‘Never met anyone like Mongo’
Legendary Greenwich coach Mongovan dies at 78
Legendary Greenwich cross country, indoor track and outdoor track and field coach Bill Mongovan died Monday, leaving a massive hole not just in Greenwich, but across the state running world. He was 78.
Mongovan coached indoor track, cross country, and girls track and field at both Greenwich High and St. Mary's of Greenwich for 55 years. Mongovan had 431 cross country wins and 731 victories overall and was inducted into the FCIAC Hall of Fame in 2005.
He is recalled by friends and colleagues as a kind, gentle and endlessly knowledgeable raconteur.
Jim Gerweck coached track and cross country at Wilton for more than 40 years and ran the FCIAC Championship meet every year with assistance from Mongovan.
“When looking at what he did, there is going to be a huge void on the local level, state level and beyond,” Gerweck said. “He was really a legend of the sport in terms of longevity and the breadth of his involvement. I don’t think that term is unjustified in describing him.”
Gerweck also remembered Mongovan as one of the pioneers of girls track at the high school level, seeing it grow from a club sport to full varsity status.
“When he first started, girls high school track was pretty much nonexistent,” Gerweck said. “It was pretty much a glorified intramural sport. He had the Gateway Track Club which was all girls, so he was an early and longtime supporter of girls track pre-title nine. He was a fairly important part of the growth of female running in the state.”
He was still assisting the cross country team at Greenwich this past fall, continuing to have a positive influence on athletes.
Over the last 15 years, current Greenwich cross country and track coach Evan Dubin would spend at least two hours a day, six days a week with Mongovan coaching cross country, indoor and outdoor track
“I never met anyone like Mongo. Never have and never will, he was truly one-of-a-kind. A Greenwich legend,” Dubin said. “If you think about coaching cross country, indoor and outdoor track for over 50 years and all the kids and all the parents he had an impact on, it’s incredible. If you walked down the street in Greenwich, five out of 10 people you stopped would know Mongo. My words can’t do him justice.”
Dubin knew if he ever needed a question about running answered, Mongovan was the person to ask.
“The man was an encyclopedia of track and field knowledge,” Dubin said. “He not only had an answer for any question I had but he would have story to go along with it. He was a tremendous resource of knowledge. He also cared about everyone he came across and he treated everyone with the same kindness. He was kind and generous and would stop and talk to everyone.”
Greenwich athletic director Gus Lindine said it is hard to put a career like Mongovan’s in to words that properly represent what he meant, not just to Greenwich but the running world.
In addition to his responsibilities at Greenwich, Mongovan ran, officiated and timed running events throughout the state and on a national level.
“It’s a very sad day for all of us. The man was recog
nized by the FCIAC, state and nationally as someone who was at the top of the track world,” Lindine said. “He touched so many student-athletes lives over the years. He was such a kind, gentle person and was always good to see. He was one of the hardest working guys in the world. He would show up midday to set up a meet, dragging hurdles out onto the track and everything else. Then he’d still be out there after dark tabulating scores and putting everything away.”
Caroline Frey was a threetime All-FCIAC selection and two-time FCIAC champion, leaving Greenwich in 2016 with school records in the 800 meters and 1600 meters sprint medley and distance medley relay. She went on to run at Holy Cross.
Frey said once you ran for Mongovan, he never forgot you.
“I would come back from Holy Cross and be running at the track and he’d always come over and ask about my family and school and track,” Frey said. “He was there 55 years and coached who knows how many athletes but he remembered everyone and cared about
every kid who ever ran for him.”
Frey said no coach could deliver a pep talk quite like Mongovan.
“He was never at a loss for words and gave some great speeches before meets. He had such a presence and knew so much about track,” Frey said. “The biggest lessons I learned from him were working hard, being patient and doing it for the love of the sport. I don’t know anyone that loved track as much as him.”
FCIAC Commissioner Dave Schulz said Mongovan was always teaching, even when he could not do it in person over the last few months.
“Bill always wanted to pass on knowledge to younger coaches. We run coaches modules on Zoom and he would be on every single one and at the end of each one he had some words of wisdom for the other coaches,” Schulz said. “He loved the sport. He was even at novice races this fall, he would come to every race he could. For as long as I have been around the FCIAC, Bill was running the cross country meets, the indoor meets, the outdoor meets. He just loved it.”