-meter run

Tim Keegan 15:16.08
37.4, 72.4 (35.0), 1:47.4 (35.0), 2:33.7 (36.3), 2:59.5 (35.8), 3:34.2 (34.7), 4:09.4 (35.2), 4:45.1 (35.7), 5:20.6 (35.5), 5:55.8 (35.2), 6:31.7 (35.9), 7:07.7 (36.0), 7:44.7 (37.0), 8:20.7 (36.0), 8:57.2 (36.5), 9;34.0 (36.8), 10:11.2 (37.2), 10:49.2 (38.0), 11:26.8 (37.6), 12:05.3 (38.4), 12:43.4 (38.2), 13:22.4 (39.0), 14:00.3 (37.9), 14:38.6 (38.3), 15:16.08 (37.48)
1km: 2:59.5; 2km: 5:55.8 (2:56.3); 3km: 8:57.2 (3:01.4); 4km: 12:05.3 (3:07.1); 5km: 15:16.08 (3:10.88)

Pat Duggan 15:30.46 (personal best)
36, 72 (36), 1:48 (36), 2:25 (37), 3:02 (37), 3:39 (37), 4:16 (37), 4:54 (38), 5:30 (36), 6:06 (36), 6:44 (38), 7:21 (37), 7:59 (38), 8:36 (37), 9:14 (38), 9:51 (37), 10:29 (38), 11:08 (39), 11:44 (36), 12:23 (39), 13:02 (39), 13:41 (39), 14:19 (38), 14:55 (36), 15:30.46 (35.46)
1km: 3:02; 2km: 6:06 (3:04); 3km: 9:14 (3:08); 4km: 12:23 (3:09); 15:30.46 (3:07.46)

Alex Ward 15:42.58 (personal best)
37, 73 (36), 1:49 (36), 2:26 (37), 3:03 (37), 3:40 (37), 4:17 (37), 4:55 (38), 5:32 (37), 6:08 (36), 6:46 (38), 7:23 (37), 8:00 (37), 8:37 (37), 9:15 (38), 9:53 (38), 10:31 (38), 11:10 (39), 11:50 (40), 12:30 (40), 13:10 (40), 13:50 (40), 14:21 (41), 15:08 (37), 15:42.58 (34.58)
1km: 3:03; 2km: 6:08 (3:05); 3km: 9:15 (3:07); 4km: 12:30 (3:15); 5km: 15:42.58 (3:12.58)

Sean Nestor 16:00.83
37, 73 (36), 1:49 (36), 2:26 (37), 3:03 (37), 3:40 (37), 4:17 (37), 4:54 (37), 5:31 (37), 6:08 (37), 6:48 (40), 7:26 (38), 8:05 (39), 8:44 (39), 9:24 (40), 10:03 (39), 10:43 (4), 11:24 (41), 12:04 (40), 12:45 (41), 13:25 (40), 14:06 (41), 14:46 (40), 15:23 (37), 16:00.83 (37.83)
1km: 3:03; 2km: 6:08 (3:05); 3km: 9:24 (3:16); 4km: 12:45 (3:21); 5km: 16:00.83 (3:15.83)

Mike Nicoletti 16:06.57 (personal best)
37, 76 (39), 1:54 (38), 2:32 (38), 3:10 (38), 3:48 (38), 4:25 (37), 5:02 (37), 5:41 (39), 6:19 (38), 6:58 (39), 7:37 (39), 8:17 (40), 8:56 (39), 9:35 (39), 10:14 (39), 10:54 (40), 11:33 (39), 12:13 (40), 12:53 (40), 13:33 (40), 14:13 (40), 14:53 (40), 15:31 (38), 16:06.57 (35.57)
1km: 3:10; 2km: 6:19 (3:09); 3km: 9:35 (3:16); 4km: 12:53 (3:18); 5km: 16:06.57 (3:13.57)

Ryan Brown 16:07.71 (personal best)
37, 76 (39), 1:56 (40), 2:34 (38), 3:12 (38), 3:49 (37), 4:27 (38), 5:05 (38), 5:43 (39), 6:21 (38), 7:00 (39), 7:38 (38), 8:18 (40), 8:56 (38), 9:35 (39), 10:15 (40), 10:54 (39), 11:33 (39), 12:13 (40), 12:53 (40), 13:33 (40), 14:13 (40), 14:53 (40), 15:32 (39), 16:07.71 (35.71)
1km: 3:12; 2km: 6:21 (3:09); 3km: 9:35 (3:14); 4km: 12:53 (3:18); 5km: 16:07.71 (3:14.71)

1,600-meter relay: 3:26.97
John Kristie 52.34
Josh Lopez 52.44
Phil Krupka 50.95
Colin Frederickson 50.96

Valentine results

Last night's meet was long and tiring. We did not arrive home until well after 1 a.m. Today and this week, we have a lot of recruits coming, so it is a busy time. I will try to get results and splits up as soon as I can, but if there is a delay, that is why.

In a nutshell: It was a so-so day for us. We did have a handful of really solid PRs (sprinters did pretty well and a few distance runners had standout performances). But overall, not totally what we were looking for.

One highlight: Mike Cocca became the first sprinter to don the Marist Alumni Racing Team jersey, racing in the 200. He did quite well!

Again, be patient. I'll get the stuff posted as soon as humanly possible. I'm guessing results are posted at the BU Web site, and you can see how huge the meet was!

Prinz shows off his wheels

The cell phone rang at about 10:30 last night. It was charging, I was snoozing, and I did not bother to get it.

When I got up at 5:30 am for my morning jog, I checked the message. It was from "Matty Collins" and he was reporting on the Alumni Challenge down at the Armory ... right after they got off the track and before they even cooled down. I was glad to get the following report from "Matty":

"Prinz got me with 200 meters to go, he closed with a 28, smoked me." Prinz ran 9:37 (impressive!) and "Matty" ran 9:47 (equally impressive!), although he admitted to dying on the last lap. This may have been due to an unusually aggressive first 1600 meters in 4:44. As he said: "I changed my normal racing tactics and felt what it was like to hurt." Indeed. Still, an excellent effort from both men.

What about Schabby? He was in the second section and finished in 10:28, which is about right for a tapering marathoner. Nicely done, Schab.

"Matty" concluded the call and said it was time for the Old Men of Red to go cooldown in the late night. Would have been fun to have been there with the guys, but I was happy with the report just the same.

We are off to Boston in a bit for the Valentine meet. The women's bus just departed and their meet is today. The men's bus departs later this afternoon and they all run on Saturday.

Check back later in the weekend for updates and splits.

AAU Revisited?

Tonight at the Armory, three esteemed Running Red Fox alums will be going mano a mano a mano in a Battle Royale at the curious distance of 2 miles. Why curious? Well. Here's why. These three men were avid and pioneering participants in the "AAU Championships" each March at the McCann Center ... which featured, you guessed it!, a 2-mile time trial. (In reality, it was 3200 meters, but who's counting ...)

So tonight, these proud Marist alums (all of whom are running quite strong right now!) will do battle at a much nicer venue for 2-mile time trials.

Here's the lineup.

-- Prinz is back in the states and by all reports in phenomenal shape. Rolek told me so yesterday, fresh off a 20-miler in beautiful Wantagh (I'm assuming?) last Sunday. I have heard various reports of Prinz's prodigious training, and I do not doubt any of them for one second. So Prinz for 16-plus laps at the Armory could be very interesting indeed.
-- Schab is in the final stages of his marathon training for Mardi Gras in a few weeks. Admittedly, marathon training does not jive too well with a 2-mile race. But we assume Schab is in taper mode and is always game for a good race. He has great history at the Armory, too.
-- The final member of this Battle Royale may be the most intriguing and may be the "best bet" considering his fine running of late at the famed building in Washington Heights. For many reasons, his name cannot be revealed here. Someone with inside information on this guy said he may enter the race as "Matthew Collins," although he is not the famous Matty Collins from Ramsey that we all knew and loved.

So there you have it. Could be very, very entertaining. I say it comes down to a kick between Matty and Prinz. Sorry, Schab. I think you'll do fine but they will dust you just the same. Oh!

And the winner will be? .... No predictions here. Stay tuned.

Yes! There is practice today

Marist College is closed down because of the (alleged) snowstorm today. As of this writing as I prepare for my morning jog, there is just a little snow on the ground and none falling currently. Could it be another sham of a storm in these parts? We'll see.

Strange winter: All the major snowfall has been to our south. We have been spared the heavy stuff. Maybe today will be different. Or maybe it will be the same.

