Brewster’s boys track squad is fortunate that it has three standout runners to lean on in juniors Adam McIe, Charlie Carr and Justin Maguire.
McIe and Carr showed how valuable they are to the Bears when they finished first and second in the 1,600-meter run at the Red Raider Relays at North Rockland on April 15.
McIe took first with a time of 4:24.35, while Carr registered a time of 4:26.70 to place second.
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“Adam came off a great winter track season where he qualified for the states in the same event, the 1,600,” Brewster coach Joe Scelia said. “The momentum just carried forward from indoor. The relationship Adam and I have we have built throughout the year. He believes in me, I believe in him.”
“He knew that he could do it and he did it,” Scelia continued. “He dominated the race. He pulled away at the last lap. He’s gutsy, he’s a smart runner, and he trains right. The indoor season gave him a huge confidence boost going into this season.”
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McIe agreed with his coach about the win being a confidence booster for him.
“It’s a big confidence booster,” McIe said. “A couple of years ago I got 50th at this meet so to finally win it is cool.”
McIe said that he was successful because he followed his coach’s plan for the race.
“He’s does a good job of helping us out individually,” McIe. “He lets us feels things out.”
Carr is another runner that follows the directions of Scelia well.
“Charlie swims during the winter season, so training-wise he’s a little bit behind Adam because of that,” Scelia said. “But nothing ever surprises me with Charlie. He’s such a tough and gutsy runner. Charlie outraced a ton of guys to get second in this race. Charlie’s 4.26 is a beautiful start for him. Down the road, he will be way under 4.20.”
Maguire is also key performer for the Bears, according to Scelia.
“Justin is an incredible distance runner,” Scelia said. “Justin puts in more mileage than anyone on the team. He’s running around right now 70-75 [miles] a week. He’s our two-mile specialist. He had an ROTC trip on Friday [April 15], wasn’t able to race. He wants to go into either the Marines or Navy. He is a superstar two-miler.”
While there is plenty of time left in the spring season, Scelia said that this is all part of a buildup to next fall.
“Those are our big three,” Scelia said of McIe, Carr and Maguire. “Next year our goal in cross country is to become state champions. It’s something that only our field hockey team in 1996 and ’97 have done, a full team being state champions. That’s our goal next year.”
On the girls' side in the 1,600-meter run at North Rockland, sophomore Ariana Bottalico was seventh with a time of 5.13.99.
“She came off making states in indoor track,” Scelia said. “She made states three straight seasons, which I don’t know how many Brewster kids have ever done that. She does cross country, she does indoor track, she does spring track.”
“She has been all-state cross country the last two seasons,” Scelia continued. “She is a very, very talented young runner. She puts in a lot of work, she listens. She is a great, gutsy athlete that you always want on the line when it matters most. She started off with a 5.13, which was like two tenths of a second off of her own school record.”
Scelia also has high hopes for eighth grader Jamie Maguire, Justin’s sister, who ran a 5.44 in the same event and qualified for the states in cross country.
“I think she is going to run much faster throughout the year,” Scelia said. “Even though she is so young she is starting to really put in more energy and effort to the training aspect of it. She is definitely going to be a force this year and for years on.”
