Varsity Team
Meet Results

SEASON: Fall 2000

HEAD COACH: Ned Gallagher (13th year)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Aaron L. Baggish '93 and Scott A. Mattoon

CAPTAINS: Patrick W. Martha '01 and Charles T. Sussman '01

Final record: 8 wins, 2 losses
 2000 Timothy S. Scott Bowl Champions
2000 Founders League Cross Country Champions

DATE OPPONENT/MEET TIME SITE SCORES
(low score wins)
CHOATE OPPONENT
9/4/00 New Haven Road Race 8:30 New Haven, CT No team score in this event.
NEW HAVEN, CT--The Wild Boars again were well represented in the New Haven Road Race, as a strong contingent of Choate harriers and faculty members participated in this Labor Day tradition. In spite of the unusually muggy conditions at race time, the Choate boys posted significant improvement over their 1999 results, with most runners cutting between one and three minutes off their times on the 5-kilometer course. Co-captain Patrick Martha led the way, winning the 13-19 age group title handily, taking 3rd place overall in the race (in a field of over 1800 finishers) with an impressive time of 16:14.
9/16/00 Choate Invitational 2:00 CRH No team score in this event.
WALLINGFORD, CT--The Wild Boars hosted four other schools in the inaugural edition of the Choate Cross Country Invitational. The event was run as a scrimmage with a very informal spirit: no team scoring, no uniforms (in many cases, no shirts!), and no pressure. Competitors ran either in a veterans or a novice race; the latter division was restricted to runners in their first year of high school cross country. Head coach Ned Gallagher was pleased with the day: "Visiting coaches and harriers all seemed to have an enjoyable experience in their first race of the season amidst this low-key atmosphere. Happily, Mother Nature provided an ideal afternoon for the meet. There were some fine performances from the Choate boys, including a surprising handful of early season PRs from our returning guys and some very impressive first outings from the newcomers, particularly our bumper crop of third formers. We're looking forward to the challenges ahead this season."
9/23/00 Canterbury Invitational 3:00 New Milford, CT Choate finished 4th of 12 teams in the Division I race.
NEW MILFORD, CT--In their final tune-up event before the start of the regular season, the Wild Boars acquitted themselves quite well, with performances enabling Choate to take fourth place amidst a talented field of twelve schools. The highlight of the Blue and Gold effort was undoubtedly Patrick Martha's overpowering victory in the Division I race; his time of 13:24 stands as the third fastest winning effort in the 27 years this meet has been run. He joins William Olayos (1974), Peter Jelley (1979 and 1980), Carleton Perry (1982), and Clay Schwabe (1997) on the roster of Choate's individual champions at this meet. (Choate and Northfield Mt. Hermon are tied as the teams producing the most individual winners of the event, with six apiece.) Coach Ned Gallagher's report: "This is always an enjoyable, laid-back day for us and a good chance to reconnect with familiar faces from around the prep school circuit. We brought a total of twenty runners to Canterbury, either to race or to complete a challenging workout in the New Milford hills. As always, our focus is firmly on the championship meets in November. We've got our work cut out for us this fall, and happily our guys seem to be up to the task." For complete meet results, click here.
9/29/00 Hopkins School 3:00 Watertown, CT 38 20
Kingswood-Oxford School 15 49
Taft School 19 44
Trinity-Pawling School 21 39
WATERTOWN, CT--The Wild Boars took seven of eight match-ups today on Taft's 2.75-mile course in the season opener. Competing on a Friday afternoon in deference to Rosh Hashonah, the Choate varsity dispatched Founders League rivals Kingswood-Oxford, Taft, and Trinity-Pawling, while the Hopkins squad distinguished itself as the class of the field in the first race. Co-captain Patrick Martha '01 set a new course record of 14:26 in coasting to victory without a serious challenge; his time is eight seconds better than the winning time in last November's Founders League Championships. "Our squad continues to show good progress, as the times from today's meet indicate," observed Coach Gallagher. "Most of those Choate runners who ran in the League meet last fall had significantly faster times today, even though it's only September! This was a hard-fought race, but in the end we weren't able to break up Hopkins' top five effectively, though the Choate harriers competed tenaciously throughout in an effort to do just that. We're very happy with our position as a team right now; the couple of New England squads ahead of this at this point in the season are those that have had the advantage of training together in the summer. But we're closing fast and should post greater gains in the weeks to come as our training kicks into high gear."