Anyway: Practice is on as scheduled this morning at 11 a.m. If I have trouble getting in, I will contact the captains. But I think my trusty Subaru will be able to make it in there.

So enjoy your day off from school. But not from practice.

See you later.

Where are our leading ladies?

Several alert men's alums who closely follow our program have asked about our women's distance team -- specifically, our leaders from cross country who led us to arguably the most successful fall in school history (or pretty darn close, anyway). Well. The injury bug and some bad luck have struck.

1. Addie DiFrancesco is suffering from an Achilles injury that has been deemed season-ending. She is cross-training hard and rehabbing. We are hoping to have her back at full strength for outdoor track.

2. Kathryn Sheehan has been diagnosed with bilateral compartment syndrome. She is scheduled to have surgery on both legs in mid-March. She is out for all of indoors and outdoors. We are hoping she can resume running by early May and be at 100 percent for 2010 cross country. I'm not too well-versed in this injury, but Coach Chuck had it in college and had surgery, so he alertly helped point her in the right direction in terms of a diagnosis. Once fixed, it is good for life and never recurs, from what I am told.

3. Brittany Burns is having an outer shin issue that she has been able to cross-train through. She has been hitting the treadmill lately and may race as early as this weekend in Boston. Since she redshirted last winter, there is no season to "save" so we are hoping she can race as soon as she is healthy and fit to go.

Our women's team is loaded up with a lot of middle-distance runners now and that is where we are focusing our energies at meets the next couple of meets, for the most part.

Valentine meet at BU is next. Women race on Friday. Men race on Saturday. More details to follow later in the week.

Vess runs well at New Balance

We only had a few guys (and no ladies) run at the New Balance meet at the Armory this weekend. Today, Adam Vess got fourth in a national-caliber 3,000 (see complete results below). He did not PR, but he did run very well on tired legs/body.

The early pace was moribund, which probably worked to Vess' advantage a little. He did not have the usual spring in his legs for an extended negative split, but he was still able to muster a 29-second last lap and finish in 8:08.99.

Here are his splits:

33.4, 67.8 (34.4), 1:41.3 (33.5), 2:13.6 (32.3), 2:45.0 (31.4)
3:17.1 (32.1), 3:49.8 (32.7), 4:22.8 (33.0), 4:54.9 (32.1), 5:27.9 (33.0)
6:00.3 (32.4), 6:33.3 (33.0), 7:06.7 (33.4), 7:39.9 (33.2), 8:08.99 (29.09)
1k: 2:45.0; 2k: 2:42.9; 3k: 2:41.09

Note: My watch died 4 laps in. Thanks to Coach Chuck for backing me up.

Race results:
1 Schwab, Kevin Oklahoma 8:05.02
2 Beamish, Hugo Villanova 8:06.56
3 Mildenhall, Mathew Villanova 8:07.96
4 Vess, Adam Marist 8:08.99
5 Merber, Kyle Columbia 8:09.01
6 Ogden, Nathan Brigham Young 8:10.48
7 Kotter, Jon Brigham Young 8:11.75
8 Sauvageau, Joseph Texas A&M 8:16.06
9 McDermott, Ryan Duke 8:21.28
10 Spooner, Michael Tennessee 8:22.95


On Friday: Colin Frederickson ran the 400 and Matt Janczyk ran the 1,000. Neither had good days. But better days are on the way. I firmly believe, and have tremendous faith, that both will achieve their personal and team goals in the coming weeks.

What's next: Valentine meet next Saturday at BU. Note to men: Bus departure will be 3 p.m. We will go to the meet in Boston, eat dinner in the BU vicinity, and then head to the hotel. Very similar protocol as last week's meet. Women's meet is on Friday, but the men's bus will not get to see much of the meet.

See you all soon.

What's next: New Balance Collegiate

This is an off weekend for most of the team.

A handful of Running Red Foxes are entered in the New Balance Collegiate meet at the Armory on Friday and Saturday.

Because of the IC4A qualifiers from Boston last week, some of the NB entrants may not race this weekend. Of the entrants, here are the runners that are definitely scheduled to compete:

1. C-Fred (Colin Frederickson). Entered in both the 400 and 500 dashes on Friday afternoon. The plan is for him to do both. I like the spirit.
2. Janzo (Matt Janczyk). Entered in the 1000 on Friday afternoon.
3. Vess. Entered in the seeded 3k on Saturday afternoon.

There could be changes/additions between now and then, but probably not.

After that, it's full steam ahead to the Valentine meet at BU on Saturday the 13th (better than Friday the 13th, right?).

Then MAACs on Friday the 19th.

Note: Women are off till Friday the 12th at Valentine. We were going to enter a DMR at NB, but with injuries and such, we felt the timing was not right. So we will train hard and look for more breakthroughs at Vals.

Nick Is In Italy

A key component of our distance team is missing this semester. Junior Nick Webster is studying abroad in Florence, Italy. He is missed by this old coach, and I'm sure by his loyal friends and teammates.

But fear not. Web is having the experience of his life over in the Land of My Ancestors. (An aside: I am a first-generation Italian. My father was born there and moved here at age 7; my mother was born in Brooklyn but moved to Italy, where she grew up until age 15. Mine was an international, bilingual home growing up and I am proud of my heritage)

Anyway. If you are interested in Web's exploits (I know I am), he created a blog like this (only better looking and perhaps more interesting). Here is the link. Check it out, bookmark it and live vicariously through this globetrotting Running Red Fox.

Here's hoping he has memories that last a lifetime. And maybe, run a few miles while he is there. I'm sure Web will maintain his fitness and be ready to tackle summer training with a vengeance upon his return to the States in May.

Strong night for men at BU Terrier

Just got back from Boston. As has been a yearly tradition, the men had a strong night at the Terrier meet. We had four individual IC4A qualifiers and a bevy of personal- and season-best times. Not sure if we have ever had four IC4A individual qualifiers on the same night.

I typed these results and splits on the laptop on the bus ride home. Hope they are clean and accurate.

Note: Splits courtesy of Alex Lombardozzi. LOMBI did an amazing job. Thank you, LomBRO!

Here you go. Enjoy.

More commentary and notes to follow in a few days.

55-meter dash
Mike McCloskey 6.90. Personal-best

200-meter dash
Mike McCloskey 23.56. Season best
Derrick Powell 23.68. Season best
Phil Krupka 23.94. Season best

400-meter dash
Phil Krupka 51.55. Season best. Opening 200: 24.7
Dan Conklin 52.78. Season best. Opening 200: 24.84
Josh Lopez 52.84. Season best. Opening 200: 23.87
John Kristie 53.28. Season best. Opening 200: 24.39
Mike Clifford 54.42. Season best. Opening 200: 25.10

500-meter dash
Colin Frederickson 1:08.84
Splits: 23.88, 51.30

800-meter run
Alex Cuesta 2:02.12. Season best
Splits: 28.68, 59.13 (30.45), 1:30.34 (31.21), 2:02.12 (31.78)

Chris Vanzetta 2:02.30. Season best
Splits: 29.06, 59.10 (30.04), 1:29.86 (30.76), 2:02.30 (32.56)

1000-meter run
Matt Janczyk 2:30.23. Season best
Splits: 29.90, 60.03 (30.23), 1:30.05 (30.02), 1:59.51 (29.46), 2:30.23 (30.82)

Kyle Havard 2:31.91. Personal best
Splits: 29, 60 (31), 1:31 (31), 2:02 (31), 2:31.91 (29.91)

Matt Panebianco 2:32.50. Personal best
Splits: 28, 59 (31), 1:30 (31), 2:01 (31), 2:32.50 (31.50)

Mile run

Conor Shelley 4:18.59. Personal best
Splits: 32.58 (long split, 209 meters), 64.57 (31.99), 1:36.1 (31.53), 2:07.9 (31.85), 2:40.7 (32.75), 3:13.2 (32.56), 3:46.0 (32.82), 4:18.59 (32.59).

Arquimedes DelaCruz 4:20.97. Personal best
Splits: 33.73 (long split, 209 meters), 65.94 (32.21), 1:38.6 (32.79), 2:11.7 (33.13), 2:44.6 (32.87), 3:17.9 (33.27), 3:50.0 (32.16), 4:20.97 (30.97).

