Friends of St John's University Track & Field

Preview of Big East at Louisville October 29

2011-10-27T21:40:00.000-04:00

On Saturday the Big East Championship will take place in Louisville. You can visit the Big East Championship Site for the most up-to-date information. We've finished 14th the last 2 years and are looking forward to picking up a few spots this year based on early season form. The meet is loaded, with Villanova the NCAA champions of the past 2 seasons leading the way.

Oct 21, 1961: A Better Week

2011-10-22T18:01:00.000-04:00

50 years ago this week St John's went head to head with Navy and NYU at Van Cortlandt Park. The team is starting to show dramatic improvement over the past , since the beginning of the season.

Fall Festival Alumni Reception Oct 2011

2011-10-22T15:46:00.004-04:00

On Sunday Oct 16, St John's hosted it's annual Fall Festival alumni reception. Joe Lang (class of 63) was guest speaker. I could spend a long time listing Joe's accomplishments, but prefer to focus on his speech.

Joe was introduced by hammer throwing alums John McCree (class of 75) and Rich Torrellas (class of 72). Both men asked to introduce Joe as he played such a substantial roll in their careers in track and field as athletes, coaches and officials. Joe has inculcated in them a love for both their sport and giving back to the generations that have followed them.

Joe chose to focus on the 1961 Metropolitan Championship of 50 years ago. 1961 was the year when St John's broke the stranglehold of Manhattan College in the Metropolitan area. He described how the team had progressed from being crushed by Manhattan College on Oct 14 to turning the tables at the Mets on Nov 7. In just 3 weeks through good coaching and team spirit.

50 years have passed but the memory is still vivid and special. To exceed expectations collectively on the day, when it counts most, results in a proud memory that never fades and fuels the desire to sense that pride again by helping others attain similar goals.

Joe encouraged all that attended to give back and to enable others to achieve their moment of greatness. For those that benefited from their Experience on St John's Track Team, Joe suggested a contribution to the Tom Farrell fund - see Coach Hurt for details via email: hurtj@stjohns.edu

Joe Lang with the heavies: Rich Torrellas and John McCree

Rich Torellas, Coach Jim Hurt and St John's alumna Connie Stoll a member of 2 Olympic Teams: Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956:

Celebrate 50 Years ago at the Fall Festival

2011-10-13T19:09:00.000-04:00

50 years ago on October 7th St John's most successful Track and Field athlete made his debut for the STJ cross country team. Back then the Freshmen competed in a race separate from the varsity.

So how did Tom Farrell make out on his debut? Are there other members on the team that can give color on the race?

Tom Farrell's Cross Country Debut

The varsity team also raced that day and were led home by Joe Lang a future coach at St John's and Athletic Director at Georgetown. The race also included a future winner of the NYC Marathon who is probably better known for his contribution to NYC Track & Field. Any ideas?

Van Cortlandt Varsity race October 7th

A week later the varsity team was again in action at VCP against Army and Manhattan with Joe leading the way again:

October 14th STJ vs Manhattan vs Army

This Sunday St John's will be hosting the Annual Fall Festival Cross Country meet. Details:

The day begins at Cunningham Park with our 9:30am mile run/walk to raise money for breast cancer research. The women's 4000m races goes off at 10:00am followed by the Men's 5k at 10:30am.

Mass at St. Thomas Moore Church on Campus is at 11:00am followed by a receptioninMontgoris Dining Hall at 12:00pm.

We are honoring the 1961, 1976, and 1996 teams on their 50th, 35th, and 15th anniversaries.

The great Joe Lang will be quest speaker so tell your friends and teammates to come on out on Sunday the 16th for a great day of celebrating St. John's Cross Country

How many times in a row

2010-01-23T09:25:00.003-05:00

Two Track and Field athletes have won the same event consecutively in 4 Olympic games. Who are they and what games did they win their medals in. Year and location required

Track and Field Trivia

2010-01-23T09:21:00.003-05:00

Track and Field is notorius for it's stat freaks. Which readers of the blog can get to the answer quickest? Post your answer to the question in the comments section of the blog

Randalls Island: Reebok Grand Prix - Get Your Tickets Now

2009-04-29T16:36:00.010-04:00

The Reebok Grand Prix will be held at Randall's Island on Saturday May 30th at 3 PM. This is the one world class outdoor track meet held in New York every year.

Last year 9 friends of St John's Track and Field were treated to a world record by Usain Bolt. Details on who is scheduled to compete can be found at: A Melting Pot of Medalists Sign On For 2009 Reebok Grand Prix

I plan on buying tickets at around the 50 meter mark in the green section 104 or 204 of the stadium. Tickets will be $40.

Deadline:
If you plan on attending, please email me at nuttym@stjohns.edu before I place a ticket order on May 16. Let me know how many tickets you'll need.

Who Will Be Attending
I'll be updating the list below so you'll know who'll be attending:

Martin Nutty
Tom Celandine
Joe Carpenter
Bill Boyle
Les Agard-Jones
Glen Shane
Alex Long + 2

Outdoor Meet Reports

2009-04-25T15:48:00.003-04:00

It's that time of the year:

The Mets are done and the championships is in the bag: STJ Mets report. Records tumble

Catch up on the season action with meet reports on the Red Storm Site website:

Opening Meet at Coastal Carolina
Some go to Texas some to Monmouth
A visit to Princeton
Monday night under the lights
A relay record goes down at the Penn Relays
Big East: Another relay record goes

Some Sad News: Artie Campbell

2009-03-21T11:25:00.003-04:00

Bill Bakewicz (Class of 1978) notified me that Artie Campbell (Class of 76) had passed away. Artie ran the Hurdles at St John's.

I never met Artie, so it would be nice if some of his fellow alums could share some memories by adding comments to this post.

Friends and Alumni Reception Feb 21, 2009

2009-03-21T11:15:00.003-04:00

On Feb 21 Friends and Alumni of St John's track gathered at the Armory during the first day of the Indoor Big East Championships. More then 30 alums and friends of the program attended.

A class member from each decade was respresented from the 1950's to the 2000's.

Some pictures of the event can be found at: STJ Big East Reception.

The group was joined by STJ team and staff. Our current team members were pleasantly surprised by the timespan represented by the alums and enjoyed mixing with the different generations.

Priscilla Frederick Closes out the 2009 Indoor Season

2009-03-15T07:58:00.004-04:00

Sophomore Priscilla Frederick closed out a demanding indoor season with a 14th place finish in a highly competitive High Jump competition at the Indoor NCAA Championships in College Station. Destinee Hooker of Texas broke both the Meet and Collegiate record with a 6'-6" clearance

This indoor season saw Priscilla break the school jump record twice and make an impressive debut in the Pentathlon.Congratulations to Priscilla on a great season. More Details can be found on the Red Storm site at: Frederick Finishes 14th At NCAA Indoor Championships

Indoor ECAC 2009 Recap

2009-03-15T07:29:00.003-04:00

The ECAC championships were held in Princeton on March 7th - March 8th. St John's again showed significant improvement over last season by scoring 15 points and finishing 20th out of 51 teams compared to 36th last season.

The Red Storm jumps squad led the way by scoring 2 athletes in the High Jump. Priscilla Frederick broke her month old school record with a 1.82m leap and is now a scant 1/4 of inch away from becoming the first St. John's women to break the 6 foot barrier. Additionally, Priscilla's jump ranks her joint 7th in the nation and so booked her ticket for the NCAA championships in College Station, Texas. Priscilla was supported by team mate Venisa Clarke-Lee who finished 5th with a 1.70m (5'-7") jump

Senior Phobay Kutu-Akoi also scored in her sprint specialties with a 7th place 7.61 second performance in the 60 meter dash and an 8th place 24.83 finish in the 200 meters.

A fuller recap can be found at the Red Storm site: Five Red Storm Athletes Earn All-East Honors At ECAC Championships. Full results of the meet can be found at: ECAC Indoor Track and Field Championship

Indoor Big East 2009 Roundup

2009-03-15T06:55:00.002-04:00

For the second year in a row, the Indoor Big East was held at the Armory in Washington Heights, New York City.