10/4/00 Kent School 3:00 CRH 25 34
WALLINGFORD, CT--Patrick Martha set a new sixth form record, with a 15:28 clocking on the 2.95-mile Choate course, in leading his team to victory over Founders League rival Kent.
10/7/00 Phillips Academy 3:15 CRH 43 20
WALLINGFORD, CT--Choate dropped to 4-2 on the season with a loss to Phillips Academy on the 2.95-mile home course. Coach Ned Gallagher's assessment of the day: "Our varsity was simply outclassed by Andover in the first race. We might have fared better with a bit more luck on our side--both of our captains were under the weather and significantly off form, for instance--but it's hard to see how we'd have assembled a varsity win the way Andover ran this afternoon. In fact, their dominance of the race today evoked memories of our own 1997 squad (though it's a lot less fun being on the other end of that sort of result). On the other hand, most of our guys achieved personal best times on the home course in this meet, so it's hard to be too disappointed with the day's work." The Wild Boars head to Deerfield in a week's time to take on the Big Green and the Loomis Chaffee Pelicans in a double dual meet.
10/14/00 Deerfield Academy 3:30 Deerfield, MA 23 38
Loomis Chaffee School 15 50
DEERFIELD, MA--Choate Cross Country enjoyed a successful day against traditional rival Deerfield, winning all four head-to-head results with the Big Green. On the boys' side, Patrick Martha '01 again set the pace in front of the pack; though still not 100% healthy, he posted a formidable time of 14:23 in unusually warm conditions on the 2.75-mile course. Solid runs from Deerfield's Bensen and Gilbane earned the host school the next two finish positions before a pack of Blue and Gold harriers swept the following six slots in relatively tight formation to seal the victory. In the process, the Wild Boars also shut out League rival Loomis Chaffee. The Pelicans have been on the Choate schedule since 1933 and this was only the third 15-50 result (the other Choate shutout wins were in 1958 and 1970). "Today's showing was a welcome return to form for our guys," reported Coach Ned Gallagher. "The previous two weeks we had deviated from our normal training schedule, first for a Friday meet and then for a Wednesday contest, so the boys were eager to re-establish our routine heading into this meet. We cranked up the workload significantly this week, too, so today's performances are particularly satisfying given a pretty grueling training regimen."
10/21/00 Hotchkiss School 3:00 Lakeville, CT 25 33
LAKEVILLE, CT--Competing on a beautiful and warm fall day in northwest Connecticut, the Choate boys defeated a talented and eager Hotchkiss team to win the Timothy Scott Bowl for the fourth straight year. The Bearcats went out hard in the early stages of the race in front of their boisterous Parents Weekend crowd, but Choate's depth carried the day in the final mile, as the Wild Boars ended up with six of the first nine finish positions, including another Patrick Martha '01 victory. The Blue and Gold pack was a little thinner than usual, though, as an ailing John Oster '03 finished well behind the rest of the field. Coach Gallagher's report: "The long and hilly Hotchkiss course was a challenging cap to a grueling week of workouts, but right down through the ranks our boys have proved themselves to be absolutely tenacious in their approach to both training and racing. Hotchkiss pushed us hard today and we are grateful to our hosts for the good competition (and for their generous hospitality after the races). Today's meet was a welcome chance to run a competitive race on the course where the League championships will be contested in two weeks' time. Next up for us, though, is NMH and we expect to see some impressive PR times on the home course. The guys are very much looking forward to that meet next weekend."
10/28/00 Northfield Mt. Hermon School 2:30 CRH 27 32
