Congratulations to Gracie Gorrell and Coach Steven Pelosi for their recent recognition by the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.
Gracie Gorrell was named among the Elite 10 Girls Track and Field Team, which was selected by the votes of coaches, with input from sports writers. The newspaper listed Gracie’s key accomplishment as a time of 58.48 in the 400 meters as a sophomore in the 2023 spring season. Gracie plans to run track in college, while studying education.
Steven Pelosi was named Coach of the Year. Steven, a social studies teacher, has been a track coach at UV since 2017. Prior to that he coached track at Sidney and Bainbridge-Guilford.
We recently caught up with both Gracie and Steven with some questions.
Gracie Gorrell
What do you think was a key factor for you in your success this season?
My competitiveness has really come in handy this season. I definitely enjoy the thrill of chasing people down. At the end of the outdoor track season last year, I ran sub-60 and my goal was to drop my times even more this year. Competing all winter by joining the indoor track team prepared me to run my current personal record.
What kept you motivated throughout the whole season?
As I grew as a track athlete, I always set my eyes on someone who runs my race better and had a personal record I wanted to reach. Throughout the season, my goal is to improve my time and prepare myself to race against them. Last year I fell short of qualifying for states so I used that as motivation to push myself in order to run at the outdoor state meet this year.
Do you have any advice for a younger runner or athlete?
It's important to be okay with your times moving up and down. You won't run your personal record every race. You cannot let one bad time affect the way you view your ability. You have to learn to use it to motivate you for your next race. Another thing that is important to me is always staying humble and having good sportsmanship. I make it my priority to always cheer on the other runners at the finish line. The 400-meter in particular is a tough race to run and it feels good to congratulate others
Steven Pelosi
What do you think were some of the key factors in Gracie's success this season?
Gracie is a true competitor who is self-motivated and determined to get better in all of her events. She is an enthusiastic, focused hard worker who puts in the time to get stronger and faster in her events, both at practice and during the off-season. She is a team member who leads by example, encourages teammates and competitors, and has fun in the moment.
Was there any particular meet or practice early on when you knew that Gracie was going to have a special season? If so, can you share a little about that?
I think this past year’s indoor track state meet back in March was the first sign that Gracie would have a special spring season. After being around some of the top athletes in New York for a couple of days, Gracie saw what elite competition was like and started to set her goals for the upcoming spring season. After Gracie competed in this meet, her focus, confidence and determination took off. She came into the spring season with a lot of confidence and determination to get stronger, faster and make it to the outdoor state meet. Another meet was in mid-April at the Douglas Quinney Invitational at Sidney where she ran against a girl from Cooperstown in both the 400 and 200. In the 400, Gracie ran her personal best time of 58.62, which was two tenths of a second from automatically qualifying for the State Meet. At this point, this was the best time in Section IV in the 400 by a couple of seconds. It was from this point we had a feeling her goal of the state meet was possible. But also knew that there was a lot of work to do to make it reality and better her time. She continued to work through the remainder of the season and finished the season as the Section IV Champion in the 400. Gracie reached her goal of competing at the outdoor state meet in both the 400 and 200 and finished the season with lowering the school record in the 400.
The whole team had a great season, could you share a little bit about the team dynamic and how it went for everyone this year?
It was a great season for the team and for all individuals on the team. The girls team won the Section IV Class D title for a second straight year; ten school records were broken; had several MAC and Section IV Champions crowned; UV was represented by two athletes at the NY State Meet; and most team members set personal bests in their events. The team dynamic was great. Athletes and coaches worked well together and were focused on putting in the time and energy to improve daily and from meet to meet. There was a sense of team unity throughout the season with athletes and coaches cheering on everyone, no matter if they were a returning team member or new to the team. You could always hear members of the team cheering on and encouraging each other at each event we competed in through the season. This encouragement and enthusiasm pushed everyone to get better. In the end this sense of team unity led to both team and individual successes. I think the athletes learned that hard work, unity and patience leads to success and can be fun. A special huge “Thank You” goes to Coaches Maria Fernandez-Naughton, Sueann Edwards, Woody Edwards and Samantha Acevedo for all of their help, contributions, enthusiasm, time and support through the season. We are looking forward to building off of this season’s success in the upcoming seasons.