Special Feature
In recalling is early running at Friends Seminary, Tyler said he has memories of training in a congested Stuyvesant Park across the street from Friends. “I remember running sprints through the park and people would yell at us,” he said.
A b o u t 2 5 0 m i l e s due northwest of Friends Seminary, Tyler McCully '09 is excelling on and off the playing fields at Syracuse University. Tyler, who was a 12-season athlete at Friends, is running Division I Track and Field for the Orangemen; he is one of only a small handful of Friends graduates to compete on the Division I level.
“I love track and field because it’s really about simplicity”.
“My event is the 400m,” Tyler said. “It’s all about stamina and the challenge of having a strong kick in the end of the race.” Warren Salandy, Tyler’s soccer and track coach at Friends, said Tyler shined in other sports during his time at Friends. “He is naturally athletic and could compete in any sport he’d like,” Warren said.” However, the Quaker ethos taught at Friends may have had an impact on what sport he focused on.
“I love track and field because it’s really about simplicity,” Tyler said. “It’s about running as fast as you can and trying to come in first.” At Syracuse, Tyler has qualified for the Big East Championships three times in the Men’s 400M. His personal best in the event is a blistering 49.15 seconds. (Tyler holds the Friends Seminary school record in the event at 50.08 seconds.)
During the winter of his senior year at Friends, Tyler was granted permission to train with the Collegiate School Track Team at the famed Armory located on the upper west side of Manhattan. At the time, Friends did not offer an indoor team, but that did little to deter Tyler from competing in a sport he loved. “He was a real pioneer for the track program at Friends,” Warren said. “He was instrumental in starting the indoor track program at the School.” The following year, Friends began offering winter track. Tyler also assumed the role of the track team’s talent scout and helped recruit his peers to join the Spring Track team at Friends. “Rob Stabinau ’09 and I would recruit friends from other sports such as the soccer team,” he said. “I’d tell them to come to just come out to one practice and many of them joined. I had a very close-knit grade too, so that helped.” Tyler’s hard work paid off and the Friends Track Team won their conference during Tyler’s senior year. Today, Tyler is a candidate for Syracuse University’s 5-year B.I.D. degree in Industrial and Interaction Design, and has been on the Student-Athlete Dean’s List at Syracuse his last four semesters. This summer he is partaking in an internship with Long Island-based Lifetime Brands, the country’s leading kitchenware design firm. You can see some of his design work at www.tylermccully.com.