WALLINGFORD, CT--With the memory of a stinging 28-29 loss to NMH last fall in mind, the Wild Boars varsity was determined to close out the 2000 dual meet campaign with a victory. The home team had the support of a lively Parents Weekend crowd as well as a loyal Choate Cross Country alumni contingent from Yale (Messrs. Chay, Collins, Fair, and Rahal). Senior co-captain Patrick Martha completed a second consecutive undefeated dual meet season, blowing away the field with a 15:13.0 clocking--a new school record, no less. (That stellar time is all the more impressive given the severe gusts of wind that slowed down runners all afternoon, especially on the final straightaway of the course.) NMH snared the next three positions as expected, with Nate Leveille earning a coveted slot on the sub-16:00 honor roll. The leaders of Choate's pack mixed it up with the back part of this trio over a good portion of the 2.95-mile course, but the outcome of this showdown was determined when the Blue and Gold comfortably placed seven bodies between the Hoggers' third and fourth harriers. "Our strategy was clear and our execution was spot on," observed coach Ned Gallagher. "The boys finished their longest workouts of the season this week--including the legendary Route 68/Krauszer's combination--so I didn't know how much gas they'd have in their tanks this afternoon. But once again, they stepped it up when asked to do so. Not every runner had a great day, but our depth enables our guys to 'cover' for each other very well. NMH has some formidable talent on its varsity roster, so today's result was just what we needed to build confidence heading into the championship meets." The Wild Boars head to Lakeville in a week's time for the Founders League meet in search of their fourth straight state title.
11/4/00 Founders League Cross Country Championships 3:15 Lakeville, CT Choate finished 1st of 9 teams in the Championship.
LAKEVILLE, CT--The Wild Boars took a record seventh Founders League title, posting 41 points--comfortably ahead of rivals Hotchkiss (59), Avon Old Farms (94), and Loomis Chaffee (112).  Click here for complete meet results. The day after a splendid feast at Andy Taylor's house up in South Windsor, the Choate boys were well fueled for success in the state meet. The fact that course record holder Jonathan Hamilton '98 was invited by Hotchkiss to fire the starting gun for the varsity race seemed to be a good omen for the Blue and Gold. Patrick Martha reclaimed the League crown he first won as a sophomore with a stellar 16:47 time--ten seconds faster than Jonathan's record mark and fifty-seven seconds ahead of the second-place finisher! Co-captain Charlie Sussman battled tenaciously in the home stretch to secure a sixth-place berth just ahead of capable Trinity-Pawling and Hotchkiss opponents; as Coach Scott Mattoon astutely observed of Charlie's gutsy finish, "That was a CAPTAIN'S run!" The Hotchkiss varsity battled gamely on its home course and was the only other school to place three finishers among the top ten, but could not contend with Choate's depth in the end. Messrs. Martha, Sussman, Ward, Desjardins, Taylor, and Wolff all earn All-Founders League honors by virtue of their top fifteen finishes today. Coach Ned Gallagher's observations: "Today was another ideal day for racing in which we saw a spectacular, dominating individual performance from senior co-captain Pat Martha. As he'd be the first to point out, though, it was the terrific teamwork that pulled Choate through this meet again. The constituents of our very tight pack know how to draw strength from one another over a grueling course like the one at Hotchkiss. Unfortunately, Mark Little '02, who ran with the Choate pack for most of the race, ran into injury difficulty late in the competition and dropped back some twenty-odd places in the final half-mile; I'm confident, though, that he'll be healthy and hungry to make his mark this time next year to secure his own All-League status! There's more diffusion of talent in the League this season--for example, six different schools were represented among the top seven varsity finishers--so our own top six runners did very well in establishing themselves at the front of this field." Choate's team victory in the varsity race represents the first time any school has claimed the state championship four years in a row. Choate also earned titles in 1985, 1986, 1992, 1997, 1998, and 1999. Click here to read the coverage of the meet in The Hartford Courant. Click here for pictures.
11/11/00 New England Cross Country Championships 1:00 Deerfield, MA Choate finished 5th of 13 teams in the Championship.
