Dukes to begin indoor track practice

By Mike Zummo
Posted 1/13/21

 

It’s been 10 months since there’s been any kind of interscholastic sport taking place on the Marlboro High School campus.That’s changing this week as, at the very least, …

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Dukes to begin indoor track practice

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It’s been 10 months since there’s been any kind of interscholastic sport taking place on the Marlboro High School campus.
That’s changing this week as, at the very least, the Marlboro indoor track team will begin practice for what remains of the winter 2021 season. The Dukes were scheduled to have their first practice on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be fun and that’s where we’re going to focus our time with the kids,” Marlboro indoor track coach Tom Fassell said last week.
The Marlboro Central School District was on a remote learning schedule in the week following the winter recess and returned to in-person learning this week, allowing the Dukes to get a jump on other local schools by about a week.

Neighboring Highland and Wallkill are scheduled to begin on Jan. 19. Basketball and wrestling teams have been deemed high-risk sports and have not been approved for regular season practices or competition.
Marlboro practice is going to look a bit different than it has in the past, with an extra emphasis on safety. Following Dept. of Health guidelines, the athletes will be 12 feet apart and they will be practicing outside.
Fassell isn’t concerned about the weather.
“I’ve been noticing that we haven’t had to be as bundled up in recent years,” Fassell said.
Fassell is expecting a different dynamic this year, as the Dukes will have a team with about half the athletes as usual. Some are key returning athletes. Some of the athletes from last year’s team have graduated and others have decided not to compete this season.
They will take to the track with about 35 total athletes.
“I’ll miss those kids who graduated or elected not to be a part,” Fassell said. “I’m looking forward to making new memories with the kids that will be there and that’s what we’re going to focus on.”
The track, which was replaced in the fall, taking advantage of Section 9’s cancellation of Fall sports, has been laid down although it’s looking a little bare now. It doesn’t have any lines yet as they can’t be painted until spring when the weather warms.
“It’s something where they’re going to have to look at the track and there’s no guardrails,” Fassell said. “They’ll have to figure it out. It’s just another example of making the best of what we have.”
No lines on the new track means the Dukes won’t be able to host any meets until possibly the spring, and the “indoor” meets this year, are going to be outside.
Marlboro will begin its season on Jan. 30 at Wallkill High School. Multiple schools are scheduled to take part in the meet. The outdoor tracks are lined for the indoor events as well, such as the 55-meter hurdles and the 300- and 600-meter dashes.
Their Highland counterparts will go to Onteora.
During competition, the teams will be kept apart as much as possible. Only one team will run at a time and the runners will be spaced a lane apart.
“We will be technically competing in different heats and flights, so we won’t be comingling,” Fassell said.
Not everyone had been able to keep up with their workouts during the pandemic, while others have, so the Dukes had kids that came in good shape and others need to condition themselves.
He pointed out Doug Benfer, who had been working hard during the pandemic, doing what Fassell has asked, but he’s had good days and bad days.
“I can speak on my own behalf; I’ve had better months than others working out,” Fassell said. “My diet has been better on some days. It’s the same with the kids.”
He sent his athletes a questionnaire and while a lot of them appreciated the workouts last spring, they want to do more games to get in shape to make the process more fun, and he said being together with the kids again will be fun.
“I’m just excited to get back with the kids,” Fassell said. “I am pleasantly surprised that (we started) on Tuesday. I can’t wait to start working with them again in any capacity possible.”