Jasper Fall XC Invitational: Women's results

It was an exciting, riveting battle in a late September cross country meet. Two MAAC rivals duking it out. The final score was Rider 51, Marist 51. Ties are broken by head-to-head competition among the top-5 – Rider’s first runner vs. Marist’s first runner; Rider’s second runner vs. Marist’s second runner, etc. When the dust settled, that tiebreaker went to Rider, 3-2, so the Broncs are credited with the victory. Previously in NCAA rules, ties were not broken. And some might think (erroneously, FYI) that you go to the sixth runner to break the tie. There were some promising results for us, but again, we set our sights on October and the important meets that are in our future.

Jasper Fall XC Invitational

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Twin Ponds at The Farm

Montgomery, NY

Women’s team results

1-Rider 51, 2-Marist 51, 3-St. John’s 80, 4-American 93, 5-Fordham 95, 6-Siena 129, 7-Manhattan 175, 8-Suffolk CC 227

Women’s individual results, 6km course

4-Hayley Collins 22:13.5

6-Tori Mariano 22:21.2

7-Gianna Mastromatteo 22:26.1

18-Hannah Belleville 2:13.7

21-Adele Alexander 23:23.1

27-Kate Murtagh 23:49.1

28-Ellie Davis 23:55.6

30-Anaiya Bobo 24:02.9

32-Talia Cutrone 24:08.1

39-Raven Stanet 24:33.9

48-Samantha DeStefani 24:56.5

51-Kathryn Tenney 25:34.3

52-Kayla Shapiro 25:37.7

58-Madison Whited 26:00.5

63-Greta Stuckey 26:26.9

67-Caitlin McCann 27:04.4

72-Marissa Sciotto 27:50.2

74-Alexa Mocko 27:58.9

87 finishers

 

Jasper Fall XC Invitational: Men's results

Our men had tight compressions in time (top-5 = 27.2 seconds apart; top-9 = 48 seconds apart) and that’s great. Those packs need to keep moving up further into other team’s packs! As September slowly merges into October, that is the task at hand for us in the coming weeks and the coming meets. OK.

Jasper Fall XC Invitational

Saturday, September 25, 2021

Twin Ponds at The Farm

Montgomery, NY

Men’s team results

1-Fordham 47, 2-Rider 61, 3-Manhattan 76, 4-American 84, 5-Marist 100, 6-Siena 132

Men’s individual results, 8km course

15. John Ignacz 26:20.7

17. Brendan Dearie 26:20.9

20. Gabe Rodriguez 26:29.9

24. Matt Hartman 26:37.5

28. Dylan Perkinson 26:47.9

34. James Moehringer 26:56.9

36. Patrick Kutch 26:59.1

38. Jeremy Mbogo 27:05.3

41. Christian Locker 27:08.7

46. Jon Kittredge 27:25.2

51. Steven Viera 27:32.7

52. Francisco Mendonca 27:34.9

54. Jack Parsons 27:45.5

62. Neel Viswanathan 28:43.3

64. Zachary Ropes 28:48.6

66. Brad Rynkowski 29:01.2

67. Daniel Czop 29:03.7

69 finishers

Men’s college division

1-Aidan Sweeney (unattached) 26:59.7

28 finishers

What’s next: Jasper Fall XC Invitational

Our next cross country meet is Saturday, the Jasper Fall XC Invitational, hosted by Manhattan College. The meet is not in the Bronx, though. It’s up in this part of New York State, at Twin Ponds on the Farm, 531 River Road, Montgomery (Orange County). A quick Google maps search reveals that this venue is a mere 45 minutes from the Marist campus. Practically another home meet! Ironically, the host Jaspers have a longer bus ride than we do, by about 35 minutes. We’ll be racing most (but not all) of our men, with an anticipated full women’s squad getting on the line. Six days later, we’ll be lining up again, at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh on October 1. For now, here is this week’s race schedule below. Hope to see you there!

10:30a Women’s Varsity 6k Race (10 runners permitted per team)

11:15a Men’s Varsity 8k Race (10 runners permitted per team)

12 noon Women’s J.V. 6k Race

12:45p Men’s J.V. 8k Race

Taking cues from the Qs

Perhaps you’ve heard of IQ – intelligence quotient -- a metric that measures, well, your intelligence. I don’t think I’ve ever had it measured. Probably a good thing. I’m certainly not interested in this number NOW, as I’ve lost several miles per hour off my mental acuity fastball. Want proof? Oh gosh. Just hang around me for any stretch of time during the day. For even more tangible evidence? In this week’s running column for Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper, I mentioned how Spencer Johnson outdistanced Luke Shane by 35 minutes in Sunday’s Dutchess County Classic Marathon. Now, the great Spencer ran 2:22:23; finishing 35 minutes behind that is still a damn good marathon. However! Our boy Luke ran 2:47:42 – for those keeping score at home (and I know you are!), that’s 25 minutes (about 1 minute per mile behind Spencer, interestingly). Simple math. For me, I guess, not so simple.

Not sure why, but for the past few days, I’ve been fixated on the idea of creating “quotients” -- like the IQ. While mine are “original ideas,” they are way more dumbed down and more of a self-assessment tool rather than an SAT-like exam. One “Q” I came up with? The Weariness Quotient (WQ). On a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself on mental and physical weariness. This is a negative-process scale; the lower the number, the better. I’m not getting any younger and life’s not getting any easier. Yesterday morning, as I self-assessed my creaky body, dealt with gnawing open-loop thoughts circling in my head, and also looked in the mirror, I came up with this WQ idea and intuitively gave myself a score of 8. It was shaping up to be that kind of day. And in the realm of self-fulfilling prophesy, it turned out just like that … and more! At one point, I thought, “hmm, it’s up to 9 now!” I said this out loud, gleefully, like it was a GOOD thing (until I remembered, oh wait, larger number = no bueno).