Colin Johnson 4:47.55
32.80 (long split, 209 meters), 65.8 (33.08), 1:40.4 (34.53), 2:16.5 (36.14), 2:53.1 (36.53), 3:31.3 (38.25), 4:09.2 (37.83), 4:47.55 (38.35)

3,000-meter run

Will Griffin 8:25.39 *IC4A qualifier. Personal best
Splits: 32, 66 (34), 1:39 (33), 2:15 (36), 2:47 (32), 3:22 (35), 3:55 (33), 4:29 (34), 5:02 (33), 5:36 (34), 6:10 (34), 6:45 (35), 7:18 (33), 7:52 (34), 8:25.39 (33.39). 1k: 2:47; 2k: 5:36 (2:49); 8:25.39 (2:49.39)

Matt Flint 8:26.13 *IC4A qualifier. Personal best
Splits: 32, 66 (34), 1:39 (33), 2:14 (35), 2:47 (33), 3:22 (35), 3:55 (33), 4:29 (34), 5:02 (33), 5:36 (34), 6:10 (34), 6:44 (34), 7:18 (34), 7:52 (34), 8:26.13 (34.13). 1k: 2:47; 2k: 5:36 (2:49); 3k: 8:26.13 (2:50.13)

Curtis Jensen 8:36.42. Personal best
Splits: 32, 68 (36), 1:42 (34), 2:15 (35), 2:48 (33), 3:22 (34), 3:57 (35), 4:32 (35), 5:06 (34), 5:41 (35), 6:17 (36), 6:52 (35), 7:27 (35), 8:02 (35), 8:36.42 (34.42). 1k: 2:48; 2k: 5:41 (2:53); 8:36.42 (2:55.42)

Tim Keegan 8:41.65. Personal best
Splits: 34, 70 (36), 1:45 (35), 2:18 (33), 2:51 (33), 3:25 (34), 4:00 (35), 4:34 (34), 5:09 (35), 5:44 (35), 6:19 (35), 6:54 (35), 7:30 (36), 8:06 (36), 8:41.65 (35.65). 1k: 2:51; 2k: 5:44 (2:53); 3k: 8:41.65 (2:57.65)

Pat Duggan 8:54.92. Personal best
Splits: 36, 71 (35), 1:47 (36), 2:22 (35), 2:57 (35), 3:33 (36), 4:09 (36), 4:46 (37), 5:20 (34), 5:58 (38), 6:32 (34), 7:07 (35), 7:44 (37), 8:20 (36), 8:54.92 (34.92). 1k: 2:57; 2k: 5:58 (3:01); 3k: 8:54.92 (2:56.92)

Zak Smetana 8:56.24. Season best
Splits: 34, 70 (36), 1:45 (35), 2:21 (36), 2:57 (36), 3:32 (35), 4:07 (35), 4:43 (36), 5:18 (35), 5:53 (35), 6:28 (35), 7:05 (37), 7:41 (36), 8:18 (37), 8:56.24 (38.24). 1k: 2:57; 2k: 5:53 (2:55); 3k: 8:56.24 (3:03.24)

Alex Ward 8:56.45. Personal best
Splits: 35, 70 (35), 1:46 (36), 2:22 (36), 2:57 (35), 3:32 (35), 4:09 (37), 4:45 (36), 5:20 (35), 5:58 (38), 6:33 (35), 7:08 (35), 7:45 (37), 8:22 (37), 8:56.45 (34.45). 1k: 2:57; 2k: 5:58 (3:01); 3k: 8:56.45 (2:58.45)

Mike Keegan 9:38.77
Splits: 34, 68 (34), 1:45 (37), 2:24 (39), 3:02 (38), 3:39 (37), 4:18 (39), 4:58 (40), 5:35 (37), 6:14 (39), 6:54 (40), 7:34 (40); -- (missed split); 8:56; 9:38.77 (42.77); 1k: 3:02; 2k: 6:14 (3:12); 3k: 9:38.77 (3:24.77)

Greg Masto 10:12.74
Splits: 38, 73 (35), 1:51 (38), 2:30 (39), 3:10 (40), 3:51 (41), 4:32 (41), 5:14 (42), 5:58 (44), 6:41 (43), 7:24 (43), 8:07 (43), 8:50 (43), 9:32 (42), 10:12.74 (40.74). 1k: 3:10; 2k: 6:41 (3:31); 3k: 10:12.74 (3:31.74)

5,000-meter run

Girma Segni 14:31.24 *IC4A qualifier. Season best
Splits: 33, 68 (35), 1:43 (35), 2:19 (36), 2:54 (35), 3:29 (35), 4:05 (36), 4:39 (34), 5:14 (35), 5:49 (35), 6:24 (35), 6:59 (35), 7:33 (34), 8:08 (35), 8:44 (36), 9:19 (35), 9:55 (36), 10:31 (36), 11:06 (35), 11:42 (36), 12:17 (35), 12:52 (35), 13:26 (34), 13:58 (32), 14:31.24 (33.24). 1k: 2:54; 2k: 5:49 (2:55); 8:44 (2:55); 11:42 (2:58); 14:31.24 (2:49.24)

David Raucci 14:43.95 *IC4A qualifier. Season best
Splits: 35, 71 (36), 1:47 (36), 2:22 (35), 2:58 (36), 3:33 (35), 4:09 (36), 4:45 (36), 5:20 (35), 5:57 (37), 6:33 (36), 7:08 (35), 7:44 (36), 8:20 (36), 8:55 (35), 9:30 (35), 10:06 (36), 10:41 (35), 11:16 (35), 11:51 (35), 12:27 (36), 13:02 (35), 13:37 (35), 14:11 (34), 14:43.95 (32.95). 1k: 2:58; 2k: 5:57 (2:59); 3k: 8:55 (2:58); 4k: 11:51 (2:56); 14:43.95 (2:52.95)

Sean Nestor 15:36.32. Personal best
Splits: 37, 75 (38), 1:52 (37), 2:29 (37), 3:05 (36), 3:42 (37), 4:19 (37), 4:57 (38), 5:34 (37), 6:10 (36), 6:48 (38), 7:25 (37), 8:03 (38), 8:41 (38), 9:19 (38), 9:57 (38), 10:36 (39), 11:14 (38), 11:52 (38), 12:30 (38), 13:08 (38), 13:46 (38), 14:23 (37), 14:59 (36), 15:36.32 (37.32); 1k: 3:05; 2k: 6:10 (3:05); 3k: 9:19 (3:09); 4k: 12:30 (3:11); 5k: 15:36.32 (3:06.32)

Joel Moss 15:44.63. Personal best
Splits: 37, 75 (38), 1:52 (37), 2:31 (39), 3:08 (37), 3:45 (37), 4:21 (36), 4:59 (38), 5:36 (37), 6:13 (37), 6:51 (38), 7:29 (38), 8:07 (38), 8:46 (39), 9:25 (39), 10:03 (38), 10:40 (37), 11:18 (38), 11:57 (39), 12:36 (39), 13:15 (39), 13:54 (39), 14:32 (38), 15:10 (38), 15:44.63 (34.63). 1K: 3:08; 2K: 6:13 (3:05); 3K: 9:25 (3:12); 4K: 12:36 (3:11); 15:44.63 (3:08.63)

55-meter hurdles

Mike Clifford 9.11. Personal best

1,600-meter relay

Marist A, 3:26.97. Season best
Josh Lopez 52.9, Derrick Powell 50.7, John Kristie 52.0, Colin Frederickson 50.9

Marist B, 3:35.41
Alex Cuesta 54.6, Arquimedes DelaCruz 54.6, Matt Panebianco 53.4, Kyle Havard 52.3

Live update from Boston

From my laptop at the Burlington Marriott (about a half hour outside of Boston), here are the results of the women's Terrier meet at BU on Friday night.

It was a great bounce-back meet for the ladies, after a dreadful meet (for the entire program) at Princeton last Saturday night. There were several PRs but mostly, there were strong and tough efforts from most of the Red Foxettes.

Red Foxettes? Can't take credit for that. BU starter Tommy Meagher came up with that one. I thought it was pretty neat, so I steal it for the fancy blog.

The men race this afternoon. I will not be able to post until sometime Sunday or Monday as there will not be Internet access on the bus ride home. I will try to type up the splits and post them as quickly as possible.

