Eye On the Ball: A running family

Last week while sitting in STARs Café — where I have been like a piece of the furniture since retiring seven years ago — Mary Ellen Adipietro was proudly talking to the group about Joshua Green’s latest victory.

I know Joshua is a terrific runner and that he’s off-Island and a freshman at Farmingdale State College. Mary Ellen was excited about Joshua winning a championship in their conference.

He won the 2018 Skyline Conference Cross Country Championship meet held at the Hudson Sports Dome in Milton, New York. This was no small feat since their conference has 14 colleges competing. Although this was his first win in college, he did win the indoor state section championship for 2018 in the 1,000-meters while at Shelter Island High School.

After his stellar performance, Joshua was voted both Runner and Rookie of the Year in the men’s 8,000-meter race with a 27:45 time as he sprinted to the end to hold off Lucas Jordon (27:49).

For a college freshman just coming out of a great Shelter Island program — run by his father Toby Green and Brian Gallagher — this was quite an impressive victory.

I spoke with his father and his brother Jason. Jason has also been in the Island’s program as long as Joshua.

Toby tells me that Joshua, as an athlete, has always been committed and easy to coach. Last year, he was the captain of the Island’s team. Toby also said that Joshua loves school and is going for a degree in mechanical engineering.

Here on Shelter Island, they are just starting indoor track. I don’t know just how much more they can practice since I always seem to be slowing down as I see them running on the roads. Toby said of the 365 days of the year, he sees the kids at least 300 of them.

After looking at the picture of him standing with his two sons, Toby decided he must shed some pounds. He and Jason signed up for the half marathon of 13.1 miles to be held in Bridgehampton and they’ve been preparing.

This is truly a running family and Toby was no slouch as a young man. Next time you’re in the gymnasium hallway, look at the Shelter Island Hall of Fame wall. When you find Toby, just remember that he will look like that again.

Good luck, Joshua, in the future. Your hometown friends are proud of you.