However, as I was driving into Marist in the morning, it dawned on me: I’m generally a glass-half-full kind of guy. This WQ definitely suffers from negativity bias. The “scale of 1 to 10” thing is better when the higher numbers are more favorable. One notable exception: When you are in an emergency room and the doctor asks for your pain level on a scale of 1 to 10 … higher number is definitely NOT better. But hey, let’s work on this. Let’s get our head out of the sand and think positively. How about a Gratitude Quotient (GQ)? Rate your level of gratefulness each morning, and aim for an above-average number! Wait, wasn’t GQ a famous magazine? OK. How about a Positivity Quotient (PQ)? How many positive thoughts and actions can you come up with to start your day? Or an Inspiration Quotient (hey! another IQ!) or Motivation Quotient (MQ), aim for a 5 or higher in them? I could go on and on with this alphabet soup, but you get the idea.

For now, I can only stick with one original idea at a time. So, I’ll aim to lower my WQ today and for as many ensuing days as possible. You can too! Set your goal for a sub-5 WQ every day. Choose to be energized, choose to have a spring in your step, choose to up your game by lowering your WQ score. Or at the very least, if you wake up weary, try to make something productive of the new day.

Dutchess County Classic: More results, photos

Some more random notes and numbers (and numbers commentary) from Sunday’s Dutchess County Classic race, regarding alumni (and friends) participation. After so many years and versions of the Classic, it seems the Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club (my club, the one that I have belonged to for more than 30 years) has really nailed it with the staging area from Dutchess Community College. It’s convenient, easy to get to and the parking lot is spacious. There was plenty of room and this race could easily double in size based on what we saw out there on Sunday morning. Here’s hoping they do just that. There was definitely a joyful and grateful vibe out there. After last year’s race (like so many others) was rendered virtual, getting back to in-person racing (even with the staggered wave starts) looked and felt so … normal! And, it pretty much was! The Dutchess Rail Trail, which is flat and mostly boring on non-race days, is a great venue. No traffic control needed, plenty of shade and the high school aid stations were well-stocked and energetic as usual. In all, a great return to the Classic. Here are some more complete results from our alums and friends.

Marathon

1-Spencer Johnson 2:22:23. So good.

2-Luke Shane 2:47:42. Low-key stellar himself!

6-David Osterhoudt 3:31:15. Early-morning jogging buddy, he crushed it

15-Ed King 3:40:54. Dave O’s Middle-Aged Machines buddy, he also hosted the post-Classic party that Swifty usually does!

25-Neil Grencer 3:57:55 Another MAMs runner and good pal)

Half marathon

2-Chris Rivas 1:14:42. Side note: I had to talk him into doing this! Rivas is training for the Hartford Marathon. He was in town a few weeks ago visiting his girlfriend Ellie and he stopped by the house. I mentioned that he should do the Classic half marathon. I mentioned it again. And then I bribed him with a Marist Alumni Racing Team singlet. Hey. Whatever it takes!

6-overall (1-women)-Kerri Gallagher 1:20:13. Kerri is a former US Olympic Trials qualifier at 1,500 meters and is the current Manhattan College director of track and cross country. Yes, the Jaspers are MAAC “rivals” but she is a great young coach and I would classify the rivalry (like so many others in the MAAC) as a “friendly rivalry.” It was nice to see her up in our area for this race!

8-overall (1^st in age group)-Omar Perez 1:22:38. Omar ran the early miles with Kerri. This was an outstanding effort from Omar, who’s training has been affected by injury. Neat!

19-overall (3^rd in age group)-Billy Hild 1:29:05. From our most loyal young supporter (no one compares with the legendary Marty McGowan in terms of program loyalty, but Hild is a close second), Hild was pleasantly surprised to break 1:30 (convincingly, I might add!) for the half. And an age-group award too. Highly neat.

25-Michel Joseph 1:32:13. Our energetic MAMs friend crushed it out there.

34-Todd Coulson 1:35:26. Who’s better than Lurch? Nobody’s better than Lurch! We love our gangly old buddy, who celebrates his 25^th class reunion at Marist later this fall. We hope he and the family come back to Poughkeepsie. Lurch never fails to put a smile on our faces.

37-Tony Ferreri 1:35:52. My loyal early-morning buddy sandwiched this run in the middle of a 22-mile day, as he prepares for the challenging Boston/NYC marathon double in the coming weeks/months.

63-overall (3^rd in age group)-Cait Boyle 1:40:23. Great run and huge PR for Toner’s girlfriend. The night before the race, I visited the group (Toner and Cait, Spencer, Stefan and his sister, Joey Miller) at their Airbnb in Poughkeepsie. Cait was a nervous wreck. I reminded her in my usual blunt style that “no one cared” how fast or slow she ran and to go out there and have fun. She did just that and clearly, Toner’s expert coaching paid off. Nicely done, Cait!

82-Ken Schneider 1:43:58. I’ve probably logged the most training miles this year with my good pal Schneider and he crushed it out there on Sunday morning. He’s in such strong hill-running shape. Running this flat course allowed him to fly. He’s in the midst of his NYC Marathon training plan right now. Because of injury, I regret that I cannot help him with his runs for a bit. As you can see? He’s doing just fine!

Jacqueline Morton 1:57:17. Stefan’s sister with a strong sub-2:00!

Zak Harkenrider 2:00:49. A member of our athletics department staff, Zak did this on very little training and just a few runs of around 8 miles. Solid!

Big Bill 2:10:58. Billy Hild’s dad had a strong showing out there as he has turned himself into a legit runner in old age (hey, I can say that, he’s my age!)

Andrew Sahawneh 2:11:22. He won the bragging rights of Marist athletics department staff, edging his pal and co-worker Zak.

5km

4-Mike Kennedy 17:28. Was going to do the half marathon, but after the NJ Marathon (for which he was training) got canceled, he scaled back.