Our young team showed significant improvement from last year when we finished in the basement - 16th out of 16 teams. This year we moved up to 11th scoring a total of 21 points. For a full break out of scoring you can visit the STJ RedStorm site: Big East Complete Results. The site also provides an excellent review of the meet: Big East Recap

The team was led by Graduate student Arina Gerasimova who racked up 10 points in taking the Triple Jump title while battling a sore achilles. Arina showed her consistency by jumping a season best of 12.36 m (40' 6 3/4") twice during the competition and had a marginal foul of a longer jump on her last attempt.

Sophomore Priscilla Frederick scored 8 points in 2 events. Competing in her 2nd Pentathlon, Frederick finished 7th scoring 3,557 points. The competition was stiff as evidenced by the fact that the first 6 finishers all achieved NCAA provisional qualifiers. Subsequently 3 of these athletes went on to compete in the NCAA Pentathlon. After a draining five event first day, the completion for Priscilla wasn't any easier in the High Jump where she finished third with a jump of 1.78m (5'-10"). The first 3 jumpers all achieved the same height, placement was decided on countback.

Senior Phobay Kutu-Akoi rounded out the team scoring by finishing 6th and scoring 3 points in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.55 seconds. In addition Phobay also made the 200 meter final running a PR of 24.55 seconds in the prelims.

Our team also recorded season bests in both the 4 x 400 meters and 4 x 800 meters of 3:52.31 and 9:10.93 respectively.

Why We Need Your Help: This Is Not Your Daddy's Big East

2009-03-14T21:15:00.005-04:00

The Big East conference was founded in 1979, many readers of this blog did not have the pleasure of competing in the Big East, but for those who did, the Big East bares scant resemblance to the conference that began in 1979.

In 1984 I competed in my first indoor Big East championships in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Back then the conference was made up of a total of nine teams. Today we now have 16 teams filled with teams who are highly comepetitive on the national level! For those who are interested in the evolution of the conference you can visit the Big East Wikipedia page

How has the conference changed in the past 30 years? Well now you have to qualify just to compete in the conference and the standards aren't easy. Try and remember what your PRs were and see if you could have qualified, never mind scoring. Visit the Big East Qualification Standards

So what's the point of this post? Well we need your help to be come more competitive. This past November, Tom Farrell has graciously agreed to lend his name to a $100,000 fund raising effort. Times aren't easy right now, so your support is graciously appreciated.

If you'd like to contribute, please feel free to contact Coach Hurt at the Track Office in St John's:

Email: hurtj@stjohns.edu

Tel: 718-9906159

We won't say no to checks made out to St John's University and mailed to:

St John's University

Attn: Track Office

8000 Utopia Parkway

Jamaica, NY 11439

New Team Member Set to Make Immediate Impact

2009-02-14T11:05:00.003-05:00

This spring, Arina Gerasimova joined the St John's track team. Arina graduated from the University of Albany last year and has enrolled in St John's for graduate studies.

While at Albany, Arina was a standout Triple Jumper and in the 2 meets she has had, since joining the Red storm, Arina has risen to the top of the Big East rankings in her favored event with a jump of 12.34m (40'-6") at the New Balance meet in the Armory last week.

St John's Big East Track & Field Reception

2009-02-12T07:10:00.003-05:00

St. John’s Track and Field Alumni and Friends Reception

at the

2009 Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships

Come join former track and field teammates and current friends of the program and cheer on the 2009 Red Storm team as they compete in the Big East Championships at the Armory in New York City

When:
Reception: Saturday Feb 21, 2009 ----5:00pm
Meet Starts: 8:00 AM
Meet Ends: 6:00 PM

Where:
Armory Track and Field Center 216 Fort Washington Ave(one block west of Broadway between 168th and 169th streets in Manhattan) New York, NY (Our reception will be held in the HOSPITALITY ROOM on the Balcony Level of the Arena across from the main concessions stand)

Cost:
A minimum $25 donation to the St. John’s Track and Field Program is suggested to help defray the costs of the reception. (Please note that the Armory is also charging a separate meet entrance fee of $15).

Directions / Parking:
Please visit http://www.armorytrack.com/ for specific driving directions and parking information for the Armory Track and Field Center.

RSVP:
Please RSVP (required) by February 17 to Martin Nutty at nuttym@stjohns.edu or 917-415-1718.

Spread the Word:
If you are in touch with your former teammates, please forward this message to them. We look forward to building an alumni/friends network and running three events per year which will correspond with the Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor Track Seasons.

St John's University Women's Track & Field Team News:
To get the latest news on the STJ track team, please visit the women's track and field team home page at redstormsports.com. In addition, if you would like to receive current women's cross country and track and field news delivered straight to your own e-mail address, send an e-mail to Kristin Duffy at stjcommunications@stjohns.edu with "XC-TF E-mail" as the subject.

Further Questions:
If you have any questions about the event, please contact Martin Nutty at nuttym@stjohns.edu or 917-415-1718.

2nd Place Finish at Mets Jan 29, 2008

2009-02-09T22:42:00.002-05:00

St John's improved from 5th place to 2nd in the Indoor Mets in Thursday Jan 29, 2009. The team scored 125 points in finishing 2nd to Seton Hall who scored 142 points.

A full meet report can be found at the Redstorm website. A full break down of the scoring can be found at the Mets results link.

The meet saw sophomore Bintou Dibba make a big breakthrough in the long jump with a winning leap of 19-0 3/4 or 5.81 meters which also qualified Bintou for the ECAC chamionships

Phobay Kutu-Akoy Burns Up the Track

2009-02-09T22:14:00.004-05:00

Senior Phobay Kutu-Akoi has been burning up the track in the 60 meter dash. This past weekend at the New Balance meet in the Armory, Phobay had another PR of 7.47 in the Dash which ranks her 4th in the Big East rankings.

Recently Phobay was named Big East athlete of the week for her performances earlier in the year at the Penn state invitational.

Last week Phobay finished 2nd in the Mets in 200 meters with a new PR of 24.56.

Phobay is 3 hundreths of a second off the NCAA indoor provisional qualifer . Next week at the Big East could see her over the top in the Big East where the mettion will be stiff.

One Record Down Another to Go?

2009-02-09T21:52:00.006-05:00

Priscilla Frederick took down the 24 year old record of Michele Holly at the Mets championships with a jump of 1.80 m (5-10 3/4). She did this while also debuting with a first place finish in the Mets Pentathalon. Priscilla also scared Theresa Jaeger's 29 year old STJ Pentathalon recod with a score of 3,684 points compared to TJ's 1980 mark of 3,803 points.

Priscilla followed up her Pentatalon win with a High Jump win the following day in addition to a fourth place finish in the Shot Put giving her a scoring tally of 25 points of the team's 125 points second place score at the Mets

For her recent efforts, Priscilla was named one of the Big East athletes of the week

Look out for Priscilla at the Big East early on Satuday morning Feb 21 at the Big East

Calling All Stanners - Tom Farrell to be Honored Feb 7th

2009-01-24T14:16:00.004-05:00

A Stanner Track & Field Celebration
Saturday Februrary 7th 4 PM
Cost $30
With Tom Farrell '61
On the 40th Anniversary of his Olympic Bronze Medal

Stanner Wall of Honor Class of 2009
Richie Rodgers ’65 Coach
Matt Nazaruk ‘63
Richie Stuart ‘75
Don Cotter ‘76
James Bermudez ‘80
Wendell Bonhomme ‘85
Phil Hemery ‘89
Chris Lopez ‘91
Tony Pough ‘91
William Vespe ‘92
Kawan Lovelace ‘94
Joe Dombrowski Coach

Please contact jdombrowski@molloyhs.org For more information or to reserve your place

Great Dane Results Friday January 23

2009-01-23T23:25:00.002-05:00

The STJ team turned in another good performance today at the Great Dane Meet on Friday at the Armory. The team finished 6th out of 30 scoring teams.

STJ packed a one two punch in the High Jump with Priscilla Frederick winning with a new PR and Provisional NCAA qualifier of 1.78 m (5'-10"). Finishing right behind Priscilla, Venisa Clark-Lee jumped 1.70m (5'-7") which qualifies Venisa for both the Big East and ECAC championships.