Women's meet results


55-meter dash
Meghann Cocca 7.86
Kim Ladouceur 8.31

200-meter dash
Holly Burns 26.93
Meghann Cocca 27.72
Rachael Eichacker 27.92
Kelley Sullivan 28.76

400-meter dash
Holly Burns 1:01.66
Rachael Eichacker 1:03.29

800-meter run
Jackie Gamboli 2:21.55
Briana Crowe 2:22.05
Laura Lindsley 2:24.11
Kim Bartlett 2:24.57
Julie Hudak 2:25.25
Sarah Keating 2:28.19
Kelley Hanifin 2:28.29
Rebecca Denise 2:29.46
Emilie Cardone 2:36.63

1000-meter run
Erin O’Reilly 3:05.28
Jillian Corley 3:09.35

Mile run
Jillian Corley 5:22.59
Sarah Keating 5:23.91
Kara Lightowler 5:27.65
Kelley Gould 5:33.02
Dayna McLaughlin 5:37.95
Colleen Smith 5:39.16
Allyson O’Brien 5:41.81
Erin Quadros 6:32.66

3000-meter run
Katie Messina 10:38.88
Rachel Lichtenwalner 11:47.42
Rachel Bremer 12:14.97

Pole vault
Justine Colabraro 9-6

Well wishes for Marty McGowan

Just got an email from Marist cross country alum Marty McGowan (Class of 1973). He is about as loyal an alum in our program, and we appreciate his never-ending support and friendship.

Marty needs your thoughts and prayers, as Wednesday he is going in for hip replacement surgery. Marty has been an avid runner for many decades, and was very successful on the roads for many years after graduation. He was a true friend to me and fellow alums Hopkins and Kirk Dornton back in 2007, as he let us crash at his home on Staten Island the night before the NYC Marathon, and then drove us to the Fort Wadsworth start. It made what could have been a crazy logistical morning go very smoothly.

Anyway, I thought it was cool that Marty said he was packing his Marist Alumni Racing Team singlet for his hospital stay. As soon as he can start rehabbing, he said he would proudly don the singlet and get to work. Pretty neat.

All the best, Marty, and we hope to see you back on two feet again really soon.

Princeton Relays

Sorry for the delay in posting the results of Saturday night's meet. It was a very late night, followed by an early morning with recruits all day at Marist.

Some decent results, but overall a kind of a "blah" meet. I have splits for the men's distance races and will post them at some point as well. Coach Chuck kept most of the women's splits on his watch and I will try to retrieve them.

Again, for those of you that PRed and ran well, nicely done. Otherwise, it was just a "work" meet with the bigger and better meets (and hopefully, performances) to follow in the coming weeks.

Women's results

60-meter dash
Holly Burns 8.34
Meghann Cocca 8.44
Kelley Sullivan 8.93

300-meter dash
Holly Burns 42.56 *school record
Meghann Cocca 44.89
Kelley Sullivan 46.89

400-meter dash
Kelley Hanifin 1:04.30

500-meter dash
Emilie Cardone 1:28.31

800-meter run
Laura Lindsley 2:26.99
Jackie Gamboli 2:27.61
Colleen Smith 2:32.09
Kelley Gould 2:32.87

1000-meter run
Jillian Corley 3:10.36
Briana Crowe 3:10.56
Kim Bartlett 3:10.59
Sarah Keating 3:14.14
Rebecca Denise 3:17.29

Mile run
Erin O'Reilly 5:21.85
Julie Hudak 5:24.02
Kara Lightowler 5:23.23
Jillian Corley 5:41.30

3000-meter run
Dayna McLaughlin 11:33.46
Rachel Lichtenwalner 11:43.74
Rachel Bremer 12:30.11

1600-meter relay
Marist A (Jackie Gamboli, Kelley Hanifin, Rachael Eichaker, Holly Burns) 4:15.08
Marist B (Julie Hudak, Brianna Crowe, Kim Bartlett, Kara Lightowler) 4:25.99

Pole vault
Justine Colabraro 2.90 meters (9-6.25)

Men's results and highlights

-- Max Carow finished sixth in the pole vault, clearing the opening height of 4.20 meters on his first attempt. This mark is just 6 centimeters (.06) off his 2009 school record in the event, in which he won the MAAC title at the outdoor championships
-- Joel Moss and Michael Keegan (both freshmen) set personal-best times in the 3,000-meter run. Joel won the unseeded section of the event and Keegan was 2nd in the same race
-- Colin Frederickson set a personal-best time in the 300-meter dash

60-meter dash
Mike McCloskey 7.42
Darren Bushey 7.63
Neal Viets 7.78

300-meter dash
Derrick Powell 37.03
Colin Frederickson 37.07
Michael Clifford 38.61
Mike McCloskey 39.04
John Kristie 39.35
Neal Viets 39.96
Darren Bushey 40.29

500-meter dash
Chris Vanzetta 1:09.36
Phil Krupka 1:10.65
Alex Cuesta 1:11.15

800-meter run
Dan Conklin 2:05.23
Josh Lopez 2:08.21
Pat Duggan 2:11.99

Mile run
Curtis Jensen 4:25.49
Pat Duggan 4:36.36
Alex Ward 4:37.70
Sean Nestor 4:40.08

3000-meter run
Joel Moss 9:18.51
Michael Keegan 9:22.00
Ryan Brown 9:25.91
Mike Nicoletti 9:35.59
Will Schanz 9:52.06

60-meter hurdles
Mike Clifford 9.67

Pole vault
Max Carow 4.20 meters

Schabby in the city

Marist Alum Mike Schab did a nice job on Sunday at the Manhattan Half Marathon. Representing the Marist Alumni Racing Team, Schabby ran 1:18:04. An excellent tuneup for the Mardi Gras Marathon in five weeks down in New Orleans.

Wait. Schab. In New Orleans. For Mardi Gras. Oh man. Imagine the possibilities. Remember, Schabby: You are there to run a race. What you do after you run a PR and qualify for Boston ... well, that's your business. You are a big boy.

Here is Schabby's race report, sent via email after the race but before his beloved J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets lost to the Indianapolis Mannings on Sunday:

How Do Pete? The half went rather well. Slow first two miles of 6:47 then 6:20. Mix of getting boxed in with the large crowd and not wanting to go out to to fast (or the fact that a gorgeous blond was roller blading next to us during those 2 miles - I know what you are thinking, Charley Williams said it was distracting as well) anyways here are the 6 mile splits: 6 Miles 36:57; 12 Miles 34:53 1:11:50; 13 Miles 5:35 1:17:25; Half 39 1:18:04 Mile 12 was also in the 5:30's. Overall - Great effort knowing that I felt awesome at the finish and that I could of gone faster...Was a good tune-up for the full in 5 weeks...

By the way ... the aforementioned Charlie Williams ran 1:28:11. Charlie is training for his first marathon, Vermont City, in May.

Nicely done, men!

Doggone it!

In a recent comment, Colleen asked about how to deal with dogs while running. First of all: Great to hear from you, Col! I hope all is well and it was nice seeing you on your return trip home. We miss you too.

Anyway, here is my take on dogs. I love them. Really, I do. I'm a dog person all the way. Except when running past them and they are angry and gritting their teeth.

If Bob Sweeney is reading this post, he will relate and maybe have a nostaglic laugh. Back in the day -- many years ago, many miles ago, several minutes per mile faster and certainly many pounds lighter -- I ran most days from Marist with my good friend Bob. We did a lot of quality miles, and we saw a lot of dogs.

We even named several runs after these vicious beasts!

My biggest canine nemeses were in Ulster County, during our bridge runs through Highland. They sound a bit like the "farm dogs" Col is referring to. We had constant battles with these beasts.

In fact, on one solo run I actually got chased, caught (no surprise there) and bitten by a nasty, evil four-legged dirtbag. Had Bob been on that run, I'm convinced he would have tackled and beaten the doggie jerk, who lived in a rundown shack a few yards from Mariner's Harbor restaurant along the Hudson River. That dog bit right through my old-school nylon pants. It was scary, but I was no worse for the wear.

Anyway, to answer your question: I think the best solution for me were golf balls. That's right. Golf balls. They are small, easy to carry and even easier to whip at an offending Fido at Nolan Ryan-type speeds. If you hit your target ... bingo! That's one stunned dog who won't mess with you. And come on, it's a golf ball. Not like you are gonna do any crippling damage to man's best friend.

If you do not hit your target ... well, one of two things could happen: 1. You could really rile up the beast and you better run fast (Col, you are middle distance runner, you can outsprint them!); 2. You will scare them back into their yards.

So there you have it.

I hope this method does not offend anyone. Animal rights' activists may not like it. Again, I'm a dog guy. I love dogs. But just like they are protecting their turf, you gotta hold your ground too.

It's not all numbers

Many of you blog followers know this about me, though some might not: Although I am a Track Coach and a Running Guy, I'm not a huge fan of our sport.

While that might seem weird, here's what I mean: I do not follow the elite levels of the sport religiously. I'm a huge fan of all the athletes I coach, and as part of that I do keep tabs on the teams against which we compete. And of course, I keep tabs on high school track since that is where we recruit.

