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      "In 1970, Dave Doak got the ball rolling team wise," Drake remembers, "Incidentally, later on, Dave became a very successful runner at Roberts Wesleyan University (Rochester, NY). Following graduation he became an excellent cross-country coach at Scotia-Glenville High School too. Others previous to Dave Doak were Rich Hutton and Jim Nelson. This is about the time the five-mile course [out Meadowdale Rd--back Depot Rd] got to be a very popular course to run before practice. Dave was a team-oriented runner and he did very, very well in cross-country and track and field (running a 1:58.0 880 yards on the dirt track at the then Mont Pleasant High School). One of his teammates was Bob Niland and he was another team guy." There is some uncertainty as to whether or not Dave Doak was Guilderland's first State meet qualifier in XC--but Drake remembers Coach Wagner and he driving him, and it was in the Rochester area.

JOHN WAGNER--1971!

       Without a doubt the biggest impact on the Guilderland Cross Country program during the 1970's came in 1971 with Coach John Wagner's arrival. "He was SUPERMAN in recruiting and coaching at the middle school level," Drake recalls fondly, "Right up through the era of BRD, Coach John Wagner was the best at getting kids out for XC. At that time in the early 70's, I was looking for a coach who could replace Dale Westcott and Mike May (It was not easy losing those in two consecutive years). I was asking around and someone stated that there was a good guy, excellent teacher, and possibly a good coach at Farnsworth Middle School. I went and met John Wagner. After ten minutes talking with him I knew that he was the 'guy' to coach. He told me that he was a sprinter in his high school days while at Scotia-Glenville. He stated that while he did not know a lot about cross country, but would consider coaching. I perceived something special in him as a coach and I was right. He became a great coach and a key reason why our teams became so big and so good!"

       Guilderland Cross Country improved greatly in quality and numbers thanks to JOHN WAGNER. He had an infectious personality and all runners knew that Coach Wagner could bring out the best in each runner. "He had a knack of instilling a love for running and for the Guilderland Cross Country TEAM…just ask Dan Smitas about why and how he came out for cross country. In fact, no--ask ANY runner coming from the middle school why he or she came out for cross country. John Wagner was the key to Guilderland Cross Country team success."

THE GUILDERLAND INVITATIONAL AT TAWASENTHA PARK

      Initiated in 1972, the first Guilderland Invitational Cross Country meet was a success as seven or eight schools toed the line for the infamous 2.5 mile course. One of the main reasons why Guilderland decided to organize "The Invitational", was due to several schools in the area that were dissatisfied with running the traditional Grout Invitational in Schenectady. "The race-course was and is on the asphalt roads in Central Park in Schenectady. Entry fees were considered a little high as well."

       "I talked to several coaches in the area and I inquired if they would be supportive if Guilderland hosted an invitational at Tawasentha Park because Guilderland had a few home meets there previously. A few responded the following year and things took off from there," Drake proclaimed. **

       Overtime, unfortunately, the course would of course change to its existing 2.7 mile layout. The town of Guilderland had a different vision for the park during the 1990s, making it into more of an arboretum of sorts, which meant construction and a change to the roads. "The amount of plantings going on drove Bill [Drake] nuts," Bob Oates recalls, "and until the master plan was complete the status of the course was a challenge, but that of course lead to new challenges and thankfully: Suicide Hill."

        Drake adds that, "It should be noted as well that in that era, Guilderland varsity runners competed in the Proctor Invitational in Utica. It was also about 1972 that we divided the team into a varsity team and a frosh team that year in the same weekend, our frosh went to Schenectady's Grout Invitational and our varsity runners ran at the Proctor meet. When I returned home from Utica that Saturday, I received a call from Coach Westcott that our Frosh had won the meet against 25 frosh teams from all around the state. Talk about elation! It was the start. Mike Passineau was our best frosh runner and he was backed up by a host of others: Carl Schell, Dave Scrafford and 'Cartoonist Dave' [can't remember his last name-anyone who knows get a free entry into a XC summer run at Tawasentha]."

GUILDERLAND GIRLS' CROSS COUNTRY

     In the mid 70's, Title IX came into existence. Columbia High School had the first Section 2 girl's team in 1975. There was an unofficial team race for girls in the NY State meet. It was "unofficial" as there were no awards and no team scores. "As I recall, there were six or seven girls' teams in the race and 'unofficially' Columbia High School won the race! Columbia Coach Rick Reinertson was the driving force for getting girls their deserved status in Section 2. Another great program was started in the same year as Dan Dougherty of Pearl River High School (Section 1 fame) started the big push in the southern part of New York State. He continues as coach to this day and yes, he is still the one that does the rankings for New York State women!"

      Coach Drake got things going in 1976. While he acknowledges he felt unprepared to coach girls, Drake was forced to make a decision with regard to adding a girls team. "That first practice in 1976 quickly made my decision for me, as I was greeted with the greatest group of girls including Noreen Walsh, Fran O'Connor, Kim Burian, Kelly Cohan, Collete Wickham, Dawn Reavis among others…they were just super and still to this day have a very special place in this old coach's heart. THEY WERE EXCELLENT RUNNERS. I remember that we had an unofficial season ending "big meet" at Crandall Park in Glens Falls. The following year our girls did not advance to the state meet as a team but Noreen and Fran ran as individual runners and did very well. We had several dual meets in girl's competition that first year and we won more than we lost. Columbia High School, led by Kathy Schrader was just unbeatable!"