Sophomore Bintou Dibba backed up the jumps squad with a 4th place finish and Big East qualifier in the long jump with a leap of 5.64m (18'-6")

Leading the way on the track, Senior Tyneka Greene won the 800 in a Big East qualifying time of 2:15.76. Paula Rennalls improved her season best in the 200m with a 3rd place 24.75 finish. Fellow senior Phobay Kutu-Akoi followed Paula home with an 8th place 25.01 performance. Kim Piard followed her Big East qualifier last week in Penn State with a 9th place Big East qualifier in the 400 in a time of 57.73. Kim was followed by 3 other STJ athletes in cracking the 60 second barrier. The 400 meter relay squad teamed up to crack open an ECAC qualifier of 3:52.60.

In the field Freshman Chanel King continued to improve in the weight throw with an 8th place finish and another PR of 14.48m (47'-6 1/4")

Next up is the Metropolitan championships also at the Armory on Thursday at 4 PM. The meet promises to be a heavily contested event with strong teams being fielded by Rutgers, Manhattan College, Columbia and St John's

Penn State Results

2009-01-18T12:38:00.003-05:00

The 2nd meet of the New Year is over and the STJ continues to show good progress with Big East and ECAC qualifiers at the Penn State Open.

Leading the way was Senior Phobay Kutu-Akoi with a Big East and ECAC qualifier of 24.77 in the 200 meters to go with her 60m qualifer at Yale last weekend. Phobay finished 7th in the 200 and 4th in her specialty 60m dash with a time of 7.58. Phobay was closely followed by fellow classmate Paula Rennalls who also qualified for the Big East and the ECAC in the 200 in a 9th place finish with a time of 24.82. In addition, Paula qualified for the Big East in the 60m dash with a time of 7.80.

Sophomore Kim Piard made also got her Big East and ECAC qualifiers in the 500 meters while finishing 6th in the 500m with a time of 1:15.98

The middle distance squad also showed their metal with senior Tyneka Greene getting her Big East and ECAC qualifiers with a 2nd place finsh of 2:54.75. Tyneka was joined in Big East qualification by Junior Pam Petruski in the 800m with a 3rd place finish in a time of 2:16:05.

In the field, Priscilla Fredricks repeated her High Jump win of last year and broke her meet record with with a jump of 1.74m (5-8 1/2). Priscilla has already comfortably qualified for the Big East and ECAC, she's now hunting for an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 1.78m (5-10.)

Freshman Chanel King continued to show good progress in Weight and the Shot Put with PRs of 14.08m (46-2 1/2) and 12.47m (40-11) respectively

Millrose Games Tickets

2009-01-14T20:50:00.001-05:00

The 102nd Millrose Games will be held at Madison Square Garden on Friday January 30th starting at 6 PM. As usual we have purchased a block of 25 tickets in the green seat 300 section of The Garden. Tickets cost $30.00 which is a $10.00 discount on face value.

Currently 11 have been already been requested. If you'd like to attend, please contact Coach Hurt at 718 990-6159 or via email hurtj@stjohns.edu to reserve your tickets. Please specify the number of tickets you'll need.

Yale Meet Results

2009-01-11T03:50:00.001-05:00

First meet of the New Year is in results can be found at the Yale Classic

First Meet of the New Year: Saturday Jan 10

2008-12-20T15:03:00.002-05:00

The first meet of the new year will be held at Yale's Coxe Cage on Saturday January 10th.

If you want to come and cheer the team on you can get to Coxe Cage using these directions.

Stop by and say hello to the team

The full schedle can be found at the Red Storm Track Schedule.

Saturday, December 27: STJ Facebook Track Alumni Get Together

2008-12-20T14:56:00.002-05:00

The STJ Facebook Track Alumni will be holding their annual holiday get together. Details as follows:

Time: Saturday, December 27, 2008 at 7:00pm

Location: Stout - NYC
133 West 33rd Street,
New York, NY

Results of the First 2 Meets of the Year

2008-12-20T14:34:00.004-05:00

December is a strange time of year for a collegiate Track & Field athlete. Days are getting shorter, weather colder, academic load heavier and holiday distractions greater. It's a tough time of year to begin a season.

Fortunately our young team are showing early promise and a return for all the hard work they've put in over the Fall.

On December 1, Manhattan College played host, to their annual meet, held on the first possible day of the season. We had 2 athletes in action: junior Brianna Drexler and freshman Chanel King. Brianna and Chanel collected 3 second places finishes to set a great starting tone to the season. Full details of the meet can be found at the RedStorm website at: Manhattan Opener

On December 5th the full team debuted at Fordham. STJ's sophomore Priscilla Frederick led the team with a Big East and ECAC qualifier in the cramped high jump area in the Fordham field house. The jumps squad also generated another Big East qualifier with Junior Fayanne Francis in the Long Jump. Full details of STJs 6 wins can be found at: Fordham Opener meet report.

Indoor Track Season Begins: 2008 - 2009

2008-11-30T11:34:00.002-05:00

Cross country season is over and now without a break, the indoor track season begins. The first meet will be held tomorrow in Manhattan College in Riverdale. Full details of the track season schedule can be foud at: STJ Track Season Schedule.

If you have some free time, drop by and say hello to the team and enjoy some Track and Field. You can contact me for anymore details at nuttym@stjohns.edu

Facebook Alumni Group

2008-11-30T11:17:00.002-05:00

I'll admit it, despite my grey hair I enjoy Facebook, its a good place to network. Recently a new group for STJ Track Alums has been founded by Andrew Janosick. You can visit the group at the following link: St. Johns University Track & Field & X-Country Alumni

Cross Country Season Draws to A Close at the ECAC

2008-11-30T11:08:00.003-05:00

Last weekend the STJ Cross Country season draw to a close at Van Cortlandt Park with senior Tyneka Greene leading the STJ team in her final cross country run for the Red Storm. Full details of the race can be found at the Red Strom site at: St. John's Earns Team Top 10 Finish At ECAC Cross

Latest Cross Country News

2008-11-20T22:41:00.003-05:00

The Cross Country Season is drawing to a close and our young team has shown improvement in each meet over the past year.

Individual reports can be found on the Red Storm site as follows:

Next up and the last meet of the season is the ECAC Championships at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday 11/22/208

Tom Farrell Night November 17

2008-11-20T22:26:00.005-05:00

Thanks to all who came to Tom Farell Night. We had a total of 83 attendees with St John's and Archbishop Molloy grads in addition to members of the Track and Field community.

More details on the night in addition to the photo gallery can be found at: Tom Farrell Night

Tom has graciously agreed to lend his name to our fund raising efforts for the track program by lending his name in establishing the Tom Farrell fund. More details to follow.

Looking forward to seeing everybody at the Big East tentatively scheduled for Saturday Feb 21 at the Armory.

Cross Country Update: The Mets

2008-10-11T07:49:00.002-04:00

The St John's Ladies team are continuing to show improvement with a quality performance at this years Metropolitan Championships at Van Cortlandt Park

Please visit the Redstorm Website for Mets Race Report.

Full results can be found at the following link: Mets Results

The RedStorm website recently profiled freshman Sabine Schneider who hails from Bad Driburg, Germany.

Next Sunday, October 19, the team will be competing at our own Fall Festival for more details on all the events please select the follwing link: Fall Festival Details

St John's Cross Country Fall Festival

2008-10-01T18:58:00.003-04:00

The cross country season has arrived and with it our first Friends Event at the St John's Cross Country Fall Festival. Details are as follows:

Head Cross Country and Track Coach Jim Hurt
Invites you to the St. John’s Fall Festival

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Schedule of Events:
Location: Cunningham Park

9:30am One mile fun run/walk to benefit the fight against breast cancer
10:00am Women’s 4K race
10:30am Men’s 5K race

Location: St. John’s Campus

12:00 Noon Brunch Reception
University Center, Storm Center
*Please see campus map*

Featuring Rich Torrellas, USA Track and Field, Women’s Head Manager for 2008 Olympic Games

$20 per person

*Please RSVP by October 13, 2008*

Mary Pat Beirne at 718-990-1873 or beirnem@stjohns.edu

This is a good opportunity to see our team, meet up with former team mates, visit the STJ campus, support a great charity and have a good time.