However, I do not follow the sport closely on a national level. I do not check www.letsrun.com nearly as much as I should -- because it's an awesome Web site. If you pressured me, I probably could not name more than a half-dozen national or world record holders in track and field/road racing.

But ... the one sport I DO follow religiously, the one that I am passionate about as a fan ... well, that would be baseball. Again, if you know me, you know that.

So ... rather than checking www.letsrun.com as I should, instead you'll find me fervently checking in at the LoHud Yankees Blog several times per day.

Since this is sort of a "down time" for baseball, the folks at the World's Best Blog have been using "pinch-hitters" to do guest posts. Today's guest post, written by a Harvard student, is really excellent and I would strongly encourage that you read it. It is linked here.

The guy discusses the overabundance of statistics in baseball (I love 'em, I eat them up! Ask me about VORP sometime) and how you still cannot dismiss the "human" element of the sport.

Aside from being an extremely well-written piece, I really liked the point he was making and I feel it is relevant to what we as coaches do in recruiting potential future Running Red Foxes.

I always brag to other coaches that I do not need to see videos, go to meets (although I like to and will continue to do that) or talk to high school coaches about recruits. Numbers are numbers. If a high school boy can run the 3200 in 9:40 or 9:30 or 9:20 (or faster!), I want him. Case closed. I don't care if his form sucks, he has purple hair in a Mohawk, or his tongue is pierced. We'll take him, and he'll more than likely help our program for years.

However, that does not mean the human element is not important. I'm not gonna commit to a kid sight unseen. He's got to do an overnight visit. I have to meet with him and get to know him. He's got to meet the team and make sure he likes it here.

As one coach once told me: "You recruit PEOPLE first." True story. Especially in our sport, we'll be spending pretty much every day for 9 months with these athletes. Better make sure it's a good fit both ways.

But the bottom line is what it is. The numbers do not lie. In baseball and in track and field.

How many days till pitchers and catchers?

One big happy family

Phew. Today's workout in McCann was a zoo, but it was a very tame zoo. Which is great!

Basically, every member of the men's and women's track team was doing SOMETHING on the fancy McCann Track. All of the women (sprinters, mid distance and distance) were doing a hard workout. Most of the men (mid distance and long distance) were doing hard workouts as well. The men's sprinters were doing starts and strides. Mike Clifford was hurdling.

And on top of this, the men's basketball team was practicing!

But it all worked out. It was chaotic, but no one got hurt, no one was distracted and everyone got their work in.

Nicely done, everyone!

What's next: Princeton

Our next meet is Saturday at Jadwin Gymnasium, Princeton. It is our first "flat-track" meet in several years, but Jadwin is a good track and the competition should be excellent.

Several mid-distance and distance runners that competed in the first two meets will be sitting out Princeton in preparation for BU/Terrier the following week.

Many of the distance runners that did not compete at the Armory the past two weeks will lace 'em up at Princeton on Saturday.

Bus departure will be later than normal because it is an evening meet: probably 11:30 am to noon timeframe, will confirm later in the week.

Here is the meet schedule for Saturday:

Track events

4:30 pm: men's DMR
4:45 pm: women's DMR
5:00 pm: men's 60 dash trials
5:10 pm: women's 60 dash trials
5:25 pm: men's 60 hurdle trials
5:40 pm: women's 60 hurdle trials
5:50 pm: men's mile run
6:05 pm: women's mile run
6:20 pm: men's dash final
6:25 pm: women's dash final
6:35 pm: men's hurdle final
6:45 pm: women's hurdle final
6:50 pm: men's 400 dash
7:00 pm: women's 400 dash
7:10 pm: men's 500 dash
7:20 pm: women's 500 dash
7;30 pm: men's 800 run
7:45 pm: women's 800 run
7:55 pm: men's 300 dash
8:10 pm: women's 300 dash
8:25 pm: men's 1000 run
8:35 pm: women's 1000 run
8:45 pm: men's 3000 run
9:00 pm: women's 3000 run
9:15 pm: men's 4x400 relay
9:25 pm: women's 4x400 relay

Field events

4:00 pm: women's long jump, followed by men's long jump
5:00 pm: women's pole vault, followed by men's pole vault
5:30 pm: men's high jump

Gotham Cup: 5k for the generations

It started with a call and a text from Mike Nehr (class of 2002) a few weeks ago. Mikey said he was running well and was thinking of hopping in the 5k at the Armory.

Sounded good to me. Mikey assumed that we would have some modern-day Running Red Foxes in the 5k. Oddly, though, my plan calls for all the long-distance men not to bust out a 25-lapper till midseason (Terrier and beyond). This strategy is/was a bit of a departure from the past, and hopefully it will work.

Mikey told me he was hoping to run between 15:10 and 15:20, but he was also hoping for a little help from some young'uns in the red and white. I mentioned this during one of my weekly calls with Mike Rolek (class of 2008). Regular followers of this fancy blog know that Rolek had himself an impressive fall on the roads. But our boy was in shut-down mode, basically just cranking some maintenance miles before embarking on his 2010 race plan.

Rolek, of course, is never one to back down from a race or a challenge, and so he graciously volunteered to help out his fellow Alumni Racing Team pal. How cool is that? Keep in mind that Rolek entered Marist in the fall of 2004, about 2.5 years AFTER Nehr graduated. The fact that they are linked and connected is, to me, a cool thing. The fact that they would race together, two generations of Marist Running Excellence, made this old coach with a big, puffy, white beard quite proud.

It was a nice little 5k Marist Running party. Vess, Conor and Keegan hung around to cheer on their old teammate (Rolek) and their even older fellow Marist guy (Nehr) that a few of them just met. Mr. Raucci and David, of course, hung around. If there is a race with a Marist uniform in it, they generally will be there. Graciously, Coach Chuck hung out and drove us home, tanked up on a 5-Hour Energy B-Vitamin drink to stay awake, so that the bus didn't have to wait around for several hours.

In addition, Marist alum Matt Walsh, now running as a grad student at Molloy College, was also entered in the race. For the second week in a row, Walsh ran a strong PR and a perfectly executed race plan. Walsh is obviously training well, in great shape, and is getting some excellent guidance/coaching from the folks at Molloy. He finished in a monster PR of 15:49.84. His first sub-16:00.

Sorry, Walsh, I did not get splits this time around for you, but I know you ran an even-paced effort as I checked my watch during major intervals (miles and kilometer splits).

Rolek and Nehr ran a cat-and-mouse race, exchanging the lead from each other several times. Mikey faded a bit at the end but still achieved his pre-race goal of sub-15:20. Rolek? He ran quite possibly the smartest 5km of his career, closing the last 1km in 2:59. His second-place time of 15:11.57 was just a few ticks off his personal-best time. Obviously, the residual effects of his fall fitness are still in his legs. Nehr was seventh in 15:18.51, not bad for a guy pushing 30 years old with a full-time teaching job and three seasons of track/xc coaching at Syosset High School.

I'm proud of them both, and I'm proud they sported the red and white of the Marist Alumni Racing Team on this late-night 5km at the Armory.

Rolek's splits
36, 73 (37), 1:50 (37), 2:25 (35), 3:01 (36)
3:37 (36), 4:12 (35), 4:48 (36), 5:25 (37), 6:01 (36)
6:37 (36), 7:14 (37), 7:51 (37), 8:28 (37), 9:06 (38)
9:41 (35), 10:19 (38), 10:56 (37), 11:34 (38), 12:12 (38)
12:48 (36), 13:26 (38), 14:02 (36), 14:37 (35), 15:11.57 (34.57)
kilometers: 3:01, 3:00, 3:05, 3:03, 2:59.57

Nehr's splits
35, 73 (38), 1:51 (38), 2:25 (36), 3:01 (36)
3:38 (37), 4:13 (35), 4:48 (35), 5:26 (38), 6:02 (36)
6:38 (36), 7:13 (35), 7:51 (38), 8:28 (37), 9:06 (38)
9:41 (35), 10:18 (37), 10:54 (36), 11:32 (38), 12:09 (37)
12:47 (38), 13:24 (37), 14:04 (40), 14:41 (37), 15:18.51 (37.51)
kilometers: 3:01, 6:02 (3:01), 9:06 (3:04), 12:09 (3:03), 15:18.51 (3:09.51)

Gotham Cup: Women's results and splits

60-meter dash
Meghann Cocca 8.47 seconds

400-meter dash
Holly Burns 1:00.96
Kelley Hanifin 1:04.03
Rachael Eichacker 1:04.79

500-meter dash
Nicole Weir 1:23.32
Kara Lightowler 1:26.11
Emilie Cardone 1:29.05