     As the team entered the mid-70's, team roster size ranged from the high 40's, for both boys and girls. They were exciting years as Guilderland was emerging as a TEAM, and Section 2 knew it!

THE "CAN-AM" RACE

     Guilderland Cross Country in 1975 and beyond, was on the move. To this day, the season-opener was always at the Shaker Invitational. "The Shaker Invitational, was then held on their school grounds and for a long time there-after. In the meet you could always plan on stiff competition from the local schools but the 'FA,' as Mark Wickham would recall, Franklin Academy from Malone, NY was tough, tough, tough! They were machines. Coach Bob Frasier was a super coach and I wanted to see how the [Guilderland] boys and girls would fare against teams outside of Section 2. Coach Frasier inquired if we could come to them in Norhtern New York. He responded that the "Can-Am" race in early October was a good meet."

      In 1975 Guilderland traveled north for the Can-Am race in Massena, New York. It was an awakening for the "FA" and also Guilderland. "I remember that our girls did very well, finishing in the top three in a field of 23 schools. I was very excited about our finish. Fran and Noreen finished in the top 12. Wow!"

      "The varsity boys race was going to be good and I fully expected that we could finish in the top five. Midway through the varsity race, we were catching FA and with a mile to go we were beating them by 5-6 points," Drake recalls as he admits Coaches have a distinct ability to approximate their team score at virtually any point in a race.

       "We won 36-42 (or close to that score) SUPER…SUPER!. Shocking! It was a shock to everyone there because Franklin Academy had won their sectionals 12 straight years and had at least that many years of NEVER HAVING BEEN BEATEN. The Long Red Line had come to run and they knew us from there on. Many, many coaches and parents came up to us after the awards ceremony and commented that it was 'about time' that someone had defeated the Green Wave. Wow!"

THE "LUTHER-FLOYD " ERA (Circa 1975-1979)

      Coach Drake quickly spouts of names of runners with a twinkle in his eye, "Glenn Luther, Greg Floyd, Steve Larson, Pat Santillo, "Biff" Francis Karl, Bill McCartan, Jim Cebula, Mike Pasquali, Mark Wickham, Terry Reilly, Dave Freibel, then Chris Lant, Jim Pasquali, Mike Burns would come later and now we had the GUILDERLAND GIRLS!! Wow, they were superrrrrrrr years!"   Guilderland was beginning to have a good string of success, but Drake admits he felt that the teams of the late 70's, " were as UNITED as no group had yet been." Undoubtedly, the stories one could tell about this period of time could fill volumes of books, however, here for the very first time, Coach Drake tells us two:

The Luther-Floyd Hill:
      Drake fondly describes the best kept secret in Tawasentha Park; "In Tawasentha Park there still may be a section beyond the horseshoe turn in the woods that includes one super long, steep hill. Glen Luther and Greg Floyd "discovered" it one day in September of 1975. Well, it became a part of the unofficial practices that were held. The coach did not know it at the time. Check it out some time if you are not familiar. The top of the hill leads out to one of the greens of the adjoining Western Turnpike Golf Course. The gravel road leading down to the Normanskill Creek and was no easy feat to descend safely."

The Legend of Mark Wickham:
       "Mark had been running very well on his own practicing hard during the summer, and like many of his teammates running 60-mile weeks (thanks to the 300 Mile Club incentive). One day in mid-September he came to me in mid-morning and asked for permission to go home and rest. I told him, 'definitely, yes, go and do nothing training wise.' His question was 'Are you sure Coach?' My positive response was. 'Go home!' He came by one more time in West 508 (my room) at 2pm. I again, told him to go home and all was ok. He was tired physically and I knew that he needed the rest. I smiled and assured him that all was ok. He, like the rest, had made a commitment to becoming the best but they all needed rest at one time or another. I thought that he went home. WELL, at the accustomed time of 3:30, the bus came to take us to Tawasentha. During the warm-up stretching at the Pavilion, I saw this runner approaching the stage: Mark Wickham! I asked what he was doing at the practice. He stated that he could not stay away. He not only had run to the park but also had run the five-mile course before. So I continued with the planned hard practice of the day. As I remember we ran the course (2.5 miles); we did some mile reps and finished off with 12 steep hills that lead to the nature trail. I think in total Mark ran about 11 hard miles that day and he had one of his best practices ever. For those who don't know, Mark Wickham ran 4:17 for the mile at the New York State Track and Field meet held that year at Cornell University. What a workhorse he was. He ran everything in track and field from 400 to 3200 meters. If he had equal competitors and workhorses, they were his teammates!!"

       Guilderland XC ended the 70's by becoming a bonafide contender not only in Section 2 but across the State. The boys team was Albany County and Section 2 runner-up in 1978. The girl's team went one up a year later by running 9-1 in duals, finishing 2nd in Section 2, and earned the programs first ever trip to the NYS Federation meet!