NYU Athletics

Kevin Bonilla is a senior captain on the 2012 men's cross country team. He shared his thoughts throughout the season.

Posted November 27, 2012 

All season, Coach Nick asked us what our legacy would be. It was a question I took seriously since I am a senior and this was my last cross country season. One of the things I love about this team is the legacy that it created and the involvement of the alumni. When you join this team, you are truly joining a big family. So what could we do that would leave a lasting impression on this big family?
 
It is easy to look at one race and have it overshadow an entire season. Usually, that one race is the NCAA Championship. It is, after all, the pinnacle of our entire season. However, an entire season is not defined by one race. This year, the race did not go as we wanted. Most of our guys had tough races and ended extremely disappointed. We were excited for the race, had high expectations, and, unfortunately, came up short.
 
Just because we were disappointed at NCAA’s doesn’t mean we had a disappointing season. Coming into this season, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But, I knew if we worked hard we could accomplish anything. This has been one of the hardest working teams I have ever been a part of. We had a lot of close races that saw us on the short end of winning and we had great races where we left victorious. We are Metropolitan Champions and Atlantic Region Champions, something that hasn’t been accomplished in five years. We recorded fast times and high finishes as the season progressed. I am extremely proud of this team for what we accomplished and the character we showed in victory and defeat. I would not want to end my cross country career in any other way with any other team.
 
So when people look to our legacy, I hope they see beyond the wins and losses, to the core of this team as a family. I have made the best friends and created the best memories by being on this team. It is an experience I could have never imagined and something I will always hold on to. The people involved have truly become my family away from home, and I couldn’t thank them enough for that. I hope I did as much for them as they did for me.
 
As we return from Thanksgiving and transition into indoor track, I want to thank you for the opportunity of letting me express my thoughts on this team over the past four years. It has truly been my pleasure.



Kevin Bonilla is a senior captain on the 2012 men's cross country team. He will share his thoughts throughout the season.

Posted November 13, 2012 

The funny thing about the postseason is that people see it as a new beginning, a fresh start. This is where the “real season” starts, we’re told. These are the races that truly matter. While this is true, it is difficult to move forward without knowing where you came from. The past is just as important as the present when executing a plan to win. This past Saturday, at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championship, part of our recent history pulled us through to victory.
 
Going into Saturday’s race, ranked second behind SUNY Geneseo, we knew we had a chance to get a win. We’d have to run smart, run together and be closing hard during the last mile. We were prepared because we’ve been in this situation before. We raced Geneseo earlier in the season at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble. We finished second behind them as they beat us by 30 points. It was a tough loss, but a loss that we learned a lot from. We learned how they raced and, more importantly, what we needed to do to challenge them in the future. Within that month between Oberlin and Regionals, we grew and improved as a team. We learned how to race together and race smart. We also learned how close races can be and how every point and place matters. After barely losing UAA’s to Washington University, we didn’t want to come up short again. As we returned to that same UAA course on Saturday, we also brought the knowledge of racing on it. We knew the course and how to use it to our best advantages.
 
It is this prior knowledge and experience that set the tone for our preparations for Regionals. We were excited, and a little nervous, yet confident in our abilities. The last time NYU won Regionals was in 2007. We’ve been close since then, but never first. And like every other race, it would be close again.
 
Every man counts, every place is important, and every point matters. It is a great feeling to be on the other side of a close race, the winning side, with the knowledge that we did all we could and it paid off. I am extremely proud of this team. We have been working towards the post-season since June and I would not want to toe the line at NCAA’s with any other group of guys. We have all put in the work, supporting each other along the way and watching that hard work pay off.
 
Yet, we have one more race. Our work is not yet finished. As we head into NCAA’s on Saturday as Atlantic Region Champions, we lay it all on the line, one last time. We are excited, motivated, and want to keep the momentum going.



Kevin Bonilla is a senior captain on the 2012 men's cross country team. He will share his thoughts throughout the season.

Posted November 9, 2012 

Being part of a team is more than just showing up to practice, running races and listening to your coaches. While all of those elements bring a team together in a physical sense, they don’t keep the team together in other ways. Being part of a team is about the relationships built and the experiences and memories formed. As I’ve mentioned before, being part of the NYU cross country and track teams has become my New York family. The friends I’ve made have made these past three years more than worth it.
 
It is with these friends that I want to succeed. Everything done is done with the team in mind. I’m not just running for myself, but for the team. Two weekends ago, at the UAA Cross Country Championship in Rochester, was part one of the culmination of my cross country career. I was on the winning team my freshmen year and have contributed to two second-place finishes. I really wanted to pull out a victory and felt this is the group that could do it. Unfortunately, we finished second by a mere eight points. This not only showed us how vital every point is, but more importantly, it is keeping us motivated. UAA’s is not the end of our season. A victory was the goal and would have been great, but finishing well at NCAA’s is much more important as we continue to get faster, taper our training and remain focused.
 