If you're feeling energetic and would like to participate in one of the running events, please contact Coach Hurt at hurtj@stjohns.edu specifying which event you want to run in.

Early Season Cross Country Reports

2008-10-01T18:14:00.002-04:00

Our young team has show great progress with each outing:

Our next meet will be the Metropolitan Championships at Van Cortlandt Park on Friday, Oct 10, 1:30 PM. Directions to the meet can be found at the following link: Van Cortlandt Park Directions

St John's Track Alums Meet Interesting People

2008-10-01T17:53:00.005-04:00

You never know who you'll come across at the Olympics

But then if you're Rich Torellas (Class of 72) the manager of USA Women's Track and Field team, you're sure to cross paths with some interesting people

2008 XC Preview

2008-08-19T08:36:00.003-04:00

Hello to all, hope the summer treated you kindly. I also hope that our cross country got in their must needed miles over the summer to allow them to make a nice jump at both the local and Big East levels. Our staff is excited to return every member of last year's cross country squad and to combine this group with 3 incoming distance freshman.

Our top returner is senior, Tyneka Greene, who is entered her second season as captain. Tyneka was our top runner at every meet last fall and hopes to improve on her 19:16 PR at Van Courtlandt as well as her 77th place at Big East. Tyneka led off our Big East and ECAC scoring 4x800m relay numerous times last season with 2:12's splits. Add her 800m speed to her solid summer base and good things should happen.

Our other returning upperclassmen include Rakibat Abiola (Sr.), Pamela Petruski (Jr.), and Sarah Fry (Jr.). Petruski was also a member of the All-East 4x800m squad.

Returning sophomores include Sarah Sudbury, Lori Dougherty, Shakira Best, Katrina Schaefer, Laura Walsh, and Kayla Regulski. Sudbury is the top frosh returing out of Tomahawk, WI. Sudbury was second runner all last season as well as being a member of the All-East 4x800m.

Our rookie class includes three top prospects from New England and overseas. Aryon Trujillo hails from Pinkerton Academy (NH) and Nicole Cocozza from LaSalle Academy (RI) join us from top high school powerhouse. Sabine Schneider is over here from Germany which adds to our already international team.

We are excited to have everyone back from last season and the depth from our new freshman recruiting class will go along way in our development in the distance events and cross country.
We open up at the Hofsta Invitational on September 6th, 2008. We travel to Coach Hurt's Alma mater, Notre Dame, on September 19th, 22008 for the National Catholic Champs.

Calling Members of the 1984 - 1985 Team

2008-08-17T15:33:00.004-04:00

Do you remember what you looked like in 1984? I find my picture to be more then a little embarrassing in the 1984 - 1985 media guide.

For those that want to peruse other years, you can get a listing of what we currently have online at the Friends of St John's Track and Field Archive.

Would You Like to Blog?

2008-08-17T15:27:00.002-04:00

Blogging is as easy as writing an email, so if you'd like to get involved in posting stories about St John's, former team mates, Track and Field in general or the current team, let me know.

All you'll need to do is set up an email account on gmail.com and I'll be glad to enable you to start posting. Just drop me a note at the email address below.

I'm especially interested in those that would like to track down former team members and provide updates since their days at St John's

If you're technically shy, I'll walk you through putting up your first post. I have years as a software trainer so I can speak fluent geek and put it in human terms

Martin Nutty: nuttym@stjohns.edu

STJ at the Olympics

2008-08-17T15:04:00.005-04:00

STJ continues a long history of representation at Olympic Track and Field with Rich Torellas (class of 1972). Rich emailed Coach Hurt with the pictures to the left on July 29th. He'd already been in Beijing for a week at that point!

Rich's local newspaper published a nice article on Rich's responsibilities during the games in the New Haven Register: Torrellas an invaluable part of U.S. track contingent

Rich threw the Hammer when attended STJ back in the 70s and has travelled an interesting road to become the Head Manager of USA Women's Track and Field at the 2008 games He was selected for the position 2 years ago and we wish him and the team well in the upcoming week and look forward to hearing his stories when he is back in the USA.

STJ's First Olympian

2008-07-22T20:11:00.002-04:00

Beth Zebuth (class of 1985) came up with the right answer: Connie Stoll a member of 2 Olympic Teams in Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne in 1956. I've had some nice exchanges with Connie over the past year and asked her to give more detail on her career. I think you'll find her detailed response below interesting:

Dear Martin,

There were lots of great experiences from my participation in the games,but the more significant ones were getting there. Women's track and field in the U.S. was pretty much "downplayed". The support by the AAU was minimal and the attitude was that woman were unable to handle the training regimen .(obviously a man's opinion!!) I think that Babe Dedrickson was some unusual person. I really believe that many of the track meets were self supported or single donations and the men were the first priority.

I was born in Greenpoint , Brooklyn N.Y. Nov. 10,1934. I began running as part of the Police Athletic League at 12. I was preparing to compete in the City Championships and went to the local park with my Dad and fortunately met a man who was coaching a few girls,ranging from 15-24 (10 girls). He was sponsored by the the German American A.C. from Bronxville N.Y. The head of the A.C. was on th Board of thr AAU and wanted to see woman track and field succeed.....that is how it started. I was fortunate again that my coach was an expert in hurdles. I had the speed,but probably would not make it as a top sprinter,thus the hurdles. As a member of a small team,whenever there was a track meet,few and far between,we would compete in as many as 5 events each against much larger teams.

In July 1952 (just after graduating from Bishop McDonnell Mem. H.S.) I went to the Olympic tryouts in Pa. The criteria for making the team: win your event and do a time that was set by the Committee. I ran the 80m hurdles, won the event and ran 11.8 ,(one tenth off the American record). AS a result of the tryouts the team selected was just 10 women. I was the only U.S. entrant in the hurdles (my only claim to fame) I did not equal my 11.8 ,I did 12.1. It did not qualify me for the semis. The woman's relay team surprised all by winning the gold. (I was there to cheer them on)

I entered St. John"sTeachers College in the fall of 1952. I continued to train,held apart/full time job,and went to classes 6 days a week. I graduated in May of 1956. There were no Woman's track teams in Colleges,except Tennessee State &Tuskeegee Alabama. I competed in tryouts for the 1956 games in August and left for Melbourne in October.

This time the AAU and Olympic Committee had more donations and they allowed 3 entrants in each event. Again I made it in the hurdles, and again in a good time,but in the games I was timed in 12.1. The winning time was 11.4

The entire experience of being a part of such a special event is sometimes unbelievable to me. I have many great memories and memorabelia to remind me of what it was all about.
It wasn't until the 60's that woman were finally recognized as "able" and teams started to form especially in schools.

I am now visiting in Indiana with my brother Vincent(Darnowski) who competed for St. John's in the field events in the 50's. My brother Michael (Darnowski) also competed for St. John's and was a team manager. Unfortunately Michael passed away a year ago. Michael was very instrumental in having me placed in the St.John's Hall of Fame in 1993.

The reason you did not hear my name in your question about the first Olympian from St.Johns is probably that I did not compete for St.Johns,and probably that I did not get a medal. Al-so-rans don't get publicity. I hope you got Pete Close's name as well as Tom Farrell.

I will close now......If you would like more info I can write again or even better still be a presenter to your girls team to let them know how fortunate they are to have finantial help to attend school and compete for St.Johns

Constance(Connie) Darnowski Stoll school of Ed '56 U.S.A. '52,'56

St John's Alums Compete in the Olympic Trials

2008-07-10T20:35:00.003-04:00

Both Grace Zollman (Class of 2006) and DeWayne Barrett (class of 2005) competing in the USA and Jamaican Olympic trials as reported on the St John's Track and Field website. Both have made tremendous strides this season and continue to impress with their pursuit of excellence.

Priscilla Frederick Finishes Up a Great Season

2008-07-10T20:25:00.003-04:00

On Saturday June 21 Priscilla Frederick finished up her stand out freshman season by competing in the High Jump in the USA National Junior Championships in the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Columbus Ohio. Priscilla finished fifth in the nation as reported on the RedStormSports Track and Field site.

