My name is  Jacob Greski, and I am a junior on Siena's Cross Country and Track teams. The last race of my junior year was on Mar. 7, 2020 at 5 p.m. I was on the men's distance medley relay team along with Ryan Famiglietti, Ryan Holland, and Matt Laframboise. While our team did not end up qualifying for the finals the following day, we were happy to finish the season off strong.

While in the moment I pushed my body to the limit, I handed the baton off to Ryan Fam surprised by how strong I felt immediately after the race. I was in the best shape of my life, and I could not wait to get the chance to race again in the spring. But that next race never came. 

Due to injury, I missed much of my sophomore 2019 winter and spring track seasons, racing just the last three weeks of the spring season. I struggled mentally and physically to cope with the injury and rejoin my teammates and friends. I looked to a day where I was healthy again without pain or worry. Thinking ahead to the following year, the 2020 outdoor track season, I imagined all my dreams and goals being fulfilled.

With the Winter of 2020, things were finally starting to click. With each new personal best, I was looking more into the future of when I would break it again. But after Mar. 7, that next race never came.

Over the course of the next week those dreams completely and utterly fell apart. With the cancellation of all spring sports, it felt like the collegiate running world was put on hold in a moment. I was trapped in the idea of always looking to the next race, something I now deeply regret. After waiting a year to have a spring sports season, everything came crashing down. Again. Heading into my senior year at Siena, I have not had a full spring season since I first arrived on campus my freshman year.

But unfortunately this is something that is not uncommon among my peers. My teammate and dear friend Luciano Fiore went to great lengths to obtain a fifth year of cross country and outdoor track competition this 2019 – 2020 year. Off the track, I consider him one of the team's best leaders and mentors I have ever known. He tied for a top-50 mark for all Division I programs in the indoor 800 meters (he unfortunately could not run that time with a Siena uniform due to eligibility), and his 1000m best would put him among the top professionals in the United States. He's pretty fast. To say our team was excited to see him race in the spring would be an understatement. It is painful for all of us not to see you run this season, Luc. On behalf of the entire team, I want to thank you for being the prime example of a leader, a mentor, and a friend.

Speaking of fast, I'd like to say some words for our seniors. I cannot imagine the position you are all put in by having your final season cancelled. To Stoker, Rautter, Stosh, Evans, and Matt, we also want to say thank you for putting your heart and soul into this team and this sport. Some of you will be back next year, but it does not lessen the impact of losing this spring. Aside from putting in thousands of miles annually, thank you for raising the level of our team to where it is today. Without men like you I can say for certain we would not be enjoying our recent successes the past few years. You inspire me and inspire all of us.  

I can't imagine what my dealing of a cancelled season is comparable to my teammates and friends. Disbelief, shock, anger, and sadness all within a short timeframe. So many athletes around the world have put in literally thousands of hours and miles to craft their body into the high-performance machines that they are. Running is a lifestyle, and in a single moment for all of us that lifestyle tectonically shifted.

After some self-reflection, my mind drifted to my teammates and everyone else impacted by this shift, which happens to be everyone else. I realized I have come to a fork in the road with many alternate routes. One path leads to frustration and resentment towards the circumstances, mentally tapping out and giving up on the season. The other path is one of adversity, pulling myself and my teammates together and looking towards September for the next race, the next opportunity. While the first path is easier than the second one, the path of adversity often leads to success. The ocean is made of drops, and this couldn't be truer in the running world. Season or no season, we train on drop by drop.

The path of adversity often has its silver linings. Running has its advantages, as coach John Kenworthy told our team, as it can be done while social distancing more easily than almost any other sport. This helps to bring some perspective to our situation, and I am grateful for that. This time can be taken to focus on and better oneself, and to reflect. How can I improve myself today? How can I separate myself from my competitors? What are my weaknesses and how can I improve them? This time can be used as positive or negative gains, and we must choose wisely. Drop by drop.

While I may not have had the season I wanted again, I am willing to wait. My teammates are willing to wait for another chance to toe the line in a Siena uniform because, when we do, we will all be stronger than ever before.

March On!