5-Joey Miller 17:56. Still feisty and still fast.

6-Steven Rizzo 18:49. A riveting duel between him and Stefan!

7-Stefan Morton 18:50. Spends most of his leisure time playing soccer and basketball, but he’s still got it on the roads.

11-Riley Hughes 19:11. Great to see Riley again.

2^nd in age group-Jay Doyle, 68, 22:12, Marist cross country alum from WAY back in 1975. So great of him to make it back to Poughkeepsie.

Dutchess County Classic: Spencer Johnson, 2:22:23!

After a summer of sultry humidity, heat and rain, the weather for yesterday’s Dutchess County Classic was a breath of fresh air. Relatively cool, low humidity and even a Northwest breeze started blowing as the morning sun blazed down on the hopefully grateful runners. We had another strong alumni showing out there, and we’ll put together all those results soon. But for now, we want to highlight Marist Running Alum Spencer Johnson, and his remarkable marathon PR at the Classic – 2:22:23! It was a three-minute PR, which at that level is quite huge. Spencer came back to Poughkeepsie, all the way from San Diego, to run this race. Afterwards, he was surrounded by his best friends from college, who will also be by his side next May when he gets married! On Sunday, we think Spencer made a new friend. Current sophomore Running Red Fox John Ignacz (aka Jiggy) paced Spencer on the bike (this arrangement was approved by Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club race officials – Jiggy was the “lead” cyclist). Along with being a high-mileage runner, Jiggy is also an avid cyclist, having done several 100-mile rides. Jiggy was Spencer’s constant companion and aid out there, and Spencer seemed to really appreciate it. Pretty neat – two Marist runners from different “generations” working together. Who knows? Maybe in a few years, when Jiggy is a running alum, some young runner he’s never met will pay it forward for him? Anyway, on this day, it was a great pairing: Two hard-working and humble young men, from different XC teams but the same program, working together.

But make no mistake, Spencer did this solo in terms of running. The second-place finisher was Marist Running Alum Luke Shane, who ran fantastic … and who was 35 minutes behind Spencer! Here are Spencer’s mile splits. First half = 5:14, 5:25, 5:24, 5:18, 5:18, 5:20, 5:14, 5:24, 5:23, 5:20, 5:26, 5:17, 5:32. Second half = 5:24, 5:25, 5:32, 5:28, 5:30, 5:16, 5:20, 5:13, 5:14, 5:19, 5:31, 5:30, 5:39. Next up for Spencer on the marathon scene is Houston in January, where he will continue to aim for bigger and better things. More alumni results and pictures will be posted later.

Homecoming weekend, updated plans

We are really excited and thrilled to welcome back many loyal alums from many generations for Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 22-24. It will be great to see so many of you, as well as show you the new and expanded McCann Center (yes, including our Square Track indoors!). The college has made some changes to the original plans. The planned celebration of the formation of the men’s track team, featuring many members of the late-1960s classes, has been postponed to a TBA date in 2022. Our celebration of past coaches and record holders will be held then as well. For those of you who are planning to come back for the weekend, we’ll be glad to show you around and hang out during the day on Saturday – hopefully it won’t be cold and rainy … but even if it is, we’ll still be around! Call me or text me (845 309 3640), stop down to McCann, or check out the picnic tents on campus in the afternoon. Don Reardon, my former teammate from the mid-1980s, is planning an off-campus “gig” at a local brew-pub. Once those details are finalized, we’ll share it with you here. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you all back on campus – this year, next year, every year!

What’s wrong with this picture? NOTHING!

OK. At first glance, you’re thinking, what the heck! Marist Running alum Emily Burns, smiling as always, flashing the fox symbol (or is that a stag symbol?) with her hand … but in a Fairfield T-shirt? What gives! Well. Here’s the thing. Emily’s (and her twin brother, Drew’s) younger sister Caroline is a freshman on the Fairfield University cross country team. Emily and her parents were out there on Saturday at the Crossings to support and encourage Caroline (Drew was out of town and could not attend). So yeah. Emily Burns, Marist Running legend through and through, in a Fairfield shirt? Yes. We’ll allow it. By the way? If you look closely, she’s got a Marist track jacket with her – she was wearing THAT over the Fairfield shirt. Anyway? We know which red she is most loyal towards!

“My mother ran for you”

There are many, obvious signs of aging. Forgetting things (happens a lot). Saying and writing incorrect things (happens with more frequency than I’d care to admit). Disappearing or graying (or both!) hair (I recently turned 57; this is OK). A creaky back joint that has curtailed jogging to a painful shuffle (I always suspected there might be an expiration date on my balky hip). And then, this: On Saturday, at the Siena cross country race up at the Crossings, an excited young lady bounds up to me. Are you the Marist coach, she asks? Yes, I am. The kid blurts out: “I think my mother ran for you!” I ask who that might be, she tells me, and I have an instant flashback, as this high school sophomore looks exactly like that long-ago Marist runner from the early/mid-1990s. This is my 31^st year coaching. This is bound to happen. Wow.

Siena Invitational: Women's results

It was an early-season meet and an early test of two of the better women's teams in the MAAC. The home team got the best of the Running Red Foxes today ... but not by much! It was an exciting race down the stretch. We all have a long way to go in this season and we have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. Neat. 