Congratulations to Priscilla and we look forward to great success next year.

Who is the First St John's Track & Field Olympian?

2008-06-20T17:53:00.002-04:00

Can you name the first St John's Track & Field Olympian? Extra points if you can specify the games. Post your answer by using the comments button below.

Grace Zollman Continues Impressive Season

2008-06-20T17:34:00.002-04:00

Grace Zollman (Class of 2006) competed twice this past week.

Grace started out on Saturday June 14 with a throw of 49.35 meters (161'-10") in the Louie Anthony Williams Memorial at Icahn Stadium on Randalls Island. A solid performance despite suffering from a sore arm.

On Wednesday June 18 Grace folowed up with another solid performance at the Empire State Games Trials also at Icahn Stadium. Grace produced a throw of 48.35 meters (158'-7") despite beinf initially rained out during warm-ups and then just getting 3 throws after 1hr delay.

Next week Grace may compete in Mac Championships meet at Icahn on Sunday with an eye on sharpening her performance for the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon on June 28.

Vin Insingo Sets 2008 Season Best

2008-06-20T17:25:00.002-04:00

Last weekend Vin Insingo (Class of 1992) competed in the USATF New Jersey Open & Masters Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Vin finished in first place with a season best throw of 55.32 meters (181'-6"). Vin's throw is three feet off his lifetime best!!

Vin plans on competing this Sunday at the Metropolitan Championships on Randall's Island.

Priscilla Frederick 12th in NCAA High Jump

2008-06-14T07:52:00.003-04:00

Last night Priscilla Frederick finished 12th in the NCAA High Jump concluding a higly successful collegiate freshmen season. Priscilla tied her season best with a 1.77 meters (5'-9 3/4") clearence. Elizabeth Patterson a sophomore from Arizona won the event with a clearance of 1.86 meters (6'-1 /4") . A full report can be be found on the Red Storm Track & Field pages.

Priscilla will now focus on qualifying for the World Junior champions to be held in Bydgoszcz, Poland to be held July 8 - 13.

Priscilla Frederick Freshman High Jumper Advances to NCAA Final

2008-06-12T08:12:00.003-04:00

Priscilla Frederick showed her steel again when advancing from the qualification round to the final 16 in the High Jump yesterday at the Des Moines NCAA finals as reported on the Red Storm Track and Field page. Priscilla made a 3rd attempt clearance of 1.77 meters (5'-9 3/4") to make the final. Her jump tied her seasonal best set in a jump off at the Tallahassee NCAA Regionals 2 weeks ago.

The outstanding performance comes on the tail of a miserable rain delayed trip to Iowa. USA Today gives some sense of the problems experienced for the teams participating in Des Moines.

Priscilla will be competing in the final on Friday.

High Jumper Priscilla Frederick Competing at NCAA Finals

2008-06-10T09:30:00.002-04:00

The collegiate Track and Field season draws to a climax with the NCAA finals being held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa beginning on Wednesday June 11. A full schedule of events can be found at the Drake University website at the following link: schedule.

St John's will be represented by freshman High Jumper Priscilla Frederick. Priscilla will be competing in the preliminaries in her specialty on Wednesday at 4 PM local time with the final to be held on Friday at 4:45 per the NCAA schedule.

Priscilla comes into the meet with a personal record of 1.77 meters (5'-9 3/4"). During the 2007-2008 season, the talented freshman has shown her versatility and team spirit by competing in the High Jump, Triple Jump, 100 hurdles, 200 meters, shot put and anchored the STJ 4 x 100 relay.

Hot Weekend for Alum Throwers

2008-06-10T08:43:00.004-04:00

With the mercury soaring to 90+ degrees this past weekend, the STJ Alum throwers keep on looking for that perfect performance.

Vin Insingo (Class of 1992) competed at both the New Jersey International in Holmdel, NJ on Saturday and the Island Games held at Mitchel Field, Uniondale, Long Island on Sunday. Given the weather conditions Vin produced creditable performances in both meets winning the former and finishing second in the latter. Vin exceeded 50 meters in both meets. Next week Vin will be competing down in Monmouth, New Jersey.

Grace Zollman (Class of 2006) defied the tough conditions to throw 48.14 meters at New Jersey International in Holmdel, NJ. While not Grace's best throw of the season, it was her best throw off grass ever. Since many facilities do not have a center field with a Javelin runway, Javelin throwers are often relegated to throwing off grass which is a sub optimal situation. Grace will be competing at the Louie Anthony Williams memorial at Icahn stadium on Randall's Island this weekend.

Calling For Captains

2008-06-06T15:50:00.003-04:00

In Order to expand the reach of the Friends group I'd like to get a group of captains who will maintain communication with fellow Friends based on the periods they attended St John's or alternatively for non grads their affiliation with the Track & Field program.

I want to divide the Alumni base up into the following groups:

1950s
1960 - 1964
1965 - 1969
1970 - 1974
1975 - 1979
1980 - 1984
1985 - 1989
1990 - 1994
1995 - 1999
2000 - 2004
2005 - 2009

Other Friends:

Friends who are not graduates of St John's
Parents of St John's athletes that want to follow the program

Captains will notify their group of:

Upcoming events
Track down lost Friends

If you are interested in becoming a captain or would like to know more, please send me an email at nuttym@stjohns.edu or call me at 917-415-1718

First Quarterly Friends of STJ Track & Field Meeting

2008-06-06T15:37:00.002-04:00

On Thursday June 5th the first Friends of St John's Track & Field meeting was held in Carnesecca arena. In attendance:

Joe Carpenter - class of 62
Tom Celandine - class of 62
Martin Nutty - class of 88
Ed Joyce - class of 59
Bill Boyle - STJ Prof of Philosophy

Topics Discussed:

Review of Track season and upcoming season
Proposed annual events: Fall Festival, Big East Indoor, Reebok Grand Prix outdoor. These events correspond to the Cross Country, Indoor, Outdoor track schedule
Tom Farrell Nite: Scheduled for November 12th. The function will serve 2 purposes: a) Honor Tom's achievements on the Track 40 years after his medal in the Mexico Olympic Games and to raise money for the Track and Field program. Target money being raised is 40k. The event will consist of a presentation and Q & A on Tom's career and a reception afterwards. Please be sure to Mark your calendar for the big night.
Website and email communication process

The meetings are designed for Friends to:

Get together
Get an update on the STJ Track & field program
Have fun along with drinks and food
Be less then 2 hours

The next meeting will be held on Saturday September 13th. We will alternate each meeting with a weekday night night and weekend day.

Friends at the Reebok Grand Prix May 31

2008-06-06T14:59:00.007-04:00

On Saturday May 31 a group of Friends of St John's Track & Field went to Ichan Stadium to watch New York's only world class outdoor Track and Field meet. The meet exceeded expectations and was capped with a world record in the 100 meters by Usain Bolt.

In addition to the 100 meter world record there was also an American all comers record set by Paul Koech of Kenya in the 3000 meters steeple chase of 8:01.85

As the 100 meters was underway Jenn Stuczynski was making three solid attempt at the women's Pole Vault world record. Earlier in the evening Jamaica also laid cliam to the women's 100 meter dash with a world leading time by Veronica Campbell Brown of 10.91

For a full list of the results visit the Reebok Grand Prix: results page

Mark your calendar for next year as we will be there again.

In Attendance:

George Leidinger
Steve Conroy
Bill Boyle
Tom Farrell
Martin Nutty
Alex Long
Joe DeVito
Tom O'Connor
Dennis Carmody

Active Alumni Throwers

2008-06-03T17:29:00.003-04:00

Grace Zollman (Class of 2006) and Vin Insingo (class of 1992) competed at the Mid-Atlantic USATF 2008 Open Outdoor Championships at Widener University in Chester, PA on Saturday May 31.

Grace broke through the 50 meter mark for the second time in the javelin this season with a throw of 50.09 meters. Vin had a more subdued day in the discus with a throw of 50.78 meters. I wish my subdued days were close to where he is at :-).