Coming off of UAA’s, we did not race last weekend as we prepare for NCAA Regionals. However, Hurricane Sandy had other plans as she tore through the Northeast last Monday, leaving many people homeless, powerless and concerned. I, along with two of my other teammates, live in Brooklyn and was fortunate enough to not feel the effects of Sandy. Our other teammates weren’t so fortunate. Last week, a week in which all of NYU was closed, proved how this team is more like a family. With power, hot water, food, and plenty of space, we welcomed our teammates, finding room for everyone who needed a place to stay or just a place to shower. We were more than happy to help as we turned a sad time into a fun time, always remaining positive. As our co-op/refugee camp members returned to their restored-power apartments and dorms last Saturday, my confidence remains high for Regionals and NCAA’s.
 
New York is a resilient city and we are a resilient team. As they say on Broadway, the show must go on. As we returned to some sense of normalcy this week, we remain focused on our goals as the season nears its close. As we’ve grown from teammates to friends to family, we’re running for NYU and for our city, together.
 


Kevin Bonilla is a senior captain on the 2012 men's cross country team. He will share his thoughts throughout the season.

Posted October 9, 2012 

Being a senior in college tends to make you a little sentimental. I, for one, have always
had the tendency to point out “last time” moments, even if to just be funny. We have already had our “last first day of fall semester”, “last first day of practice” and “last first cross country race”.
 
These moments, of course, didn’t cause me to think too much about them. However, when I was warming up for my sixth race at Van Cortlandt Park this past Friday for the Metropolitan Championship, I realized it was my last time racing at our home course.
 
Van Cortlandt has always been a staple in the NYU cross country regimen. We workout
there, we do a lot of our long runs there, and it is the course we are proud to call our own. Over the years I have learned to really enjoy racing at VCP because I know it so well; passing people on the back hills, feeling my heart rate jump as I crest cemetery hill and taking whatever energy I have left to sprint down the longest finishing straightaway I have ever run. While I will definitely run at VCP more throughout this year, the fact that I will never race there again in an NYU singlet did make me a little sentimental.
 
That is why I couldn’t be happier with how we performed. Since I came to NYU, we
have been very close to winning the Met’s. Third in 2009 and second in both 2010 and 2011. The last time we took home the victory was in 2007. After going out smart, controlled, and running together like we’ve been doing all year, we were able to bring the championship back to NYU as we won, besting the 11 other schools.
 
We have been putting in the hard work, so this is a nice reminder of our abilities as we approach the latter half of our season. With only six weeks left until NCAA’s, this was a great starting point as the races get more competitive and we get faster. As we continue to put in the work and believe in ourselves and each other, I am confident we will reach our goals come November. I am excited to continue this journey as we travel to Ohio for the Oberlin Invitational this Saturday.


Kevin Bonilla is a senior captain on the 2012 men's cross country team. He will share his thoughts throughout the season.

Posted September 19, 2012  

The one thing that differentiates college athletics from high school athletics is the physical support that comes from parents and family members. In high school, every race I ran was attended by my parents and some members of my family. Of course, when I came to NYU, being at every meet became difficult for my family in South Florida. Our schedule also makes it difficult for local parents as we travel to different parts of the country to compete. But I am not alone in this, as NYU draws students from not only all over the country, but from all over the world. Luckily, we have Family and Alumni Day, where NYU coordinates to have as many parents and alumni attend one race during the season. This year, Family and Alumni Day occurred this past weekend when we raced the Monmouth Invitation held at Holmdel Park in New Jersey.
 
I was very fortunate to have my own parents fly in for the weekend and be present at the race. It made all the difference to have them there both during and after the race, as all the parents, family members, alumni and runners gathered for lunch. It turned the post-race activities into an event, as people were able to catch up with their family, alumni, meet other parents, and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was great to see such a large turnout, reconfirming the history and support of this program.
 
With family and alumni packing the park and shouting their support, the race went just as planned. Having never raced at Holmdel, but working out there enough to know how difficult the hilly terrain is, we came in with a strategy to start off conservative and keep on working on our way up to the leaders as we embarked on our first 8k of the season. Just as we did two weeks ago, we worked as a pack, running and passing people together. Mentally supportive for us and intimidating for our opponents, it felt great to run by our competition in groups of four and five. Our ability to run together and finish strong continues to build confidence in our team and strength as we finished fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th, and 11^th, individually, to round out our top seven runners en route to winning the meet with 32 points.
 
While we are excited about this race and victory, we remain focused on the road ahead. We will put this pack running and our abilities to its first real test as we take on tough competition at the Williams College Invitational this Saturday.