Siena Invitational

Saturday, September 11, 2021

The Crossings of Colonie

Loudonville, NY

Women’s team scores

1-Siena 34, 2-Marist, 38, 3-UAlbany 71, 4-Fairfield 83, 5-LeMoyne 162, 6-Union 171, 7-St. Rose 220

Women’s individual results, 5km course

4-Tori Mariano 18:52.2

6-Hayley Collins 18:55.2

8-Gianna Mastromatteo 19:06.9

10-Adele Alexander 19:13.3

15-Hannah Belleville 19:34.4

24-Anaiya Bobo 20:01.2

30-Raven Stanet 20:10.8

33-Ellie Davis 20:20.4

34-Sydney Bradle 20:25.3

43-Kate Murtagh 20:52.4

46-Caitlin McCann 21:01.7

49-Mary Dougherty 21:11.0

50-Samantha Kehler 21:13.9

53-Sinead Heaney 21:19.7

55-Kathryn Tenney 21:28.0

56-Greta Stuckey 21:30.1

58-Samantha DeStefani 21:34.7

59-Madison Whited 21:35.0

60-Kayla Shapiro 21:40.8

75-Alexa Mocko 23:25.8

89 finishers

Siena Invitational: Men's results

A week later, a few layers of rust were scraped away. There is still much work to do. But this is a step in the right direction.  

Siena Invitational

Saturday, September 11, 2021

The Crossings of Colonie

Loudonville, NY

Men’s team scores

1-Siena 17, 2-Marist, 63, 3-UAlbany 74, 4-Union 123, 5-Fairfield 136, 6-LeMoyne 150, 7-St. Rose 212

Men’s individual results, 8km course

8-Christopher Paxis 26:29.8

10-Aidan Sweeney 26:31.8

20-Gabe Rodriguez 27:06.6

21-Dominic Mastromatteo 27:19.1

23-Dylan Perkinson 27:20.7

25-Steven Viera (unattached) 27:21.8

26-Ian Wiesinger 27:23.2

30-Patrick Kutch 27:27.6

32-Jon Kittredge 27:33.1

35-James Moehringer 27:47.8

37-Christian Locker 27:51.6

38-John Ignacz 27:52.6

40-Francisco Mendonca 28:12.1

43-Matthew Hartman 28:21.0

45-Jeremy Mbogo 28:22.5

47-Jack Parsons 28:25.7

57-Daniel Czop 29:00.8

67-Neel Viswanathan 29:42.2

73-Brad Rynkowski 30:18.2

96 finishers

What's next: Siena Invitational

On Saturday morning, we will head up to the Crossings of Colonie in Loudonville for the early-season Siena XC Invitational. Men’s 8km race is at 9:45 a.m. Women’s 5km race is at 10:30 a.m. Prior to both races, there will be a moment of silence at 9:15 a.m., to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks. It’s hard to fathom that it has been 20 years! Wow. Anyway, this is a relatively small, early-season meet. The meet will be scored D1 and non-D1, with the following teams racing. Division I: UAlbany, Fairfield, Marist, Siena. Non-DI: LeMoyne, Union, St. Rose. We will post results and hopefully some photos from the meet later in the day on Saturday or on Sunday. We hope to see some Capital District-area alums at the Crossings, as the weather is looking quite lovely for tomorrow. OK!  

Season-opening meet: General thoughts (rust)

There is a lot to unpack from our season-opening meet at Vassar Farm on a gorgeous late-summer morning. First meets of seasons are often called "rust-busters" -- which has become a bit of a cliche, to be honest. Based on that cliche? We need a whole lot of WD-40! Sheesh. 

For starters, meet management (that would be me) needs to do a better job of making sure we have course marshals out there. Yikes! The entire men's race went the WRONG DIRECTION for the finishing stretch of the race, around the rugby fields. Quick thinking by smarter meet management people (I would not be included in that cohort) saved the day. Race scorer Tim Fulton and Vassar coach James McCowan created a very impromptu hairpin turn around a large rock, toward the end of the race, ensuring that most of the course integrity remained intact. Depending on who you ask? The course was 20m short. Or 20m long. Either way? Everyone did the same (if inaccurate) thing out there. The women's race went much more smoothly. We learned our lesson.

We had our largest field of teams in a long time, and the quality of this rust-buster was evident in the results up front. It was great to welcome the UConn women, as well as the Wagner men and women, for the first time. We had a nice senior day afterwards and the parent tailgate spread was truly outstanding. Speaking of rust? Our team performances definitely showed a bit of that. Fortunately, we jump right back on the horse, next week, up at Siena for that invitational at the Crossings in Colonie. 

Thanks to all who made this return-to-normal day go as smoothly as possible. 

Season-opening meet: Women's results

Marist Season Opener Cross Country Invitational

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, Poughkeepsie

Men’s team standings

1-UConn 31, 2. Siena 62, 3. CCSU 71, 4. Marist 89, 5. Manhattan 138, 6. Wagner 146, 7. Iona incomplete