Vin will be competing next week at the NJ international at Holmdel NJ on Saturday and the Island Games on Sunday at Mitchell Athletic complex. With the right kind of wind, look for Vin to break through his season best of 54.28 meters set in Princeton. Vin continues to be ranked number one in the country in the 35 - 40 Masters Age Group.

This Week's Meet: NCAA Regionals

2008-05-29T07:56:00.002-04:00

This week May 30 - 31 the STJ Track team will be represented in the NCAA for the 1th consecutive year by Big East 400 meter champion Maxcine Foster and All East High Jumper Priscilla Frederick.

To find schedules and results of the meet being hosted by Florida State, please click the following link: Regionals Details.

Active Alums: Vinny Insingo

2008-05-27T14:27:00.004-04:00

This week found Vinny Insingo (Class of 1992) competing on Long Island at Jefferson Station in the Long Island Track and Field Development meet. Vinny won the discus with a throw of 52.94 meters (173'-8").

Next week Vinny will be competing in Widner, PA.

ECAC's

2008-05-21T14:26:00.004-04:00

The ECAC Championship @ Princeton concluded the season for our full team and the future looks bright with 5 newcomers earning ALL-EAST honors. Freshman Priscilla Frederick continued her outstanding season taking 8th in the high jump and the 4 x 800m relay team of junior transfer Tyneka Green, sophomore Pam Petruski, in her first collegiate outdoor season, and freshmen Kim Piard, Sarah Sudbury clocked a season best 9:04.84 in the prelims. The finals the next day seemed to symbolize the entire 2008 season. As the rain poured down and with freshmen Shakira Best running in place of the injured Piard, the 4 x 800m pushed to an eighth place finish. Our young and inexperienced squad had fought off injury and illness, cold and wet weather, to compete with the best track & field athletes in the Eastern United States.

We will be sending Big East 400m champion Maxcine Foster and freshmen high jumper Priscilla Frederick to the NCAA Regional in Tallahassee, Florida the last weekend in May. Both have an excellent chance of placing in the top 5 to advance to the NCAA finals at Drake University the middle weekend of June. This marks the 18th consecutive year that St. John's has qualified athletes to the NCAA championships. Frederick is also qualified to the USA Junior Championships at Ohio Sate the third week of June. The top two finishers at the junior meet will make the USA National team that competes in the World Junior Championships in Poland in July.

Active Alums: Vinny Insingo

2008-05-20T08:29:00.004-04:00

Vinny Insingo (Class of 1992) continued to perform well in his discus specialty this weekend at the Al Saner Track Meet in Point Pleasant, NJ. Vinny finished first with a mark of 54.20 meters (177'-10").

Active Alums: Dewayne Barrett 400 Meter Breakthrough

2008-05-19T15:15:00.002-04:00

This weekend at Georgia Tech Invitational, Dewayne Barrett (Class of 2005) won his heat in a new PR 45.74. Looks like Dewayne is winding into form at just the right time to make the Jamaican national team for the Olympic Games. Full results can be found at the Georgia Tech site.

Alumni Thrower News at the New Balance Qualifying Challenge

2008-05-15T14:09:00.004-04:00

Last week at the New Balance Qualifying Challenge at Icahn Stadium the STJ alumni throwers continued to be a dominating force in local Track and Field.

Vinny Insingo won the discus with a throw of 50.40 meters (165'-04"). Vinny will be competing in Point Pleasant in New Jersey this weekend. Grace Zollman finished second in the Javelin with a throw 46.75 meters (153'-04").

Open Thread: May 15th

2008-05-15T13:58:00.002-04:00

Who will be the first to add a comment to our blog? Please use the comments link below to add thoughts, ideas or requests.

This Week's Meet: ECAC Championships

2008-05-15T13:39:00.002-04:00

This weekend, we will be competing in ECACs at Princeton. The meet will take place on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18 as detailed in the schedule. Directions can be found at the following link: Princeton Directions.

We will be running our relay teams: 4 x 100, 4 x 400, and 4 x 800. Priscilla Frederick and Venisa Clark-Lee will be going in the High Jump. Phobay Kutu-Akoi will be running in the 100 meters.

The Mysterious Cup

2008-05-09T10:50:00.009-04:00

Does anyone know how this trophy ended up in the St John's University Track & Field Office?

A little internet research indicates that it originates from St John’s College in Oxford and not St John's University. The cup is dated Feb 1884.

Looks like the cup was awarded to L.W. Reed who ran Cross Country among other things at Oxford.

The cup is stamped D. Munsey Cambridge. It appears that the trophy maybe valuable given the following auction item also by the same silversmith.

Please add you comments below or email me at nuttym@stjohns.edu.

Open Thread May 7th

2008-05-07T14:27:00.001-04:00

Your feedback is important to us. Please use the comments icon at the bottom of this post to tell us your thoughts, ideas etc.

This Week's Meet

2008-05-07T14:25:00.002-04:00

This weekend, we will be competing in the New Balance NYC Qualifying Challenge at Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island. The meet will take place on Friday evening and Saturday as detailed in the schedule. Directions can be found at the following link: Randall's Island Direction.

Big East Champs - 4x800

2008-05-06T13:21:00.003-04:00

Villanova, PA - The Big East Champs treated the 4x800 team much better then the Penn Relays did a week earlier. The foursome of Tyneka Greene, Pamela Petruski, Sarah Sudbury and Shakira Best improved their season best by more then 14 seconds by running 9:05.81 for a 7th place finish. The mark also extended the season of the young relay by earning them a trip to the ECAC Championships in two weeks.

Tyneka Greene ran an awesome lead off leg by taking the race out in 63-64 through 400m. Tyneka ran a very aggressive race and set the tone for the entire relay with a 2:12.8 split handing off in 3rd place. Pamela Petruski ran a tough leg and split 2:14.8 which is her fastest split of her St. John's career. After the 2nd exchange between Petruski and Sarah Sudbury, we were in 5th place. Sudbury split 2:17.8 and kept us right in the pack fighting for 2nd place as Marquette was way out in front. Kim Piard was slated to run the anchor but due to illness we had to add our alternate, Freshman Shakira Best, to the anchor 20 mins before the gun went off. Shakira ran a gusty race for a 2:19.9 split and just got nipped the last 20 meters by South Florida.

We are looking forward to the challenge at the ECAC's at Princeton in two weeks. We are excited to get Kim back healthy and have our complete team crack the 9:00 barrier.

Maxcine "Beast" Foster Wins Big East Title (400m)

2008-05-06T12:45:00.002-04:00

I have an opportunity to share the amazing journey of Senior Maxcine Foster better known as "Beast".

Three years ago Max sustained a severe hamstring pull which sidelined her for the entire outdoor season. We were able to redshirt her in order regain a year of eligibility. The following year, Maxcine had a phenomenal indoor season that culminated in a ECAC Championship and a season's best 400m (53.72) However, her ongoing isues with her hamstrings continued. At the Outdoor Metropolitan Championships, she strained her hamstring and had to sit out the 2007 Outdoor season. Maxcine struggled to overcome her hamstring issues which in turn had an affect on her mentally. Maxcine admits to doubting herself and her ability to complete an entire outdoor season as she would always face what seemed like a host of insurmountable obstacles. We began to rehab jointly with STJ's training staff and Dr. Gill Chimes in Greenwhich, Ct for a few months. After months of therapy Maxcine showed glimpses of her form to only be met with reoccuring hamstring issues.

The opportunity that has been presented to me as an assistant coach to prepare her physically & mentally. Although she has had many days & nights of constant tears, I knew in my heart that her struggles would end up in victory for her. With a limited amount of training due to the weakness/soreness in her hamstring we believed that her success would come from her heart. Maxcine wanted to win the Big East Championship more than her peers could imagine. In fact, after the semi final at the BE Championships, Maxcine approached me and said, "Coach don't worry, I will WIN"....This was after she failed to win her heat which would have guaranteed an automatic qualifier and a more preffered lane. I had to trust that she was going to deliver as she promised....

