John Jay Track is Happy to be Off and Running Again

On Wednesday April 12, John Jay got into the blocks, and in their first meet at home, defeated Pelham by a score of 167-126. But for Sloan Wasserman, the matchup with Pelham was more like a back to back. She lined up for the 800 meter, and almost immediately after crossing the finish line, she was off on the 3K. “I need more time,” she admitted, “just five minutes, I could have done much better.” Her opponents, on the other hand, still only saw a purple blur and were probably left wondering how much better could this runner be.

The freshman took both races, and in leading the way for John Jay Wolves, she really had her sights set for later in the week. “A huge meet on Friday,” Wasserman said, “I didn’t want to put in more effort than I already had.”

Lucas Mongiello took a similar approach in finishing second in the 3200 meter. He stayed with the eventual winner through the first lap but pulled up afterwards. “First meet, I didn’t want to over run myself,” he said.

Still, Mongiello did pick up the pace to finish off the race. “I felt the kick at the end so that’s really a good thing,” he assured.

The same went for Zach Walerys on the short end. In the 200 meter, he said, "At the end of the first 100 meters, I thought I had him, and I think he realized I was right behind him," said Walerys. "Then he just took off."

In the 100 meter race, the sprinter got a bad call from the official. "I think it was a bit unfair, because I was still standing up and the ref went on set," said Walerys. "I really wasn't ready."

Still, he took second but Lily O’Shaughnessy did him one better by sticking to her typical program. “I like to start out fast and settle in until you get half way through the curve,” she said. “Then you sprint as fast as you can towards the finish line.”

There’s also plenty of push in the four man team that won the 400 meter relay race, and it’s on Tommy Machado to get out of the blocks first. “You got to open up at the gate and really push it through,” he said

But the need for early speed is not as much pressure as might be expected. “When you got guys who trust you,” said Machado, “you know you can handle it. So it is really about the chemistry.”

Then on his horse, Manny Ruiz has it down to the closest distance between two points. “I’ve got the straight away dash,” he clarified, and if there’s a problem on any transfer, the second leg says it's on all four of the runners.

From there, Jack Marcogliese gets the bends. “I’m the third leg, which is the curve,” he said. “I have to tilt my body when I go into the curve and be prepared to hand off the baton to Zach.

Bringing it home, Zach Walerys saw pretty good execution throughout the race and got the bird's eye view that spelled victory. “It feels pretty good not seeing anyone next to you,” Walerys said, and the beginning under the team’s belt, all the Wolves looked very happy to be off and running again.

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