Women’s individual results, 5km course

1-Angelia Rafter (CCSU) 18:17.7

2-Monica Strain (UConn) 18:26.7

3-Olivia Lomascolo (Siena) 18:42.9

4-Racheal Woodruff (UConn) 19:49.6

5-Brooke Morabito (CCSU) 18:51.7

6-Andria Scaglione (Manhattan) 18:53.8

7-Madison Relyea (UConn) 19:03.2

8-Caroline Webb (UConn) 19:04.8

9-Elaine Atanasova (Siena) 19:05.1

10-Madison Klein (Iona) 19;05.3

11-Emma Krebs (UConn) 19:11.2

12-Alyssa Kraus (UConn) 19:12.2

13-Ashley Dana (CCSU) 19:16.1

14-Hayley Collins (Marist) 19:17.4

15-Regina Rosati (Siena) 19:21.9

16-Gianna Mastromatteo (Marist) 19:25.3

17-Katelyn Romanchick (UConn) 19:33.0

18-Sophie Vinciguerra (Siena) 19:39.1

19-Elise O’Leary (UConn) 19:42.6

20-Talia Cutrone (Marist) 19:46.7

21-Katie Hesler (Siena) 19:47.5

22-Danielle Adams (UConn) 19:52.5

23-Adele Alexander (Marist) 19:54.1

24-Cosmina Spiridon (Iona) 19:55.4

25-Miranda Gilbert (Siena) 19:56.6

26-Sara Cascio (Wagner) 19:58.0

27-Hannah Belleville (Marist) 19:58.7

28-Giav Commerford (Wagner) 20:02.5

29-Juliana Cancellieri (CCSU) 20:09.3

30-Delia McDade Clay (Siena) 20:10.2

31-Mary Dougherty (Marist) 20:14.3

32-Maggie Loschiavo (CCSU) 20:15.9

33-Bella Kieser (Siena) 20:21.8

34-Elizabeth Szambel (Wagner) 20:22.4

35-Nicola Scaglione (Manhattan) 20:28.7

36-Ellie Davis (Marist) 20:30.7

37-Samantha Kehler (Marist) 20:36.5

38-Sydney Bradle (Marist) 20:40.4

39-Hali Ielfield (Manhattan) 20:40.4

40-Olivia Lazarou (Iona) 20:46.9

41-Raven Stanet (Marist) 20:47.1

42-Shayna Arrigo (Manhattan) 20:53.5

43-Kayla Cohen (CCSU) 20:55.3

44-Anaiya Bobo (Marist)

45-Kayla Hay (Wagner) 21:03.5

46-Ana Blanco (Wagner) 21:05.9

47-Kate Murtagh (Marist) 21:16.7

48-Kylie Conroy (Manhattan) 21:17.9

49-Marissa Sciotto (Marist) 21:18.0

50-Jamie Gudyka (Iona) 21:22.4

51-Samantha DeStefani (Marist) 21:26.7

52-Greta Stuckey (Marist) 21:32.4

53-Kathryn Tenney (Marist) 21:36.1

54-Jen McClintock (Siena) 21:37.6

55-Sinead Heaney (Marist) 21:40.3

56-Holly Bednarek (Siena) 21:44.5

57-Kayla Shapiro (Marist) 22:05.4

58-Madison Whited (Marist) 22:08.2

59-Grace Campbell (Manhattan) 22:11.8

60-Mary Ann Walsh (Wagner) 22:28.0

61-Fiona Mohl (Manhattan) 22:42.5

62-Alexa Mocko (Marist) 22:42.5

63-Kayla Sexton (Marist) 22:55.2

Season-opening meet: Men's results

Marist Season Opener Cross Country Invitational

Saturday, September 4, 2021

Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, Poughkeepsie

Men’s team standings

1-Central Connecticut 36, 2. Iona 49, 3. Wagner 73, 4. Manhattan 93, 5. Marist 109, 6. Siena 114

Men’s individual results, 6km course

1-Nick Hunziker (Iona) 19:01.6

2-Willi Cuthbertson (Wagner) 19:03.2

3-Nick Soldevere (Iona) 19:05.1

4-Eddie Nicholas (CCSU) 19:05.7

5-Pelle Nogueira (Manhattan) 19:05.7

6-Colin Caso (CCSU) 19:09.1

7-Jake Ireland (CCSU) 19:11.7

8-James Sullivan (CCSU) 19:17.5

9-Peter Schulten (Iona) 19:18.8

10-Yankarlos Diaz (CCSU) 19:19.4

11-Nick Sinofsky (Iona) 19:19.5

12-Christopher Paxis (Marist) 19:21.7

13-Aidan Canavan (Siena) 19:30.6

14-Michael Hennelly (Manhattan) 19:31.2

15-Anthony Bentivegna (Wagner) 19:34.7

16-Dominic Palermo (Wagner) 19:37.6

17-Ryan Shanahan (Siena) 19:37.7

18-Peter Fogarty (unattached/Iona) 19:40.2

19-Marc Carrera (Manhattan) 19:43.4

20-Aidan Sweeney (unattached/Marist) 19:49.5

21-Paul Siconolfi (Wagner) 19:50.4

22-Brendan Dearie (Marist) 19:51.4

23-Johnny Sokoll (Wagner) 19:52.7

24-John Ignacz (Marist) 19:55.2

25-Andreas Lange (Wagner) 19:58.6

26-Ben Guerin (Siena) 19:59.8

27-TJ Harkins (Iona) 20:02.8

28-Ryan Tierney (Manhattan 20:05.7

29-Gabe Rodriguez (Marist) 20:13.9

30-Dominic Mastromatteo (Marist) 20:16.6

31-Matthew Laframboise (Siena) 20:16.9

32-David Lozipone (Manhattan) 20:19.5

33-Nate Poirier (Siena) 20:20.1

34-Liam Farrell (Manhattan) 20:20.4

35-Justin Jordaens (Manhattan) 20:20.4

36-Sean Oushana (CCSU) 20:21.0

37-Dylan Perkinson (Marist) 20:28.2

38-Francisco Mendonca (Marist) 20:29.6

39-James Moehringer (Marist) 20:29.6

40-Ian Wiesinger (Marist) 20:30.2

41-Patrick Kutch (Marist) 20:31.2

42-Domenick Boccia (Manhattan) 20:35.1

43-Christian Locker (Marist) 20:36.4

44-Michael Ryan (Wagner) 20:40.8

45-Jeremy Mbogo (Marist) 20:43.2

46-Mahmoud Abdalla (Wagner) 20:43.3

47-Daniel Shepherd (unattached/Iona) 20:46.9

48-Roshan Kalikasingh (Marist) 20:50.3

49-Dante Ubriaco (Iona) 20:52.0

50-Daniel Czop (Marist) 20:53.5

51-Jon Kittredge (Marist) 20:59.3

52-Travis Delaney (Manhattan) 21:12.7

53-Brad Rynkowski (Marist) 21:18.3

54-Christopher Adamski (Siena) 21:19.3

55-Muhammed Qadri (Wagner) 21:20.5

56-Michael Brannick (Wagner) 21:20.6

57-Matthew Hartman (Marist) 21:30.7

58-Jack Parsons (Marist) 21:34.8

59-Neel Viswanathan (Marist) 21:36.6

60-Peter Alden (Siena) 21:43.0

61-Griffin Cooke (Siena) 21:43.7

62-Brendan Zeng (Marist) 21:45.2

63-Micchael Hubert (Wagner) 21:59.1

64-Paul Sandford (Marist) 22:08.5

65-Thomas Dinsmore (Marist) 22:12.3

66-Michael Noonan (Manhattan) 22:56.0

67-Brendan Lucey (Manhattan) 24:08.5

68-Brian Saul (Manhattan) 24:54.4 

Rain now, sun later

As I type this (oddly enough, from my office in McCann ... a place I have spent precious little time in for the past 18 months!), I can hear the rain angrily pelting the roof. It's pouring, the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which did real damage to the Gulf Coast area. When I hear that violent sounding downpour above me, all I can think is: I'm glad it's not Saturday! 