We all sat together in the stands as a TEAM (STJ) and cheering Maxcine to victory. She ran a phenomenal race and took over the lead in the last 50 meters of the race. She WON as she promised.....We are extremem;y proud of her, and we are excited to see what will happen at the Regional Meet in three weeks. Maxcine currently ranks 7th in the East region where the top 5 advance to NCAA's. Again, Max said, "Coach, I will make it to Nationals". Here again another promise......in three weeks I believe she will be on her way to the NCAA Championships representing St Johns University.

Congratulations Maxcine. We wish Maxcine well and it has been a great journey with her!!!

Coach Harrison

Big East at Villanova

2008-05-06T09:18:00.002-04:00

The last time I was at a track meet at Villanova was in 1964 for the IC4As. So after 44 years I had forgotten what the place looked like. The most impressive sight was walking into a small gym next to the newly surfaced track, going through a doorway that had a sign pointing to the Pavillion that led to the Dupont Center (basketball arena and indoor track). As you walk in the narrow hallway there are many and I mean many Penn Relays trophies--too many to count--a very impressive sight. It seemed like it went on forever. They also have displayed at least 100+ All American Certificates--names like Ron Delany, Frank Budd, Charlie Jenkins, Paul Drayton, Don Bragg, Dave Patrick, Larry James etc. etc. etc. Also many XC and Indoor and Outdoor IC4A/ECAC trophies.

What I thought was a nice touch was a Wall Of Fame on the track recognizing the names of their best athletes over the years.

The Big East meet will probably be held at Villanova next year and for track and field fans a great place to visit.

Big East Outdoor Championships

2008-05-05T12:04:00.002-04:00

After a 10 year absence the Big East Outdoor Track & Field Championship returned to Villanova where St. John's Maxcine Foster blistered the new track in 53.54 to win the 400m title. Her title is the 3rd in the last four years for a Red Storm 400m runner and the 6th overall in Big East history. Combining with Phobay Kutu-Akoi, Asia Davy, and Asia Nettles, Max split 53. on the Red Storm's 4 x 400m relay that took 8th place in a seasonal best and ECAC qualifying time of 3:46.06. Phobay earlier had led off the 4 x 100m relay staking St. John's to a lead andFreshmen Rene Cousins, Kate Dulmovits, and Priscilla Frederick carried the stick to a 47.69 clocking and 7th overall. Frederick followed her 4 x 100m anchor chores with 5th place in the High Jump leaping 1.75m - 5'8 1/2", another NCAA Qualifying mark for the Red Storm. Asia DAvy just missed making the final of the 400IH with a season best time of 63.06. Kutu-Akoi did not advance in the 100m with her 12:20 and Venisa-Clarke Lee cleared 1.60m but did not score.

The Big East Conference is one of the best track & field conference's in the country and the Red Storm rose to the competition in posting numerous seasonal and personal bests on the weekend.
With the weather warming so too are the St. John's performances so look for hot efforts in the weeks to come.

Alumnus: DeWayne Barrett in Kingston Jamaica Action

2008-05-05T07:25:00.004-04:00

Alumnus, DeWayne was back in his native Jamaica following last weeks action in Penn Relays. DeWayne ran 47.10 for 6th place in the 400 meters at the Jamaica International.

The meet was higlighted by Usain Bolt's 100 meters where he recorded the second fastest time ever.

More News From Vinny Insingo

2008-05-03T22:31:00.002-04:00

Got a call from Vinny Insingo this evening. Vinny demonstrates that discus throwers can continue to get better into their late 30s and early 40s. He's not saying which category he belongs too :-)

At Princeton's Elite Meet, Vinny, competing for Shore A.C., took first place in the discus with a throw of 54.28 meters (178'-01"). After the meet some of the throwers took an additional three throws, although the outcome was not recorded as part of the meet, Vinny exceeded 56 meters which surpasses his P.R.

Keeping my fingers crossed in the upcoming weeks so that Vinny's hard work will pay off in an Olympic Trials slot.

Open Thread April 30th

2008-04-30T17:02:00.002-04:00

Your feedback is important to us. Please use the comments icon at the bottom of this post to tell us your thoughts, ideas etc.

Still Active Alumni: Discus Thrower Vinny Insingo (1992)

2008-04-30T15:15:00.004-04:00

Vinny Insingo class of 1992 competed at the TCNJ Lion’s Invitational on 4/26 and took first place with a mark of 51.10 meters (167'-8") in the discus. Vinny will be competing this weekend at Princeton.

Vinny has a season best of 52.94 meters (173'-8") at College of New Jersey Lion's Invitational on April 27. Vinny is the number one ranked thrower in the USA in 35+ age group in the Master's Discus.

Memorable day at Penn

2008-04-30T13:00:00.002-04:00

Most of you will remember Dave Patrick--Villanova miler from the 60s.
Last Friday I attended a cocktail reception hosted by Dave for Villanova Alums. He put together a slide presentation featuring former V greats including Larry James, Erv Hall, Don Bragg and many more Olympic, National, and NCAA champions. It was an amazing presentation with action photos of these great athletes over many years. It concluded with a video of the 1968 Penn relays Championship 4 X 4---with Larry James, "The Mighty Burner" anchoring in 43.9---fastest time ever recorded by a collegian. He made a 45 second runner from Rice look like he was running in mud.
But the real highlight of the evening was a wrong that was corrected. In 1968 there were 2 Olympic trials--one in LA in June and the Final trials in September at Lake Tahoe.
They told us that the winner in LA was guaranteed a spot on the team--provided he maintain his fitness at the final trials in September. Patrick won in LA but finished 4 at Tahoe. 3 make the team. It was decided to leave Patrick off the team even thought he did demonstrate fitness and it was a devastating blow to one of our best 1500 meter runners of alltime. Good things do happen, better late than never and a USATand F high up and Payton Jordan, Head Coach of the 68 Team came to the reception to make an announcement elevating Dave from an alternate and non member of the team to the status of a true OLYMPIAN with all rights and privileges of a member of the 1968 Olympic team. Other 68 members including John Carlos, Norm Tate, Erv, Larry and myself were ther to dry Dave's tears.
This weekend is the the Big East championships at Villanova--if you can come and cheer.
May 31 is the Grand Prix at Randells Island lets us know if you want tickets--great price, great competion.

Torch Article: Maxcine Foster 400 Meter Standout

2008-04-29T16:37:00.000-04:00

The Torch, St John's student newspaper puplished an article about Maxcine Foster recently. Read all about it here: To the Max: Foster is the 'beast of the east'

Penn Relays & Yale Invite Review

2008-04-29T16:00:00.001-04:00

St. John's completed a great track & field weekend with Priscilla Frederick placing second in the collegiate High Jump at Penn Relay's at Franklin Field in Philadelphia with a 5'7" leap and alumnus DeWayne Barrett anchoring Jamaica's national 4 x 400m team against Jeremy Wariner in a blazing 45.25. The women's 4 x 800m was moving up well when the baton got bumped from Tyneka Greene's grasp with 200m to go on the opening leg. After a few bounces Greene was able to recover the baton but the pack had moved well up the track. Quality efforts by Pam Petruski, Kim Piard, and Sarah Sudbury could not make up ground over the 2nd, 3rd, and fourth legs.

On Sunday the Red Storm drove north to Yale University in New Haven where, despite cool weather and threatening skies, Maxcine Foster cruised to victory in the 400m and Phobay Kutu-Akoi exploded to win the 100m with a Big East and ECAC qualifying mark of 12.13. Frosh Bintou Dibba took second in the long jump and Tyneka Greene did likewise in the 800m. Asia Davy and Vanessa Thompson both scored in the 400 Hurdles and Kayla Reguliski recorded a PR in the 1500m. Frosh Rene Cousins scored in both the 400m and 200m and thrower Dominique Eason posted PR's in both the Hammer and Discus.

The Relays and Yale should set up the Red Storm for the Big East Championships at Villanova this coming weekend. Fourteen STJ athletes will contest for Big East titles in the 100, 400, 400IH, High Jump, 4 x 100m, 4 x 400m, and 4 x 800m.

