Hopkins-Bound Saliani Leaves Track Legacy At Irvington

Both historically and now Irvington High School can be described as a nurturing home to a large number of top-level cross-country and track athletes.

Under the late, great Peter Oley--a 2002 Westchester Sports Hall of Fame inductee--Irvington earned a state record, with 133 consecutive dual meet victories. Oley, a 12-time Section I Coach of the Year winner who jump-started the program from the ground up in 1956, watched proudly as the Bulldogs evolved into a dynasty of athletes reckon with.  

The banners splattered around the gym are indicative of this success, with numerous records of top-flight performers such as John Leone (state champion), Scott and Casey DeCesare (pole vaulting twins entering their senior seasons at UCLA)-- keeping legacies alive.  

While so many multi-event athletes who have helped put the small Class B school on the map, few have dominated the distance events the way recent graduate Julian Saliani did in 2010.  

 Saliani, who will continue his career at Johns Hopkins in Maryland, hit his high school peak in 2010. The 5-foot-9, 120-pound phenomenon established new bests in the mile (4:23) and two-mile (9:22) races last month, in the Eastern State Invitational and New York State championship meets.  

The all-northeast Saliani additionally established himself as the top long distance runner in school history.

In cross-country, Saliani clocked a program-record 15:56 in the 5K, en route to being named Section I and county champion. He finished fourth in the New York State championships.    

"I didn't break the school record in either the mile or the two mile," said Saliani, who was in active pursuit of Fred Herlitz' program-record 9:20 two-mile time. Herlitz, a speed demon, starred at Irvington under Oley in the 1970s.

 "I came close in the two-mile, but hey, it happens. I thought it was cool because both of those records have been up for around 40 years. "It was definitely a tough task at hand and it motivated me."    

While he may have come up three ticks short of shattering an all-time record during spring track, Saliani was satisfied about being accepted into Johns Hopkins University.

A beefed-up financial aid package as well as close-knit team that stayed in tough with him after his visit helped lure Saliani south. Ultimately, he chose Hopkins over Boston University, Northeastern, and Tufts.

"It's amazing, I never would have thought I'd end up at Johns Hopkins," said Saliani. "I mean it was a reach school for me. It's a whole different level, academically. I spent three days with the team on my visit and as soon as I got back to Irvington I told myself: 'If I get in, I'm going.'"    

Saliani, who will room with teammate Max Robinson of Rye, said that a Division-III setting has less pressure but gives him more motivation to leave his stamp on the program.

He's expecting to make an immediate impact and believes Irvington coaches Chris Barry and Darryl Thornton (whose oldest son, Travis, ran cross-country at SUNY-Oswego) have prepared him for the next level.  

For Saliani, there has been an additional source of motivation behind the scenes-- 

A big influence for Saliani has been an iconic, Westchester Cross-County/Track pioneer, whom he never actually performed under.  

 "I never had him as a coach, but Peter Oley had a major impact on my career," said Saliani, who attended Oley's funeral last spring and after developing a rapport with the Westchester track pioneer.    

"We would talk and he would always help me,"Saliani said.

"Even though he had retired by the time I was running, he would still show up to some of my big races and call me to congratulate me if he read something in the paper. Even though I never got to have him as an actual coach, he gave me more fire to run well so I could show him that his job was in good hands with Mr. Barry."    

Saliani continued, "When he  passed, it motivated me. He had never had a runner win an individual county championship. It was my way of honoring him and what he did for this program."