800-meter run
Julie Hudak 2:24.52
Brianna Crowe 2:25.19
Jackie Gamboli 2:25.92

1000-meter run
Laura Lindsley 3:08.51
Kim Bartlett 3:10.59
Jillian Corley 3:11.34

Mile run
Dayna McLaughlin 5:30.24
Splits: 38.6, 78.2 (39.6), 1:59.0 (40.8), 2:41.4 (42.4), 3:23.7 (42.3), 4:06.6 (42.9), 4:48.8 (42.2), 5:30.24 (41.44)

Kelley Gould 5:45.26
Splits: 39.1, 80.5 (41.4), 2:02.3 (41.8), 2:45.6 (43.3), 3:28.4 (42.8), 4:12.8 (44.4), 4:58.3 (45.5), 5:45.26 (46.96)

Colleen Smith 5:54.49
Splits: 41.8, 86.2 (44.4), 2:10.4 (44.2), 2:55.3 (44.9), 3:40.3 (45.0), 4:25.8 (45.5), 5:12.0 (46.2), 5:54.49 (42.49)

3000-meter run

Katie Messina 10:48.88. Personal best. Indoor track debut.
Splits: 40, 82 (42), 2:05 (43), 2:48 (43), 3:31 (43), 4:13 (42), 4:57 (44), 5:41 (44), 6:25 (44), 7:10 (45), 7:45 (44), 8:39 (45), 9:24 (45), 10:07 (43), 10:48.88 (41.88). 1k: 3:31; 2k: 7:10 (3:39); 3k: 10:48.88 (3:38.88)

Erin O'Relly 10:50.80. Personal best.
Splits: 41, 83 (42), 2:06 (43), 2:49 (43), 3:31 (42), 4:14 (43), 4:57 (43), 5:41 (44), 6:25 (44), 7:10 (45), 7:45 (44), 8:39 (45), 9:25 (46), 10:08 (43), 10:50.80 (42.80)

1600-meter relay: 4:16.02
Kelley Hanifin (65.2), Rachael Eichacker (64.7), Brianna Crowe (65.3), Holly Burns (60.6)

3200-meter relay: 9:58.32
Kara Lightowler: 34, 70 (36), 1:48 (38), 2:27.4 (39.4)
Laura Lindsley: 32, 69 (37), 1:51 (38), 2:31.2 (40.2)
Becca Denise: 34, 69 (35), 1:48 (39), 2:30.9 (42.9)
Jillian Corley: 35, 74 (39), 1:51 (37), 2:28.6 (37.6)

Distance medley relay: 12:56.83
Sarah Keating: 36, 75 (39), 1:55 (40), 2:35 (40), 3:17 (42), 3:56.5 (39.5)
Jackie Gamboli: 30, 63.5)
Kim Bartlett: 35, 72 (37), 1:51 (39), 2:29.3 (38.3)
Julie Hudak: 36, 76 (40), 1:56 (40), 2:38 (42), 3:21 (43), 4:04 (43), 4:47 (43), 5:27.0 (40.0)

Pole vault
Justine Colabraro 3.10 meters (10 feet, 2 inches) *school record

Gotham Cup: Men's results and splits

Men's results/highlights, Gotham Cup

60-meter dash
Mike McCloskey 7.44 seconds
Darren Bushey 7.68
Neal Viets 7.99

400-meter dash
Phil Krupka 52.83 (25.41 first 400)
John Kristie 53.74 (25.30 first 400)

500-meter dash: No splits. Sorry, men.
Josh Lopez 1:09.83
Dan Conklin 1:10.00
Mike Clifford 1:14.11

800-meter run
Matt Panebianco 2:01.26. Personal best indoor time
Splits: 28.2, 58.3 (30.1), 1:29.3 (31.0), 2:01.26 (31.96)
Alex Cuesta 2:08.77. No splits. Sorry. Missed the gun.

1000-meter run
Matt Janczyk 2:34.94.
Splits: 29.5, 59.1 (29.6), 1:30.4 (31.3), 2:00.7 (30.3), 2:43.94 (34.24)
Kyle Havard 2:37.25
Splits: 30, 61 (31), 1:32 (31), 2:04 (32), 2:37.25 (33.25)
Colin Johnson 2:42.25
Splits: 30, 62 (32), 1:34 (32), 2:07 (33), 2:42.25 (35.25)

Mile run
Adam Vess 4:10.66 *IC4A qualifier
Splits: 33.8 (209 meters), 65.0 (31.2), 1:36.3 (31.3), 2:07.8 (31.5), 2:39.0 (31.2), 3:11.3 (32.3), 3:41.9 (30.6), 4:10.66 (28.76)

David Raucci 4:25.53
Splits: 34, 69 (35), 1:42 (33), 2:14 (32), 2:48 (34), 3:21 (33), 3:52 (31), 4:25.53 (33.53)

Tim Keegan 4:28.53. Personal-best time
Splits: 34, 67 (33), 1:39 (32), 2:12 (33), 2:46 (34), 3:21 (35), 3:54 (33), 4:28.53 (34.53)

Zak Smetana 4:30.47. Personal best time
Splits: 34.9, 68.5 (33.6), 1:41.5 (33.0), 2:15.2 (33.7), 2:48.7 (33.5), 3:23.3 (34.6), 3:57.1 (33.8), 4:30.47 (33.37). Note: A perfectly even race. How cool is that?

3000-meter run
Will Griffin 8:41.57
33, 68 (35), 1:43 (35), 2:17 (34), 2:50 (33)
3:25 (35), 3:58 (33), 4:32 (34), 5:07 (35), 5:43 (36)
6:19 (36), 6:54 (35), 7:30 (36), 8:05 (35), 8:41.57 (36.57)

Girma Segni 8:42.84
34, 68 (34), 1:43 (35), 2:17 (34), 2:50 (33)
3:25 (35), 3:58 (33), 4:31 (33), 5:06 (35), 5:43 (37)
6:18 (35), 6:54 (36), 7:31 (37), 8:08 (37), 8:41.84 (33.84)

1600-meter relay: 3:34.12
Alex Cuesta (54.1), Josh Lopez (52.6), Phil Krupka (53.4), John Kristie (53.8)

3200-meter relay: 8:13.87
Matt Janczyk: 29, 60 (31), 1:29 (29), 2:00.3 (31.3)
Kyle Havard: 28, 59 (31), 1:32 (33), 2:04.5 (32.5)
Colin Johnson: 29, 59 (30), 1:33 (34), 2:08.0 (35.0)
David Raucci: 29, 58 (29), 1:29 (31), 2:00.8 (31.8)

Distance medley relay: 10:33.35
Quimes DelaCruz: 30, 62 (32), 1:35 (33), 2:10 (35), 2:41 (31), 3:14.8 (33.8)
Matt Panebianco: 25, 53.1
Zak Smetana: 29, 59 (30), 1:30 (31), 2:02.5 (32.5)
Conor Shelley: 30, 62 (32), 1:35 (33), 2:07 (32), 2:41 (34), 3:15 (34), 3:49 (34), 4:22.7 (33.7)

Pole vault
Henry Zhang 3.70 meters (12 feet, 1.5 inches)

Time schedule for Gotham Cup

Hello Team:

Here is an updated time schedule I just received. It will be a long day and evening. Bring lots of food, drink and reading material.

Note well: Bus departure is 8:45 a.m. due to the earlier meet start time. Please start arriving around 8:thirsty so we can hit the road on time. Thanks for your understanding.

Track events (women first, then men)

12:45 p.m.: 60 hurdle trials
1:10 p.m.: Mile unseeded
2:00 p.m.: 60 meter trials
2:40 p.m.: 400 meters
3:30 p.m.: 500 meters
4:20 p.m.: 800 meters unseeded
5:00 p.m.: 1000 meters
5:35 p.m.: Mile seeded
5:50 p.m.: 800 seeded
6:00 p.m.: Hurdle finals
6:15 p.m.: Dash finals
6:28 p.m.: 4x400 relay
7:20 p.m.: 4x800 relay
8:00 p.m.: DMR
8:30 p.m.: women's 3,000
TBA after women's 3k: men's 3,000
TBA after men's 3k: women's 5,000
TBA after women's 5k: men's 5,000

Field events

12:30 p.m.: women's pole vault, followed by unseeded men's PV (open 3.70), followed by seeded men's PV (open 4.15)
1:00 p.m.: Seeded men's and women's LJ; unseeded to follow

Notes on seeded and unseeded, in the events where there is a distinction: An entry list will be posted at www.armorytrack.com and www.directathletics.com soon. My best guess is that all our athletes will be in unseeded sections with the exception of Vess in the seeded mile.