Middle Distance - Penn Relays

2008-04-28T16:06:00.000-04:00

The 2008 Penn Relays proved to be another great meet with records crowds. Our young 4x8 team comprised of junior Tyeneka Greene (NY), sophomore Pamela Petruski (NJ) and Freshman Kim Piard (NY) and Sarah Sudbury (WI) had a rude awakening to the crowds both in the stands and on the track. The young foursome ran a slow 9:27.25 due to a baton incident on the third turn of the lead off leg which put the team in a 80m hole. Tyneka Green was making a nice move until another runner bumped her arm and knocked the baton loose. Major credit is due for Tyneka picking up the baton and still finishing strong as well as the other three legs running their hearts out to catch up to the pack.

The middle distance future is bright and the race at Penn still gained the young ladies good experience at a high level meet. It was the first time at "The Relays" for freshman Sudbury who is from Tomahawk, WI. Tomahawk has one traffic light, so The Penn Relays was a true carnival for the Midwestern rookie.

The 4x8 has a chance to redeem themselves this weekend at the Big East Champs. More to come.........

The Throws at the Yale Springtime Invitational

2008-04-28T07:03:00.000-04:00

Cool conditions prevailed at the Yale Springtime Invitational. Despite the weather, the STJ throws group continued to show improvement and promise.

Dominique Eason finished 8th in the Hammer with a PR throw of 44.94 meters (147'-05""). Her throw was a scant eight inchs from a Big East qualifier. Dominque followed up with another PR in the Discus with a 10th place finish of 32.49 meters (106'-07").

Rachel Williams continued to show good form in the shot while finishing 6th with a throw of 11.34 meters (37'-02 1/2"). Rachel also placed 10th in Javelin with 27.27 meters (89'-06") and 17th in the Hammer with 32.99 meters (108'-03").

Full results can be accessed at Yale Springtime Invitational

Yale Meet Details - Sunday April 27

2008-04-23T22:54:00.000-04:00

Meet Details

Field events start at 10 AM and the track events begin at noon

Meet Directions to Cuyler Field/Dwyer Track next to Yale Field

From Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways:
Take Exit 57 (Route 34 East) directly to the Yale fields, or take Exit 59 (Whalley Avenue) and follow Yale Bowl Signs to the Yale Fields.

From I-95:
Take Eastbound Exit 44 or Westbound Exit 45 to Route 10 and follow Yale Bowl signs. Or, take Exit 47 (Downtown) and follow Route 34 to the Yale fields.

From Downtown New Haven:
Go north on Chapel Street, then turn left on Derby Avenue (Route34) to the fields. From I-91: Take Exit 1 (Downtown) and follow Route 34 to the Yale fields.

Schedule

FIELD EVENTS:

10:00AM (01)Discus Men (130’), followed by (02) Discus Women (115’).

Following discus men,(03) Hammer Men (145’), then (04) Hammer Women (115’).

10:00 (05)Long Jump men (21’), followed by (06) women (16’6), then Triple Jump (07) men (43’), followed

by (08) Triple Jump women (34’).

11:30 (09)Shotput Men (45’), followed by (10) Shotput Women (36’).

11:00 (11)Pole Vault women (9’6), followed by (12) Pole Vault men (13-6).

12:00 PM (13)High Jump men (6-2), followed by (14)High Jump women (4-10).

1:00 (15)Javelin Throw women (115’), followed by (16) Javelin Throw men (150’).

RUNNING EVENTS:

(17) 400 Meter Relay - women (28) 100 Meter Dash - men

(18) 400 Meter Relay - men (29) 800 Meter Run - women

(19) 3000 Meter Steeplechase - women (30) 800 Meter Run - men

(20) 3000 Meter Steeplechase - men (31) 400 Meter Hurdles - women

(21) 1500 Meter Run - women (32) 400 Meter Hurdles - men

(22) 1500 Meter Run - men (33) 200 Meter Dash - women

(25) 400 Meter Dash - women (36) 5000 Meter Run - men

(26) 400 Meter Dash - men (37) 1600 Meter Relay - women

(27) 100 Meter Dash - women (38) 1600 Meter Relay -me

For the Geeky Set

2008-04-23T18:01:00.000-04:00

If you have an RSS feed reader and would like to add a feed of any new blog posts to the reader from this site, just paste in the following URL feed into your reader: http://friendsofstjohnstrackandfield.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

For those reading this who think this is pure nerd talk but are still curious, you can use this functionality so that new posts on the blog are automatically picked up a personalized web page such as MyYahoo.

If none of this makes sense, please feel free to comment below :-)

Regards

I've Added Advertising

2008-04-23T08:49:00.001-04:00

OK I've added advertising to the blog. Any revenues generated will be donated to the General Fund of the Track and Field program.

Open Thread

2008-04-23T08:28:00.001-04:00

We need your feedback on what you'd like to see in terms of services from the Friends of St John's Track and Field (FSTJTF). Maybe you hate the acronym!!

At the bottom of this post you'll see a link called comments. Please feel free to submit ideas, comments. thoughts, musings etc.....

Alumna Grace Zollman Olympic Trials Qualifier

2008-04-21T17:02:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, Grace Zollman graduate 2007 threw a PR of 51.06 meters (167'-6")at the New York relays on Randall's Island. The throw is a B standard for the Olympic trials which will be held in Eugene. Grace needs to throw 54.50 meters (178'-9 1/2") to achieve the A standard an assure herself of a place in the trials.

The Throws at the Mets

2008-04-20T15:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday proved to be an excellent day for STJ track at the Mets. The team finished first with a total of 158 points to second place finished Fordham with 144. The STJ throwers produced of total of 32 points.

Rachel Williams finished 3rd in the shot put and javelin, 4th in the discus and seventh in the hammer scoring a total of 19 points. Rachel recorded PRs in 3 of her 4 events with 35.31 (115'-10") meters in the discus, 37.97 meters (124'-6") in the hammer, 11.45 meters (37'-6 1/2") in the shot and 31.77 meters (104'-2 3/4")in the Javelin. A strong tail wind in the javelin was probably a deterrent to Rachel in producing one more PR in her final event of the day

Dominique Eason produced 10 points in her events finishing 4th hammer inn the hammer with a throw of 42.92 meters (140'-9 3/4"), 6th in the discus with a season best of 30.81 meters (101'-1")and 7th in the shot with a throw of 10.37 meters (34'-0 3/4").

Priscilla Frederick was a welcome addition to the throws team. Priscilla is STJ's standout high jumper who looks like she has the potentional to be a talented monthly events athlete. Priscilla finished 6th in the shot put with a throw of 10.69 meters (35'-0 3/4") to score 3 points.

Full Results of the Mets can be found at Direct Athletics at the following link: Mets Results

Metropolitan Championships

2008-04-18T09:48:00.000-04:00

The intercollegiate Metropolitan Championships will be held tomorrow, Saturday April 18th at the Palisades Park Regional Sportsplex. The weather looks good, so come out and cheer on the team and meet old friends. The meet starts at 10 AM tomorrow. Please find directions below:

Directions to Palisades Park Regional Sportsplex
From Route 4 West:

Grand Avenue exit south towards Leonia/Palisades Park.
Follow Grand Avenue for approximately 2 miles and turn right on Roosevelt Avenue.
Follow Roosevelt Avenue to the end.

From I-95 South:

Exit 68 (same as NJ Turnpike)
At light, make left following signs for U-TurnAt light on Fort Lee road make a left
Follow over the Turnpike to Grand Avenue and turn right on to Grand Avenue.
Follow Grand Avenue for approximately 2 miles and turn right on Roosevelt Avenue.
Follow Roosevelt Avenue to the end.

From Route 80 East:

East on Route 80 to Route 95 NorthExit 70, Leonia
Follow ramp onto Fort Lee Road
Follow Fort Lee Road to Grand Avenue and turn right on to Grand Avenue.
Follow Grand Avenue for approximately 2 miles and turn right on Roosevelt Avenue.
Follow Roosevelt Avenue to the end.

Martin

Opening Post

2008-04-17T20:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the St John's Track & Field blog. The blog will provide periodic updates on the St John's Track & Field team and program from the five coaches currently involved in the program:

James Hurt - Head Coach
Yvonne Harrison - Assistant Coach
John Honerkamp - Assistant Coach
Tom Farrell - Volunteer Coach
Martin Nutty - Volunteer Coach

We look forward to your comments.

Martin Nutty