DEERFIELD, MA--The Choate varsity ran hard but found the team result in this race something of a letdown after last weekend's championship performance. Click here for complete results. The squad's philosophy is to focus on the November championships all season long, and with that approach comes a bit of risk: having an off day in the New England meet can lead to an otherwise tremendously successful campaign ending in disappointment. Coach Ned Gallagher's post-meet summary: "There's no question we had hoped to do better in this meet. Realistically, our varsity should have been among the top three teams while our JV appropriately expected to win. As a squad, we didn't show the same form that made us so dominant a week before in the League meet. Up in front of the varsity pack, Pat Martha was heavily favored to prevail, having defeated all comers all season long. I think it didn't help matters that a confusing set of markings in the first quarter mile threw him off course and cost him the lead he had already established. Others surely ran well to finish ahead of Pat, but there's no question they didn't see the finest prep school runner in New England at his best. Being the champion he is, though, Patrick made no excuses afterward, noting only that perhaps he was cursed in the annual New England meet. The rest of our varsity pack couldn't penetrate the top twenty in the manner a team needs to if aspiring to a top finish. Collectively, we just were a bit too flat at the wrong time. Sport is about learning to cope with adversity, and so this year's New England meet will serve as a valuable experience--for coaches and harriers alike--in future seasons. We'll have a talented and motivated group of returning runners, guys who are already making plans for 2001-- which may be the silver lining in Saturday's setbacks. I do feel for our seniors, though. Captains Pat Martha and Charlie Sussman have been as strong a pair of leaders as we've had, and that places them in some very good company. And right through the ranks, we have a terrific group of sixth formers who worked hard without complaint all season long. They are fine athletes and wonderful young men. They deserved a better ending to this story. But I am confident they'll take with them some great memories of their accomplishments--in the past four years, our varsity and JV have amassed a 72-8 dual meet record, four Scott Bowls, eight wins in the Founders League Championships, and five wins in the New England Championships--no other program can come close to such a record. And this fall was, by any objective measure, an especially fine season full of individual and team accomplishments. The Class of 2001 has much to be proud of and we will miss them when the first gun is fired next fall."
11/17/00 43rd Annual Mark Tuttle Cake Race 3:30 CRH No team score in this event.
WALLINGFORD, CT--Eight Choate harriers posted PR times in the Cake Race, the traditional all-school fun run on the last day of fall term classes. This year 107 students and faculty participated in the event. Kudos to Walton Ward '02, Nate Gelb '04, Andrew Zak '01, Dan Schmierer '01, Dan Lamphier '01, John Brimhall '04, Ben Yanni-Lazarus '04, and Andrew Garstka '02 for lowering their marks on the all-time home course PR list. Patrick Martha finished first in his final outing on the Choate cross country course, where he has not lost a race since he ran in the 1997 New England Championships as a ninth grader!
11/25/00 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships
Northeast Regional Qualifier Meet 		8:30 Van Cortlandt Park
New York, NY 		No team score in this event.
BRONX, NY--Seven Wild Boars harriers trekked down to cross country mecca Van Cortlandt Park for the 2000 Foot Locker regional meet. It was the first outing at this event for third formers Nate Gelb and Ben Yanni-Lazarus and fifth former Dave Desjardins, while seniors Patrick Martha, Charlie Sussman, Geordie MacLeod, and Dan Schmierer each closed out their Choate Cross Country careers with good runs in the cold late November conditions. Coach Ned Gallagher's summary of the meet: "This day is always a treat on the holiday weekend, as there are literally dozens of state champions from all over the Northeast competing against one another. Pat Martha ran in the seeded race alongside rival Patrick Bensen from Deerfield; it was touching to see these two champions working together in the spirit of sportsmanship. The pair were barely inside the top forty halfway through the race heading into the hills when Deerfield's Bensen mounted an incredible charge in the final mile-and-a half that earned him a fourth place finish overall and a trip to Orlando to represent his school and NEPSTA in the national race. Given the quality of the field assembled at Van Cortlandt, the sheer number of runners he passed, and the fact that these gains were made on the most challenging part of the course, this is quite an accomplishment indeed--a first for a male New England prep school runner, to the best of my knowledge. Though no Choate runners had that sort of a performance, the day brought to a close another championship season for the Wild Boars, as our team captains and two additional sixth formers competed in Blue and Gold for the last time. And I'm sure our younger runners will take away from the meet ample inspiration, having seen the excellent competition that's out there."