Why Mitch Albom matters

Editor's note: I wrote (and posted) this originally for my other blog, Daddy Diary. I thought readers of this blog might find it interesting as well. I hope so. If not, sorry. Back to the regular programming soon ...

The moments were separated by more than 11 years. In both cases, they were accidental, unintended – and most likely long-lasting – gifts of grace for the soul.

-- The first moment was in March of 1998. This was, as Aunt Betsy would say, B.C. (Before Children). We were in a restaurant celebrating my wife’s 30th birthday. It’s her favorite restaurant. Great ribs, even better salad bar. Micro-brewed beer. Sweet.

Along with the fine fare, there were gifts to open. One was a book. To my wife, from her mom. I squealed in delight when I saw who the author was.

“Mitch!” I exclaimed to the now startled table.

Usually, grown men don’t get so excited about things such as new books. But when I saw the author of this book was Mitch Albom, I could not contain myself. Mitch was my favorite sports columnist; he writes for the Detroit Free Press. As a young writer and copy editor at Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper back in the mid-1980s, I used to excitedly wait for his latest columns to appear on the wire (this was pre-Internet, my friends; I know, hard to fathom). Other editors were on to my habit: “Hey Pete, the new Mitch column is in.” Soon, I had the whole department hooked on Mitch Albom.

In my opinion, Mitch was (and is) an excellent reporter, a great writer -- insightful, witty, fantastic. I devoured his stuff, secretly hoping to be half as good as he was.

Anyway, back to the book from 1998. “Tuesdays With Morrie.” A true story. I read the jacket notes and I was confused. Hey. This isn’t a sports book. Not at all. But heck, it’s Mitch; gotta read Mitch.

The first time I read “Tuesdays With Morrie,” I was on a bus trip to Virginia with my track team. I sat in the way back (usually, I’m up front). I held the book up in front of my face so my team members wouldn’t see the tears slowly dripping from my eyes. I read the book as slowly as possible, so I could savor every word. It was quite possibly the best, most meaningful book I had read to that point in my life.

I have since re-read the book several times. I have also given the book as a gift on more than one occasion. One year, I gave the book as a gift to four runners from my track graduating class. When they got the book from me, all were incredulous. Why would a handful of cocky, 22-year-old men want to read a book about an old college professor dying from Lou Gehrig’s Disease? “Coach,’’ they seemed to say to me, “what’s this about? Why us?’’ Humor me, I told them. Read it, I implored them.

The truth is, I loved those guys, and I really felt this was a way for me to show that affection. Later that summer, word trickled back from these rough and tough runner boys. They loved it. Thanks so much, Coach. I cried. It moved me. Ha! I got to them. Just like the book got to me. Have you read “Tuesdays With Morrie”? No? Please. Do yourself a favor. Read it. Savor it. Read it again. It’s a book about life and love, and the lessons never end.

-- The second moment just happened a couple weeks ago. Christmas Morning, 2009. Definitely A.C. (After Children), as they were the center of attention and enjoyment on this great day. More than 11 years later, so much in our lives have changed. But not a mother’s love and caring for her daughter. Another gift from mother to daughter. Another book. Another Mitch book!

While I did not squeal in delight this time outwardly, inwardly I was equally pleased as that early spring day long ago, B.C. “Have A Little Faith,” this book was called. Another true story, this after Mitch made a wildly successful foray into fiction during the past decade. As an aside, I loved his novels as well; but, I have a strong preference toward non-fiction, so I was pumped up for this new book.

This book takes a similar path to “Morrie,” but it has a little added depth in that it deals head-on with religion and the spiritual world. Without giving too much of the story, basically Mitch is asked by his old rabbi to give the eulogy at his funeral. The interesting thing was the old rabbi was alive and well, and ended up living nearly a decade after this request.

Again, this is just a glimpse of the story. There is a lot more to it. In this book, even more so than “Morrie,” you’ll get to see Mitch’s excellent reporting skills. His writing style is deceptively simple, which makes this a quick read. I powered through it in less than two days. And I will definitely re-read this book.

Much like “Morrie,” this book might move you in ways that will surprise you. I strongly encourage your buying both books and/or taking them out from your local public library. You will not be sorry. You may remember these books for a long time.

Disclaimer: I do not know Mitch Albom. Never met him. Never talked to him. He’s famous, for heaven sake! I’m just a huge fan, is all. I will not benefit in any way from shamelessly promoting his work – other than, perhaps, by helping to enrich your lives for a few fleeting minutes. Or maybe more.

What happened to the "house DMR"?

Some blog followers who were not at the meet might be wondering what happened to the "house DMR challenge?" Some background: Back in the xc season, the guys had this somewhat lame-brained idea of a mano-a-mano DMR race between houses: The junior/senior, Upper West team vs. the sophomore Gartland team.

Truth be told, I was looking forward to it.

But alas, the real world intervened as both proposed 800-meter legs got hurt. So we scrapped the idea and went with just one pretty good DMR and one reasonably good 4x800. It worked out well in both cases.

Maybe next year.

Matt Walsh's stellar splits

Also from Friday: Marist alum and current Molloy College grad student Matt Walsh ran the 3,000, and he did quite well. His finishing time was 9:21.44.

As you'll see with his splits, he ran even, he ran tough and he had a nice kick. I would like to add the following: He LOOKED strong. During his time at Marist, when healthy Matt was a tough runner (he especially had one fantastic outdoor track season in which he was our best 1500-meter man, if I recall ...). However, he had a lot of "bounce" in his stride -- a bit inefficient -- and it probably led to a lot of his overuse injury issues.

Well, give Walsh credit: Since leaving Marist, he has worked diligently on his form (not to mention his training). That bounce is far less pronounced (nice rhyme, eh?), he has smoothed things out, he is far less injury prone, and he's transformed himself into a pretty darn good grad school runner at Molloy College.

Nicely done!

The splits:
37.6, 76.1 (38.5), 1:53.8 (37.7), 2:31.7 (37.9), 3:09.4 (37.7), 3:46.7 (37.3), 4:24.2 (37.5), 5:01.8 (37.6), 5:39.1 (37.3), 6:17.3 (38.2), 6:55.5 (38.3), 7:33.5 (38.0), 8:11.3 (37.8), 8:47.6 (36.3), 9:21.44 (34.84)
1km: 3:09.4; 2km: 6:17.3 (3:07.9); 9:21.44 (3:04.11)

Men's results and splits

60 dash
43 - Darren Bushey 7.61 seconds
45 - Neal Viets 7.73 seconds
200 dash
40 - Neal Viets 24.83
400 dash
53 - Mike Clifford 5.41
500 dash
38 - Dan Conklin 1:09.86
39 - Josh Lopez 1:11.30
800 run
27 - Colin Johnson 2:06.16. 29.2, 60.3 (31.1), 1:32.6 (32.3), 2:06.16 (33.56)
Mile run
11 - David Raucci 4:25.48. 34.9, 67.5 (32.6), 1:39.5 (32.0), 2:11.7 (32.2), 2:43.8 (32.1), 3:16.9 (33.1), 3:50.4 (33.5), 4:25.48 (35.08)
24 - Kyle Havard 4:33.57. 34.1, 66.9 (32.9), 1:42.0 (34.), 2:15.2 (34.2), 2:50.0 (34.8), 3:25.3 (35.3), 4:20.6 (35.3), 4:33.57 (32.97)
3000 run
36 - Sean Nestor 9:15.28. 34.4, 69.6 (35.2), 1:14.9 (35.3), 2:20.3 (35.4), 2:56.1 (35.8), 3:31.9 (35.8), 4:09.5(37.6), 4:46.8 (37.3), 5:24.5 (37.7), 6:03.2 (38.7), 6:41.6 (38.4), 7:20.2 (38.6), 7:59.3 (39.1), 8:38.5 (39.2), 9:15.28 (36.78)
60 hurdles
22 - Mike Clifford 9.65
Sprint medley relay
3:42.82
Team members: Phil Krupka, Mike McCloskey, Colin Frederickson, Chris Vanzetta. Note: Missed start, did not get splits. Sorry!

