The Story of the 2008 CHSAA Indoor Track & Field Championship….
By A Friend of The Prep

The early morning of Sunday February 10^th dawned with frozen windshields and numerous car accidents just north of the city. It served as a vivid reminder that things can and do go wrong in a meet as big as the 81^st Intersectional Championships about to be held at the Armory in Manhattan that day. The teams that can minimize the “accidents” whether attributed to injuries, strategy or simply outstanding performances from opponents, will end up challenging for a title. Fordham Prep, Kellenberg, Chaminade and Monsignor Farrell were the favorites. For the Prep, it was a chance to add to its two victories in the previous 80 championships. A near miss by 1/3 of a point in 2004 was still fresh in the minds of the coaches.

Fordham Prep entered this meet with strengths in both field and track events. Quality depth in both areas held out hope that overall balance would add up to victory at the end of the 8 hour event.

The day started with 4x200 relay trials. Powerhouse teams from Holy Trinity, Mount St. Michael, St. Anthony’s and Holy Cross led the way and the Prep did not make it to the finals. Then came the 3200 meter run, the first scoring event of the day, held just after 10am. The Fordham senior Dan Altenau won Fordham Prep its first point of the day with a fine 5^th place showing against some very difficult competition, clocking in with a time of 9:56.

Though still early, a crucial event was taking place at the High Jump. The favorite was Fordham Prep star Jourdan White. However, Jourdan was battling injuries, and was pushed hard by jumpers from Iona Prep and Mount St. Michael. Senatus of Kellenberg surprised by being first over 6 feet. Not only did Jourdan have to overcome a miss at that height, he also had to participate down the track in the Long Jump at the very same time. Somehow all his hard work paid off as Jourdan leaped 6 ft. 2 inches to win the “City” champioship, the third in his stellar career! But before his winning High Jump he managed to jump an excellent 21 ft 4 inches in the Long Jump earning a valuable 3 points for third! He then returned and barely missed at 6 ft. 5 in the High Jump. Teammate Andrew Hemmings added a point with a 5^th place finish thanks to a 20 ft. 7 inch effort in the Long Jump.

After 3 events Fordham Prep had an early lead with 11 points. Kellenberg had 9, Molloy 6, and Mount was fourth with 5 ½.

The next three finals were on the track. First came the 1000 meters. Michael Schieck of Chaminade was the overwhelming favorite. He delivered, with a victorius time of 2 minutes 33 seconds. Coupled with a 5^th place finish, the Flyers entered the title chase with 7 points. Iona Prep also took 7 points with 2^nd and 3^rd place finishes.

Next, the 600 meters was a race loaded with top runners, including Zach Keefer and Carlos Petrovich from the Prep. James Farley of Monsignor Farrell took an lead early in the race and was able to barely hold off a fast closing Zach at the tape to win 1:23:41 to 1:23:48! The Prep won a total of 7 points in the event as Petro passed runners on the final lap to garner 3^rd with a 1:24:45. Even more impressive is the fact that Petro had already run a 51.1 anchor leg in the morning to secure the 6^th and final qualifying spot on the 4x400 relay final to be held later in the afternoon. Next, the 55 meters was won by Jaren Stewart of Molloy as the meet neared its halfway point.

After six events, the scores: Fordham Prep 18, Molloy 12, Iona Prep 11, Chaminade 9, Kellenberg 9, Farrell 6.

The field events took center stage. Monsignor Farrell won a controversial Shot Put affair, but Brian Seminario became the first Prep athlete to win points in the “Cities” in many a year with an excellent throw of 49 ft. 9 ¾ inches, good for fourth place. Solomon of

St. John the Baptist won the Triple Jump, but Andrew Hemmings added to his long jump point by adding 4 more with a 43 ft. 4 ¾ inch jump for second place. Then Fordham Prep surprised in the Pole Vault. Both James Schindler and Keegan Talty cleared 12 ft. 6 inches. John Horvath took home third place for the Prep with a 13 ft. vault. Perhaps the individual highlight of the meet occurred when Mount St. Michael’s Brian McGovern soared a spectacular 16 ft 2 inches to break the all time meet record.

The scores after 9 events: Fordham Prep taking command with 27 points, Monsignor Farrell 16, Iona Prep 15, Archbishop Molloy 14

Things now came fast and furious. Here is an example. At 2:20 pm, McGovern breaks the pole vault record. At 2:22pm, Coach Febles Sr.has 3 hurdlers in the 55M hurdles semi-finals, and all three, Seaton, Grant and Allison, make the finals! This left the Prep secure in its hope for even more points an hour or two later. At 2:25pm Head Coach Febles Jr is barking orders (benevolently of course) to numerous team members trying to organize the hectic 3 hours which remain. A look outside the ancient windows of the Armory reveals brilliant sunshine. A sun which would soon shine brightly on a certain team from the Bronx.

The 1600 meter was a thriller with Mike Elnick of Kellenberg matching his brother Tom’s win earlier in the 2 mile. Chaminade encountered trouble in the race but did manage to add 7 points with a 2^nd and a 3^rd.

The 55M Hurdles final was a showcase for Fordham and effectively crushed the chances for any other team pretending to challenge for the title. Wayne Seaton ran a blistering 7.97 seconds after his 7.89 in the Semi’s to capture the championship. Ed Allison made it a 10 point, 1-2 sweep with a second place time of 8:05. Having only minutes to get to the start of the 300M final, Wayne ran his 5th race of the day finishing fourth in the 300. He had already run a 35:56 to qualify for the finals.

Going into the relays, Fordham Prep had a lead which was the envy of all other teams: Fordham Prep 39, Monsignor Farrell well back in 2^nd with 19, and then a three way tie for 3rd – Chaminade, Iona, and Molloy. But they only had 16 each.

The 3200 meter relay saw a repeat of the Millrose 4x800 result with Kellenberg winning over Chaminade. Then came a thrilling 1600M relay. The Fordham team of Petrovich, Grant, Salem and Keefer came from way back to almost pull off a miracle finish, falling inches short to the winner Farrell in a wonderful time of 3:27:9 to their 3:27:6.

The 4 points gave Fordham a total of 43 and its third Intersectional “City” championship. It was a stunning 17 point victory over 2^nd place Farrell. Kellenberg was 3^rd with 22 and Chaminade 4^th with 20.

What an accomplishment! For only the third time in 81 years Fordham is on top of the Indoor Track world. It is their 7^th Intersectional track championship in this decade, OK, in this century. No school has more. The athletes deserve an immense amount of credit. The superb coaching staff; Carney with the vaulters, Matt with the jumpers, George Sr. the hurdlers, Phipps, Daryn and Paul. Yes, I’m leaving someone out. I hope he doesn’t leave this part of the story out. (Editor’s Note: I would have, if not for the aforementioned plea…) The force behind this entire track program at Fordham Prep is George Febles Jr. It is not easy to pull off successful Cross Country, Indoor Track and Outdoor Track seasons every year. Somehow George has done just that. Championships or not, he is a great coach. Wandering around the Armory on Sunday and observing the other coaches, it helps remind you it is truly an honor to have George at the helm. He deserves all the credit in the world, along with his student athletes. On April 5^th, yet another huge honor will come his way. But thanks to what occurred February 10^th 2008, a day which ended with snow squalls and victors venturing off happily into a cold night, George can enter that ceremony in April with the title “Coach of the 2008 Champions”!