Junior Varsity Team
Meet Results

SEASON: Fall 2000

COACHES: Ned Gallagher, Aaron L. Baggish '93, and Scott A. Mattoon

Final record: 9 wins, 1 loss
1st place, 2000 Founders League Cross Country Championships
DATE OPPONENT/MEET TIME SITE SCORES
(low score wins)
CHOATE OPPONENT
9/16/00 Choate Invitational 2:00 CRH No team score in this event.
9/29/00 Hopkins School 3:30 Watertown, CT 20 43
Kingswood-Oxford School 15 50
Taft School 15 50
Trinity-Pawling School 15 50
WATERTOWN, CT--The Choate junior varsity re-established its dominance in the first tilt of the 2000 campaign, handily beating all four opponents by taking nine of the first ten finish positions. Three of the match-ups resulted in perfect 15-50 shutouts. Veteran Geordie MacLeod '01 led the way for the Wild Boars, followed by Nate Gelb '04, who was the Blue and Gold leader for much of the race in his official Choate Cross Country debut.
10/4/00 Kent School 3:00 CRH 15 50
10/7/00 Phillips Academy 4:15 CRH 32 23
WALLINGFORD, CT--The Wild Boars JV experienced only its second defeat since 1995 in dropping a very competitive contest to a visiting Phillips Academy squad. "Even with three likely scorers not in the race today, a Choate win in the JV race was a very real possibility over most of the 2.95-mile course, but the Blue ran tenaciously in the final half-mile to earn the win," observed Coach Gallagher. "Every year we conclude this meet knowing we didn't show what we're capable of, given that it caps a week with two races and a pretty grueling training cycle. As in past years, I am confident we'll have a much improved showing against this worthy rival when we next see them in November."
10/14/00 Deerfield Academy 4:30 Deerfield, MA 20 42
Loomis Chaffee School 15 49
DEERFIELD, MA--Choate took six of the first seven places and twenty of the first twenty-five finish positions en route to victory in this three-team meet. The race winner from Deerfield actually posted a time faster than those of all but two of his varsity teammates! On his heels were Brendan Bansavage '02, Nate Gelb '04, and Dan Lamphier '01, each of whom battled for the lead in the course of this race.
10/21/00 Hotchkiss School 4:00 Lakeville, CT 15 50
LAKEVILLE, CT--Brendan Bansavage '02 led his teammates as the Wild Boars took the first fourteen places in defeating the Bearcats.
10/28/00 Northfield Mt. Hermon School 3:30 CRH 15 50
WALLINGFORD, CT--The Wild Boars JV looks sharper with each passing week. In spite of running ten harriers in the varsity race, Choate still was able to place eighteen runners across the line before the first Hogger finished. Third former Nate Gelb won the first race of his young career with a time of 17:25, jumping up to #3 (behind Charles Bieler '94 and Pat Martha '01--not bad company at all!) on the all-time list of best freshman performances on the home course. Ben Yanni-Lazarus and John Brimhall also debuted on the third form top ten honor roll, taking seventh and eighth places today, respectively. The top finishers in between these ninth graders were Brendan Bansavage, Andrew Zak, Dan Lamphier, Marco Boccitto, and Dan Schmierer. Coach Gallagher's report: "We saw a lot of breakthrough performances today, with a spate of PRs spread through the ranks. The hard work these young men have been investing is paying dividends. We coaches remain awfully proud of what they're accomplishing." The Choate JV is heavily favored to win its fifth consecutive League race next Saturday.
11/4/00 Founders League Cross Country Championships 2:45 Lakeville, CT Choate finished 1st of 9 teams in the Championship.
LAKEVILLE, CT--The Choate JV extended its unbeaten streak in the Founders League by winning its fifth straight state championship race on Hotchkiss' hilly 5-kilometer course. (October 21, 1995 was the last time the junior varsity lost to a League opponent.) The JV boys competed in the first race of the day, setting the tone for their teammates by posting a perfect "15" score in this meet for the fourth year in a row. Choate captured fifteen of the first twenty finish positions. Diego Long '01 ran what must be considered the best performance of his four-year career to win the race, followed by Nate Gelb (the fastest freshman in the meet), Geordie MacLeod '01, Dan Schmierer '01, John Oster '03, and Brendan Bansavage '02. A few Trinity-Pawling interlopers broke up the Wild Boars' usual lock on the top dozen or so slots, but deserved their 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-place finishes for competing so well. All the Choate JV runners ran impressively and the dominating presence of the Blue and Gold singlets toward the front of the pack again was the talk of the meet. Click here for complete results. Click here for pictures.
11/11/00 New England Cross Country Championships 2:30 Deerfield, MA Choate finished 2nd of 13 teams in the Championship.  
DEERFIELD, MA--The Wild Boars junior varsity was denied a fourth straight victory in this event by the thinnest of margins. Coach Gallagher's report: "We knew the race would be a showdown between Choate and Andover--no other team figured to have a chance in this contest. The JV boys were eager to redeem a sub-par showing in the varsity race earlier in the day. At the mile mark, it looked like a tossup. At the two-mile mark, Andover clearly had the edge. Heroically, in the final mile the Wild Boars targeted and picked off the white shirts one at a time to place seven finishers before the fourth P.A. runner! The Choate boys attacked in groups of two and three, exhibiting wonderful teamwork. Andover had earned a win in the dual meet five weeks before by controlling the latter half of the race, but our boys were clearly strongest in the final stages this time around, demonstrating the improvement that is typical of Choate teams. With fully half of the first fourteen places represented by the Blue and Gold (to Andover's three) it seemed to all of us that our mission had been accomplished. For fifteen minutes after the race, our lads were certain they had done what was needed to secure the win, only to be deflated when the results were posted, showing Andover with a tantalizing one-point margin of victory. The fact that dual meet scoring would have given us the win--albeit a close win--was of little consolation. We felt a bit like the presidential candidates earlier in the week, each of whom thought they had earned the White House, only to have it pulled out from under them shortly afterward. We dearly missed two starters whose presence would have put us comfortably over the top in this race, but due credit to the Andover runners for the strong efforts that earned their team the win. This was a terrific, hard-fought race and a fitting conclusion to a splendid season. Many of our boys will be back in action next fall--among them four accomplished ninth-graders who experienced their first New England championship and who will be hungry for bigger and better things in seasons to come." Click here for complete results.
11/17/00 43rd Annual Mark Tuttle Cake Race 3:30 CRH No team score in this event.
11/25/00 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships
Northeast Regional Qualifier Meet 		8:30 Van Cortlandt Park
New York, NY 		No team score in this event.