Bound For Canisius College | News, Sports, Jobs – Jamestown Post Journal

Randolph senior Ronan McDonald signed his letter of intent to continue his athletic and academic careers at Canisius last week, shortly after spending his official visit with Maple Grove graduate Michael Peppy, who is a sophomore at the college.

“It was about a month ago when I went on the visit,” McDonald said. “It was a lot of fun, the atmosphere, the school and everything. I think the small-school atmosphere is best for me.That’s kind of where I am from. I really liked the coach.”

McDonald had already enjoyed taking a look at several other schools and cross country programs before making his decision, but was happy to save Canisius for his last visit.

See MCDONALD, Page B3

Many of the recommendations McDonald received about the Golden Griffins’ cross country and indoor track teams centered around head coach Nate Huckle.

In his ninth season at the helm, Huckle is a two-time MAAC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year who reinstituted the Canisius indoor and outdoor track programs during the 2014 season.

“I think he really liked the other schools that he went to,” Randolph cross country coach Sean Ode said. “He went to Canisius and they were the last school on his list. I think he was about 90 percent sure when he came back that it was where he was going to go. He stayed with Michael Peppy and really enjoyed the visit. Everyone just had great things to say about their head coach.”

The majority of the Canisius cross country roster also participates during the track and field seasons, McDonald came to learn.

“(Michael) talked about the races with the team and everything about it, said that it was awesome,” McDonald said. “I’m going to be doing track as well. Middle-distance stuff, too. That is what almost all of them do.”

In his final season at Randolph, McDonald finished in fifth place in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D race in Plattsburgh with a time of 15:12.5, following that performance up with a 46th-place finish in the Federation Championships with a time of 16:59.3.

In one of the best performances of his career, McDonald took home the Manhattan High School Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx midway through October, holding off Aidan Higley of Salesianum to finish the 2.5-mile course in 12:53.

“The few weeks surrounding that race were the best he had been and Manhattan was the peak of his season,” Ode said. “I’ve been coaching at Randolph for 10 years and we have had some really good kids, including Matt Evans who went on to a Division I school himself. Ronan has definitely separated himself from the other runners. He has our record for the 3-mile, 5K, and 2.5-mile. As far as local runners in the 10 years I have seen, Corey Wefing, Owen Barber and Michael Peppy. He is right up there with that group.”

When it comes to achieving success at the next level, Ode understands that NCAA Division I competition demands a new level of dedication to the sport.

From his time coaching McDonald, the Randolph head coach sees self-motivation as a primary driver behind his success.

“It really comes down to his desire to be the best,” Ode said. “I’ve never coached a more competitive kid. When he gets to Canisius it’s going to start with him wanting to be the best freshman and get on their top-five scoring team. After that he’s going to keep working, trying to be the best runner on the team.”