On Saturday, we are hosting our season-opening XC meet. It will be a relatively large meet, with six visiting teams -- including the top-ranked teams in the Northeast preseason polls -- Iona College men, UConn women. That's neat! Other teams include Siena, Manhattan, Central Connecticut and Wagner. The forecast for the post-Ida period (including Saturday) looks gorgeous. Cooler temperatures. Lower humidity. Sunshine. Also neat! We look forward to it. Men's 6km race at 9a, women's 5km race at 9:45a. Stop by if you are around. OK.

Jenna Robinson wins trail half marathon

Congrats to Marist Running Alum Jenna Robinson for her victory at the Thacher Park Trail Running Festival half marathon last Sunday in Voorheesville (Albany County). Jenna placed fifth overall and first among women in 1:52:05 (8:34 pace) for the 13.1-mile trail race. At my request, here’s her race report via email:

“I must admit, I didn't ‘race’ the Thacher race. I am in mid-marathon training right now. I signed up for MDI, which is in mid-October, and I treated this race as just a training run. However, I think there is something about the trails that bring the best runs out of me. Or maybe it's the people? This was the eighth year of the Thacher Park Trail Running festival and it was their biggest turn out yet with about 200 runners! Runners are crazy, trail runners are even crazier. And ultra-trail runners?! Insane. There were 12 people who finished the 50k on Sunday. Running alongside them for the first 6 miles was a gift! I had SO MUCH FUN. Somehow, I kept a better-than-expected pace despite lots of mud, plenty of single-track trails, and technical footing. I like to think of myself as a Mudder (like the horses that get picked to run in wet conditions). The worse the conditions, the better (comparatively) I tend to do! I didn't take any pictures from the race, but I did snag this selfie on the walk to my car after receiving my cool trophy. It's a branch with a trail marker painted on! Very neat.

“It's been so nice seeing Chuck's Instagram posts and your blog posts about the preseason shenanigans so far. It must be refreshing to have regained some normalcy with the team again. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Marist men and women do this year!” 

Thanks Jenna. As preseason winds down and classes begin on Monday, we’re hoping “some normalcy” includes seeing loyal alums like Jenna and so many others at upcoming meets.

Double the fun

A few days ago for their second practice of the day (it’s preseason; we have the luxury of team doubles in the afternoon!), several men decided their “double” run would be held inside, to avoid the roiling late-summer heat. Several guys like to run barefoot on occasion. The go-to on campus for barefoot running, for years, has been North Field. They guys opted for a different “field” – our turf room, inside the McCann Center. According to sophomore Chris Paxis, who gets credit for “inventing” this double, his watch said one loop of the small turf room is about 0.03 of a mile. Which means the standard 3-mile double would be 100 laps. While this would meet with well-deserved ridicule in most circles, it put a smile on my face. Short loops, endlessly? That’s my THING! I recently completed my annual 8-hour ultramarathon in Pittsfield, MA, on a 0.3535-mile dirt pathway. That’s enormous compared with the turf room! As you can see, several other men chose more “traditional” inside doubles – pedaling away on the stationary bike upstairs by our indoor square track, or in the case of Moe, running laps on the square track. All in a day’s work. As preseason winds to an end in a few days, the “turf room double” thing may remain a thing – but the turf room will surely get more activity as the regular semester begins. Either way, it was neat to see these guys double the fun in there.   

Team photo

 Last Friday was "picture day" for the team and this combined men/women team photo was the conclusion. As you can imagine, it took a bit of time to organize this large group of men and women. So nice to see this. Another building block in our return to normalcy, which still remains a fragile goal. One day at a time. 

Time for a wedding

 

Around the busyness of the first few days of preseason, we were happy to be able to squeeze in an alumni wedding. On Friday night in Washingtonville, we celebrated the union of Marist Running alum Julie Hudak and her new husband, Drew Gangemi. Julie and Drew got married a few months ago, with her good friend and former teammate Father Jacob Bertrand Janczyk officiating. Last night was the "reception" and we were happy to see Marist Running alums Kim Bartlett, Nick Webster, Will Griffin, Britt Burns and Jillian (Corley) Winterkorn in attendance. Earlier Friday was the men's team's first foray at Minnewaska, while the women did an excellent tempo workout at the rail trail in New Paltz. Tomorrow morning, we'll do our long runs at two rail trail venues, hoping to get the miles in before Hurricane Henri unleashes rain and wind. We are thinking about our many friends and alums in the Long Island/NYC area. Get safe and be safe.   

Whole in one

 

Thanks to senior captain Becca Walters for sharing this photo from the team's mini-golf outing last night. 

Preseason, day 1

The women ran at Vassar Farm. The men had their usual Mills Hills workout in Staatsburg. Vans and cars had sweaty seats in the late morning, as the dewpoint reached Florida-in-the-summer levels. Gatorade coolers were filled. There was energy. There was enthusiasm. Preseason cross country has begun. So many signs of normalcy, hope from the new faces, the sort-of new faces and the athletes that have been around here for a long time too. Yes, we wore masks in the vans and cars. Yes, we scrambled for our face coverings as we entered buildings. There was a first team lift. There was a wrong turn on the way to Mills (of course!). There was a problem with our IDs entering the dining hall – again! Yes, all in a day of preseason that steers its course back to normalcy. And then! A text from my son in the late afternoon telling me that the Air Force Marathon – a race in about four weeks in Ohio, for which he was training – was shuttered due to Covid concerns, that was a cold-water-to-the-face wakeup call that we are still living this and breathing this. Even while we plan for an as-normal-as-possible Day 2.    