Distance medleay relay
1 - 10:10.22 *IC4A Qualifier
Will Griffin, John Kristie, Matt Janczyk, Adam Vess
Will Griffin, 1200: 31, 63 (32), 1:35 (32), 2:07 (32), 2:38 (31), 3:10.0 (32.0)
John Kristie, 400: 24, 52.3
Matt Janczyk, 800: 28, 57 (29), 1:27 (30), 1:57.9 (30.9)
Adam Vess, 1600: 28, 59 (31), 1:31 (32), 2:03 (32), 2:35 (32), 3:07 (32), 3:09 (32), 4:09.7 (30.7)

4x800 relay
2 - 8:01.17
Matt Flint, Conor Shelley, David Raucci, Adam Vess
Matt Flint: 29, 57 (28), 1:28 (31), 1:59.95 (31.95)
Conor Shelley: 29, 58 (29), 1:29 (31), 2:01.66 (32.66)
David Raucci: 29, 58 (29), 1:28 (30), 1:58.85 (30.85)
Adam Vess: 28, 58 (30), 1:28 (30), 2:00.4 (32.4)

4x400 relay
14 - 3:31.89
Phil Krupka, Josh Lopez, John Kristie, Colin Frederickson
Phil Krupka 25, 53.47
Josh Lopez 24, 53.59
John Kristie 25, 53.38
Colin Frederickson 24, 50.96

Pole vault
5- Max Carow 4.20 meters (13-9.25)
19 - Henry Zhang 3.75 meters ((12-3.50)

Women's results, splits, comments

Below are results, some splits and other stuff for the women's portion of Friday's meet at the Armory. This year, I will attempt to include more (most?) women's results and splits, at the request of several blog followers, and because it's the right thing to do.

I will do my best to be as complete as possible, but I may not be able to get everything (as you'll see), both in men's and women's results. I'll do what I can. Men's stuff to come soon ...

60-meter dash
27 - Meghann Cocca 8.36 seconds
400 dash
13 - Holly Burns 1:00.47
24 - Kelley Hanifin 1:03.56
500 dash
28 - Nicole Weir 1:24.23
800 run
15 - Julie Hudak 2:25.52
20 - Jillian Corley 2:30.16
Mile run
15 - Erin O'Reilly 5:33.31. 36.5, 75.0 (38.5), 1:54.5 (39.5), 2:37.3 (42.7), 3:20.2 (42.9), 4:04.4 (44.2), 4:48.7 (44.3), 5:33.31 (44.61)
19 - Kelley Gould 5:37.22. 38, 80 (42), 2:01 (41), 2:44 (43), 3:27 (43), 4:10 (43), 4:54 (44), 5:37.22 (43.22)
39 - Colleen Smith 6:11.46. 38, 80 (42), 2:03 (43), 2:49 (46), 3:39 (50), 4:29 (50), 5:21 (52), 6:11.46 (50.46)
3,000 run
14 - Rachel Lichtenwalner 11:50.02. Sorry. Missed the start and did not get splits. I will say this: Rachel ran a strong and tough race and won her heat with an excellent finish. I started splitting halfway through the race and she was very consistent and tough. Nicely done.
3,200-meter relay
Brianna Crowe: 35, 74 (39), 1:52 (38), 2:29.8 (37.8)
Laura Lindsley: 33, 69 (36), 1:48 (39), 2:27.9 (39.9)
Kara Lightowler: 33, 71 (38), 1:51 (40), 2:29.4 (38.4)
Jillian Corley: 33, 68 (35), 1:48 (40), 2:28.5 (40.5)
9:55.91, first place
Sprint medley relay
5 - 4:25.03
Rachael Eichacker 400, 64.42, Meghann Cocca 27.02, Holly Burns 26.65, Kim Bartlett 34, 71, 1:49, 2:26.6
Distance medley relay
5- 13:12.31
Erin O'Reilly: 37, 76 (39), 1:56 (40), 2:37 (41), 3:18 (41), 4:00.7 (42.7)
Julie Hudak: 30, 64.43
Rebecca Denise: 34, 72 (38), 1:52 (40), 2:33.6 (41.6)
Dayna McLaughlin: 35, 75 (40), 1:56 (41), 2:39 (43), 3:22 (43), 4:06 (44), 4:50 (44), 5:32.9 (42.9)

Pole vault
13 - Justine Colabraro 3.00 meters (9-10)
Long jump
29 - Brooke Kristensen 4.31 meters (14-1.75)

DMR qualifies for IC4As

I will post complete results and splits when I can (busy weekend at home and work ahead ...). The biggest highlight from Friday night at the Armory was the men's DMR qualifying for IC4As with a winning time of 10:10.22.

Will Griffin: 1200 in 3:10.0
John Kristie: 400 in 52.3
Matt Janczyk: 800 in 1:57.9
Adam Vess: 1600 in 4:09.7

Obviously, Vess ran a stud anchor, but I think the middle legs should get some credit for running really strong and really tough. Will ran an excellent and consistent leadoff leg (you'll see the splits soon) and put us right in the mix. Overall, top to bottom, a nice relay run.

Anyway, good to knock off a qualifying mark nice and early.

Complete meet results at www.armorytrack.com

Our old pal, Marist alum Matt Walsh, ran a great 3000 as a member of the Molloy College team. I will post his splits as well. You'll be impressed with them, trust me.

Again, I'll post the rest of the Marist men's and women's highlights when I can. Enjoy the day.

Actual time schedule for Friday

Got this updated time schedule from Nick McDonough, meet director for Friday. He's usually very accurate. He said they may run ahead of schedule up to 25 minutes, and most likely will not run behind schedule. He moves the meets along.

Bus departure from McCann is 9:30 a.m.

Track events (women first unless noted)
1:00pm 60 Hurdles trials
1:25pm Mile Men
2:00pm 60 Hurdle Final
2:15pm Mile Women
2:35pm 60dash trials
3:00pm 400 Final
3:50pm 500 Final
3:35pm 60 dash Final
3:53pm 800 Final
4:25pm 200 Final
4:59pm Sprint Medley Final
5:40pm Distance Medley Final
6:10pm 3000 Final
7:10pm 4x800relay Final
7:30pm 4x400 relay Final

Field Events
1:00pm Women’s Pole Vault, Men to follow
1:15pm Men’s and Women’s LJ (using dual runways)
1:00pm Men’s Shot, Women’s to follow.
Weight Throws to follow Shot
4:30pm Men’s and Women’s Triple Jump
Following Dash Men’s HJ , Women’s HJ -dual mat’s

Friday's meet schedule

Sorry, I could have posted this sooner. Here it is ...

Track events
1 pm: 60 hurdle trials
1:20 pm (rolling one after the other)
Men's mile
Hurdle finals
Women's mile
60 dash
400 dash
500 dash
dash finals
800 run
200 dash
SMR
DMR
3km
4x800
4x400

Field
1 pm: women's PV, men to follow
1:15 pm: m/w LJ both runways
12:45 pm: men's shot, women to follow; weight to follow shot
4:30 pm: m/w TJ both runways
after dashes: m/w HJ

Happy New Year

The past 10 days or so since the last post have been eventful at home and with family in many ways. Unfortunately, a nasty viral infection tore through our house as 2009 came to a close, so we have been confined to inside and not feeling all that great.

Without giving too many details ... well, it was not pretty. That's all I'll say.

For those team members that have not shared with me your fall semester grades, please call or text with that. Most of you that I heard from did quite well. Nicely done.

Entries for the first meet (a week from today!) are due on Tuesday. If you are not sure what you are racing, have a request for an event or are not sure if you are racing, call or text and we can discuss it.

Take care, Happy New Year, and may all your goals come to fruition in 2010.

Old School Photo

Just got the following email and accompanying photo from my good pal Marty McGowan down on Staten Island. Marty is a loyal Marist xc alum and true friend to our program on many, many levels.

Pete, I'm learning how to scan pictures onto the computer, and thought you'd like this one. It's the Marist X-C team from Fall 1971, my Junior Year.
from the top Coach Len Olsen, Bob Nelson, Pete Rock, Jay Doyle ( Jay was our # 1 runner that year ) Don Gilespie and ??? ( he was a grad assistant who sometimes showed up as an asst coach, forgot his name, sorry ) Bottom Row; John Petraglia, Bob Salomon, Me, with the sunglasses ( Bob and I were Co Captains that year and Pat " Milo" Stevens (No relation to Rich Stevens, who came on board outdoor season 1972). Thanks for the Christmas card, the kids are growing!! Stay safe. Marty

No snow here!

What an interesting weekend of weather, huh? Well, maybe not so "interesting" if you live on Long Island or New Jersey, where you had to shovel about 2 feet of snow.

Here in the Poughkeepsie area? All that was needed was a light broom to sweep off the dusting of snow we received. Weird, I know. Not that we are complaining up here ...

Anyway, hang in there and get your training in as you can. I am assuming track workouts will not be getting done anytime soon by those of the southern persuasion.

I guess you could call this storm "flaky" huh?

Oh! Keep voting on this poll. Only a few days to go ...