Gaitanis heading to Rochester
Lincoln runner kept training despite canceled season
LINCOLN – While most senior athletes expressed devastation, anger and frustration (and more) over the cancellation of their final outdoor sports campaigns this spring due to the COVID-19 crisis, Lincoln High distance phenom Nick Gaitanis – surprisingly – didn’t seem to mind much.
“Unlike most people, I didn’t feel extreme sadness, the reason being I was excited about getting some serious training in on my own,” he stated.
“I’ve been training on my own for a while now for the outdoor season, but that changed, and my plan was to start building a really solid, fresh (conditioning) base for my college cross country career.”
When asked if he had set any goals for his outdoor track season at his long-time Ferguson Field home, he said he did.
“Oh, I cared, but I was trying to think as positively as I could,” he added. “Honestly, running wasn’t on my mind as much as keeping my family safe (parents
John and Melissa, as well as sisters Sophie and Zoe). Both of my parents are doctors, and they told me, ‘I know you’re disappointed, but this (quarantine/void) is for the best in the end.’”
Another key factor: Gaitanis had already committed to the University of Rochester (N.Y.) cross country program, not to mention indoor and outdoor track & field teams, and he was hell-bent on beginning preparations for his next monumental step as soon as possible
“I took a week or two off after indoor, and then I began training on my own for the high school season,” he explained. “It was mostly conditioning, a lot of longer runs, and I continued to work out. But then my (Yellow Jackets’) coach (Edward Novara) contacted me … and put me in touch with an incoming freshman who’s also going to be on the team.
“Coach Novara helped me exchange contact info with the kid, and he gave me some incredibly specific workouts, and I’ve been really excited about trying them.”
One includes, the first week, a set of four 45-second sprints up a hill; he indicated he started at four reps, is now up to eight, “but the number increases over the course of the summer,” he said.
Yet another is a series of tempo runs, and others involve conditioning.
“I just went 10 miles,” he added when contacted late Saturday afternoon. “I live in Lincoln, so I usually train at Chase Farm, but I needed some different scenery. I went to the East Bay Pike Path, started in East Providence and ran to Barrington and back. I don’t know exactly where I ran; I wasn’t paying much attention. It was probably the first time I’ve gone 10 miles since indoor.
“I went 63 minutes, so, right now, I’m pretty tired – and hungry. I usually go off how I feel – I base my feelings about my workout – on different things, but I have to say, I felt pretty good.
I was satisfied and happy when I finished.”
Gaitainis claimed he’s trying to stay off the track, remaining focused on only the cross country season.
First and foremost, he still is thrilled he got into Rochester, where he will major in optical engineering.
Never heard of it? The heralded Lion laughed, stating not many people have.
“It has nothing to do with me being an optometrist, but everyone asks me that,” he chuckled. “Pure and simple, I want to work on anything that involved light and how it works. Light has fascinated me for a long, long time; I’ve always been interested in the science behind how a camera works, and I wanted to expand that knowledge.
“I’ve wanted to go into engineering for a couple of years now, but when I started looking into Rochester and saw they had a major in optics, I immediately thought, ‘That’s for me! That’s what I want to study.’ I saw the laser systems and was, like, ‘Wow.’”
Gaitanis nevertheless noted he never spoke to his new coach until after he learned he had been accepted.
“I started to think about running in college my freshman year (at LHS), but then I wondered if I could do it,” he offered. “I sent the coach a text and hoped he’d accept me, that he’d be excited I contacted him, and he got back to me right away.
“I was extremely happy, and nervous, when he responded,” he continued. “When I saw that he welcomed me, I was pumped up.”
The natural question: How much does he miss the fact he didn’t have a final season?
After all, during his tenure as a Lion, he competed for the cross-country squad all four years (where he captured All-Division thirdteam laurels as a frosh, second-team as a sophomore and junior and first-team as a senior.
“I only did indoor three years because I swam my freshman (winter season),” he said. “A friend of mine told me that if I wanted to get really good at running, I had to do it year-round, so I did.”
The switch paid off. Gaitanis gathered all-division third-team honors in the 1,500 meters as a junior; and respective first-and second-team accolades in the4 x400 and 4x800 relays.
As a sophomore newcomer to outdoor track, he also earned first-team all-division honors in the 4x800 relay, but failed in his junior-year quest.
“I think I would have been an all-division selection in a relay, maybe more, this spring, but I’m looking ahead,” stated Gaitanis, whose class rank was 12th. “I’ve thought about the possibilities, like what I could have done this season, but I knew when it was canceled I was going to have more seasons to run.
“I also thought, ‘At least I’ll be on a college team,’” he added. “That feels amazing I’m overwhelmed, extremely excited and anxious to get started. I’ve got to report on Aug. 19, and I can’t wait.”