Tiptoeing into preseason

Cross country student-athletes arrived in the McCann Center lobby to get their room keys. Off-campus athletes came to help the freshmen navigate their way around campus. Fist bumps, hand-shakes, high-fives … oh, come on already, even some hugs too. Finally, some hugs. It’s been a long, slow slog, but two years after our previous cross country preseason, we tentatively dip our toes back into the waters of normalcy. While wearing a mask. While knowing this Delta variant lurks, all over the country and here in Dutchess County, and right here in our home. Our youngest son? Already had Covid back in February, fully vaccinated since early June. Sore throat wakes him up a few nights ago, keeping him up. Chills. Headache. Runny nose. Uh-oh. Here we go, off to the doctor’s office. Strep test = negative. Covid test … what, THIS again? Finally, we get word, after two days of nervous waiting: He’s negative. Phew. He’s not some miraculous double-breakthrough case. For now, at least. Masks, contact tracing, rapid tests, PCR tests, it’s all still part of our vernacular. This shit’s far from over.

But on Wednesday, we prepared to start our preseason. We handed out keys. We handed out gear. We had meetings. There was a snafu about our being at dinner in the dining hall – an honest mistake and miscommunication. Stuff that would have annoyed us in the past, it makes us smile now. Lots of smiles – behind the masks inside, for the world to see outside. We’ll be loading into vans and cars Thursday morning for practice, wearing masks. Because that’s what we must do. But we will run, free and easy, not breathing through masks and gaiters, until we’re back in the vans and back inside, when the face coverings return.

Tiptoeing into preseason and hopefully a racing season with few if any hiccups. It’s not perfect, and we’re constantly looking over our shoulder for variants and breakthroughs and pauses and all the other jargon of 2020-2021, and you know what? It beats being stuck at home, walking the dogs.

Kitt soars in Hartford 5km race

Rising junior Jon Kittredge had a race that was a “work of art” the other night in Hartford. Kitt won the CFA Society Hartford Corporate 5K on Thursday night. His official time was 15:55 and according to various measurements the course may have been long, with his extrapolated time perhaps being 15:34. No matter. Either way, it’s a PR, and that’s great news for him (and for us) entering preseason with big goals. Kitt opted to forgo his Marist singlet in favor of this way-too-cool Bob Ross singlet. For those who don’t know who Bob Ross was (oddly enough, I do!), he had a cult following on PBS for his painting for beginners classes. With the magic of YouTube, he has a renewed audience for his quirky, mesmerizing way of teaching us how to paint. As I type this, on my back porch, next to me are a few Bob Ross-inspired paintings that my kids did while watching him last year. The “Bob Ross phase” was definitely one of many during the pandemic. In fact! Some of the Bob Ross-inspired paintings actually hung in my daughter’s dorm room during her freshman year up there.

Anyway, according to Strava and to Kitt’s post-race texts, his mile splits were 4:44 (yikes! downhill!), 5:12, 5:06. His dad Chuck was there to cheer him on. And! He ran into/met Marist Running Alum Jillian (Corley) Winterkorn. Jillian lives in Shelton, Conn., now. She was first in her age group (30-39), third in the women’s race and 14^th overall in a strong time of 20:06 (6:30 pace). Very cool when different generations of Marist Running can connect like that.  

Cool weather, awesome Olympic performances

Well, since the last time I had done a few posts, which I incorrectly assumed would lead to a flurry of more regular posts, the weather has turned far more temperate – even downright cool for the middle of the summer, and no one is complaining about that! And of course the Olympic track and field events have gotten into full swing and have been sizzling. What a meet – for USA athletes specifically but for track and field in general! So many historic best performances – some of which has been attributed to the fast track and humid weather in Tokyo. I just had a thought, though: We always hear about the “silver linings” of the pandemic – and gosh, isn’t that just a dreary cliché anymore? One “silver lining” might be that elite level track athletes traveled and competed less and trained more consistently without the interruption of the aforementioned constant travel and competition. And that has led to THIS. Or, it could just be the simple fact that there are truly amazing women and men track athletes out there, and that we are in a “golden era” for our sport. Either way, it’s been great to follow and sometimes watch. I’m grateful for loyal alums who keep me constantly updated on the happenings over there. I’ve even gotten my usually track-neutral/apathetic family members mildly interested in the meet. Here's hoping these final few days turn out as stellar as the first week of track competition. OK!

Jeep wave

In case you don’t follow my wife Heidi on Facebook, or in case I didn’t mention it in a post (I can’t remember and I’m too lazy to check), back in November 2020, she got a 2017 Jeep Wrangler. She loves it. She loves driving with the top down. She loves the look, the feel, the vibe. She loves everything about it. I do not share this (or any) enthusiasm about this vehicle. I drive it grudgingly – when I have to (snowstorms) or when I’m told to (fortunately, that’s rare). I’m not a fan. Let’s leave it at that. But Heidi? She LOVES it. Oh wait. I think I mentioned that already. But it cannot be overstated. Heidi is not a “thing” person – neither of us are. We’ve never been too much about big, gaudy purchases – it’s not in our personality nor in our bank accounts’ ability. So, through the years, it’s kind of worked out. We don't make frivolous big purchases because we can't make such big purchases. Until we got this Jeep. Which, for those that do not know? Are pretty expensive. But again. She loves it. Oh yeah, we’ve covered that already.

