Clarkstown 1970 Sprint Medley Relay
By 1970, Rockland County had tasted individual success on the state level in scholastic boys' track and field. Gene Martin of Tappan Zee (mile, 1955), Jim Ashcroft of Spring Valley (100 yards, 1964) and Suffern's Tim St. Lawrence (pole vault, 1966) had captured Intersectional titles in their respective events, and Nanuet's Paul Nowicki would add the half-mile crown that year. But no Rockland relay was able to claim the mantle of state champion until the unheralded Clarkstown sprint medley unit won out of the unseeded section, running on the cinder track at the University of Rochester's windswept Fauver Stadium.
The week before at the State Qualifier, Rams coach Joe D'Innocenzo made a last-minute decision to enter the sprint medley, figuring that event would give his team the best chance for placing in the Intersectional meet. Clarkstown's star half-miler, Mike Meehan, had finished third in his specialty at States the previous year but was not up to that form in '70. The Rams won at the State Qualifier and headed to Rochester with the hope of at least medaling in the top three.
Based on their time from the Qualifier, the Rams were placed in the unseeded section, which ran first. Tom Vanderbilt, the quarter-mile bronze medalist in the County and Section 9 meets, gave the team a short lead on the lead-off 440-yard leg. Each of the 220-yard legs, Mike Fries and Bob Demcio, kept Clarkstown in front and Meehan's 2:00 anchor 880 leg brought the Rams home first in 3:40.5, which matched the Rockland PSAL record set by another Clarkstown quartet in 1966. Then the wait began. “We had to survive the time of the seeded heat,” D'Innocenzo said. And that they did, triggering a burst of jubilation by the relay mates and Coach D'.
“We didn't care who we were running against, we just wanted to do the best time we could do,” said Demcio, who later ran track at the University of Tennessee. “We were really running against the clock, not the other teams. We knew we could do it. Coach Joe said to run within yourself and believe in yourself.”
“The state championship was definitely the highlight of my track career,” said Vanderbilt, who went on to compete in the 440 at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. “Having Mike Meehan on the anchor leg, that was key … and I can't say enough about Coach D'. He was a good influence on all of us as young men.”
Clarkstown was a powerhouse during that era, trading County titles with Nanuet, the other dominant program in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Clarkstown won the County dual-meet crown in 1967, 1970 and 1971, as well as the County meet championship in 1972, the first year of team scoring. The Rams also captured the Section 9 title in '70. Before the Clarkstown school district split off into Clarkstown North and Clarkstown South in the fall of 1972, Clarkstown's track team fielded large squads of as many as 85 athletes, often filling each event with two to three entrants. The Rams had not only numbers but quality, too: standouts such as Meehan, a 1:56.2 performer in the 880, Bob Dillon and Bruce Woolley in middle distance/distance, state bronze medalist Buster Keyes in the long jump (23-3), state indoor long jump champ John Duddy, discus throwers Charlie Pape (162-2) and Frank Gitscher, hurdler/sprinter/jumper Daryl White, sprinter Bob Anderson, as well as Vanderbilt, Demcio and Fries, among others.
“We had a group of guys who were not No. 1 in their events, but together were very good,” D'Innocenzo said. “The Rockland County league placed emphasis on dual meets at that time and Clarkstown excelled in this type of competition. We always tried to develop a complete team.”
All four relay members went on to successful careers. Vanderbilt lives in Charlotte, N.C., recently retired as chief engineer after a 44-year career in the Merchant Marines. Demcio lives in Mount Airy, N.C., and is facilities project engineer at Surry Community College. Fries lives in Westernville, N.Y., and Meehan resides in Jacksonville, Fla. Interesting side note: Bob Demcio's father, Paul Demcio, served as Chief Assistant District Attorney in Rockland County under District Attorney Robert Meehan, Mike's father.
By 1970, Rockland County had tasted individual success on the state level in scholastic boys' track and field. Gene Martin of Tappan Zee (mile, 1955), Jim Ashcroft of Spring Valley (100 yards, 1964) and Suffern's Tim St. Lawrence (pole vault, 1966) had captured Intersectional titles in their respective events, and Nanuet's Paul Nowicki would add the half-mile crown that year. But no Rockland relay was able to claim the mantle of state champion until the unheralded Clarkstown sprint medley unit won out of the unseeded section, running on the cinder track at the University of Rochester's windswept Fauver Stadium.
The week before at the State Qualifier, Rams coach Joe D'Innocenzo made a last-minute decision to enter the sprint medley, figuring that event would give his team the best chance for placing in the Intersectional meet. Clarkstown's star half-miler, Mike Meehan, had finished third in his specialty at States the previous year but was not up to that form in '70. The Rams won at the State Qualifier and headed to Rochester with the hope of at least medaling in the top three.
Based on their time from the Qualifier, the Rams were placed in the unseeded section, which ran first. Tom Vanderbilt, the quarter-mile bronze medalist in the County and Section 9 meets, gave the team a short lead on the lead-off 440-yard leg. Each of the 220-yard legs, Mike Fries and Bob Demcio, kept Clarkstown in front and Meehan's 2:00 anchor 880 leg brought the Rams home first in 3:40.5, which matched the Rockland PSAL record set by another Clarkstown quartet in 1966. Then the wait began. “We had to survive the time of the seeded heat,” D'Innocenzo said. And that they did, triggering a burst of jubilation by the relay mates and Coach D'.
“We didn't care who we were running against, we just wanted to do the best time we could do,” said Demcio, who later ran track at the University of Tennessee. “We were really running against the clock, not the other teams. We knew we could do it. Coach Joe said to run within yourself and believe in yourself.”
“The state championship was definitely the highlight of my track career,” said Vanderbilt, who went on to compete in the 440 at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. “Having Mike Meehan on the anchor leg, that was key … and I can't say enough about Coach D'. He was a good influence on all of us as young men.”
Clarkstown was a powerhouse during that era, trading County titles with Nanuet, the other dominant program in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Clarkstown won the County dual-meet crown in 1967, 1970 and 1971, as well as the County meet championship in 1972, the first year of team scoring. The Rams also captured the Section 9 title in '70. Before the Clarkstown school district split off into Clarkstown North and Clarkstown South in the fall of 1972, Clarkstown's track team fielded large squads of as many as 85 athletes, often filling each event with two to three entrants. The Rams had not only numbers but quality, too: standouts such as Meehan, a 1:56.2 performer in the 880, Bob Dillon and Bruce Woolley in middle distance/distance, state bronze medalist Buster Keyes in the long jump (23-3), state indoor long jump champ John Duddy, discus throwers Charlie Pape (162-2) and Frank Gitscher, hurdler/sprinter/jumper Daryl White, sprinter Bob Anderson, as well as Vanderbilt, Demcio and Fries, among others.
“We had a group of guys who were not No. 1 in their events, but together were very good,” D'Innocenzo said. “The Rockland County league placed emphasis on dual meets at that time and Clarkstown excelled in this type of competition. We always tried to develop a complete team.”
All four relay members went on to successful careers. Vanderbilt lives in Charlotte, N.C., recently retired as chief engineer after a 44-year career in the Merchant Marines. Demcio lives in Mount Airy, N.C., and is facilities project engineer at Surry Community College. Fries lives in Westernville, N.Y., and Meehan resides in Jacksonville, Fla. Interesting side note: Bob Demcio's father, Paul Demcio, served as Chief Assistant District Attorney in Rockland County under District Attorney Robert Meehan, Mike's father.