Paul VI Cross Country

Coach Bonnette,

Sorry to hear about the streak coming to an end.  However, I wouldn’t let it play too much in your mind or in the teams mind moving forward.

As graduate and President of the Class of 1995, I had the fortunate position of being on the Cross-Country team for 3 years (I played football my frosh year).  I was usually in the 5-6 position among some of the great runners PVI had ever seen including my brother Tom Keefer (Runner of the Year 1991 and Meet of Champions 2nd Place) and classmate John Williams (Runner of the Year 1994).  During my time of the streak we were fortunate to be in the position where we didn’t really care about the dual meets; they were just warm-ups for Holmdel and the meet of Champions.  Other greats of my experiences included knowing Jason DiJoseph, PVI’s best Cross-Country performer to date and Mike Glavin, who was extremely instrumental to my brother’s success as an athlete.

There are so many names throughout my experience with PVIXC that really made the streak happen, especially during the years between 1990-1995.  In many of conversations during winter runs we would conjure up the “dream team” for PVI this would be a sample.

1. Jason Dijoseph
2. Tom Keefer
3. Ron Faith
4. Joe Cranston
5. Pete Dougherty
6. John Williams
7. Matt Ceislik

In any case, these are the stars of what was an excellent display of the greatness of PVI XC.  One thing remained constant throughout these years — the team was so much more important than any of the names mentioned.  What made the streak happen, and what brought us so much success over the years, were the strength and depth of the 3-7 positions.  The guys you never hear of such as John Buttill and Marc Sabo contributed greatly over the years.

Let your guys know that in the grand scheme of things, this is a small event in a history that is extremely wealthy.  On behalf of the hundreds of guys who have worn the blue and white through the woods and up the hills I think I can say “Don’t worry about it”. 

I now live in San Diego with my wife and own a BMW Restoration and Repair shop.  Since ’95 I have checked on the team each year to see who the guys are and more importantly, what kinds of times they are running (especially at Holmdel).  I look back at my XC years as what gave me the drive to succeed in life as well as carrying a continuous competitive chip on my shoulder.

Tell the guys to use experience to make themselves better and if they want something to dwell on, think about “the bowl” at Holmdel, as it’ll be in front of them before they know it.

Sincerely,

Chris Keefer – Class of 1995.