Well. Anyway. Apparently, there’s this “thing” among Jeep drivers – real Jeeps, the Wranglers, Rubicons, Willys, etc., not the SUVs and other “normal” looking cars that have the Jeep brand on it. The “real” Jeep drivers have this thing called the “Jeep wave.” Perhaps you drive a Jeep and you know about this. Perhaps you don’t live under a rock like me and are already aware of this “thing,” in which fellow Jeep drivers wave at each other – a distinct, peace-sign-two-finger wave. It’s called the “Jeep wave.” It’s a thing. I guess. Heidi picked up on it quickly. She does the Jeep wave. Other Jeepers (are they called that?) wave back. They are happy. She is happy. I’m happy because she’s happy. Life goes on – and if you are riding in a real Jeep, life goes on with much road noise. So, the few times I’ve driven that Jeep (again, grudgingly), I was getting waved at by these random Jeepers. I’ve been known to wave randomly at people (especially on the Marist campus), so with a little prompting this was an easy habit for me to pick up on.

Of course, because I’m an immature idiot, I cannot just leave it at that. As part of our Jeep transaction back in the fall, we traded in my beloved Subaru Forester (hey, it made the most sense) and now I drive the family minivan, a 2013 Honda Odyssey, for which I get incessantly ridiculed by my morning jog buddies … and which I immediately loaded up with magnets and stickers. I felt like Picasso with a blank slate. All this metal to be covered with magnets and stickers! (Again, for reference, I’m an immature idiot). So, the other day, I decided – randomly and for no reason at all, other than rampant immaturity – that I would start doing the Jeep wave as I passed Jeepers. While driving the minivan. This has been met with complete apathy and perhaps bafflement – Jeep drivers are not prone to wave at minivan drivers, especially nerdy older guys who get excited about going to the public library. But hey, I’m on a mission. I’m getting me some Jeep waves. For the record, I did get one, as I was waiting to make a left turn onto our road, off state Route 9G. I was stationary, an easy target for the usually distracted eyes of oncoming traffic. A Jeep passed. I waved, peace-sign and all. The guy waved back, probably out of reflex or confusion or both. I’m going to keep this up, if only to annoy the heck out of my kids, who think it’s stupid. Of course, it’s stupid! That’s the point!

Long run, smiles

 Thanks to Kutchy (rising senior Patrick Kutch, on the left) for sending me this excellent, post-long-run photo of him and Marist Running Alum Michael Kennedy, now a mid-Hudson Valley resident (Kennedy moved back to the area and lives in Pleasant Valley!). Kutchy texted me this picture with the hopes of it being posted here; it also kick-started my mind to get back into blog-posting mode. OK!

Is anybody out there?

Yeah. It’s been quite a while (3 weeks?!) since the last post here – in part because of inertia (just didn’t post for a bit) and in part because last week we were away for our annual week at Lake George for family vacation. It rained all but one day while we were there. While this might seem like a bummer, we made the best of it and it was a great week. And it was an extra treat to reconnect with loyal Marist Running alum Tommy Lipari and his family, who were staying just two miles down the road from us, as well as connecting for a quick breakfast sandwich with equally loyal Marist Running alum Billy Hild, who was staying with his family a bit further up the lake for the week.

The difference between returning home from last year’s family trip as opposed to this year was stark, in terms of our Marist Running universe. Within days upon returning home in July 2020, it was announced that our entire fall sports schedule (including, of course, cross country) would be shuttered because of you-know-what. A year later, you-know-what still lurks out there on the fringes, and yet we are eagerly anticipating and planning for our first preseason XC camp in two years. Report date for our team is Wednesday, August 18, with first practice planned for Thursday, August 19. Once again, we will host our season-opening meet at Vassar Farm on Saturday, September 4. And as of now, it looks like we will have eight (8!) teams in attendance, which could be an all-time high for us. Highly neat.

Yes, we’ve had a lot of rain this summer – specifically in July – but for the first time in quite a while, our short-term future looks bright. Let’s keep it that way!

Team Wiesinger sizzles on 4th of July

The father-son Marist Running team of Gary Wiesinger and Ian Wiesinger took the father-son team title at the Cranford (NJ) Jaycees Firecracker 4-miler on the 4^th of July. Gary (Class of 1981) is still running strong in his early 60s. He won the 60-64 division by two minutes (!) in 27:52.4, a pace of 6:58 for 4 miles. Ian, a rising junior on the Marist cross country team, was seventh overall in 22:26.5, an average of 5:36 per mile. This was some welcome holiday race results news – Four Sure!

What we missed: Special alumni weddings

Coach Horton left me a funny voicemail recently, asking me if I was enjoying the cooler weather here back East after record-setting temperatures out in Oregon! To which my reflex reply would be, “well, it’s more humid here than it was out there.” Which of course leads me to one of my favorite tabloid headlines of all time: “It’s not the heat. It’s the stupidity.” Fortunately for all of us, the heat and humidity are breaking very soon. I’m sure it’ll be back. It’s summer, after all. It is what it is.

While we were out in Oregon for several days, unfortunately we missed out on two alumni weddings – both held on Saturday, June 26, same day as our racewalkers’ competition. Michael Schab (Florida Gulf Coast, Fort Myers area) and Matt Panebianco (Maine Coast, Kennebunkport area) tied the knot and both ceremonies were well attended by our beloved Forever Foxes. This is not the first time we have missed alumni weddings because of special track trips – most recently, it was Brian Townsend’s wedding five years ago, while we were at USATF Juniors at an equally blazing Fresno area venue (Clovis, California).

Speaking of Forever Foxes, Billy Hild was out in the Pacific Northwest at the same time as us, and we connected on Thursday evening at Hayward Field and then again on Friday morning for a jog at Pre’s Trail. Hild pointed out that it was the first time we had ever run together in all the years we’ve known each other. He was nice, took it easy on me, although the low-8s pace felt peppy to me in the blazing morning sun.