That bountiful four-year stretch began when Bennett returned for a second stint coaching the Patriots in 2015, and was highlighted by the boys’ 2018 outdoor season, when they won the second of three straight Suburban Council Gray Division dual-meet titles, beat out Shenendehowa for first at the SC meet and placed second at the Section 2 Group 1 meet and at the William F. Eddy Memorial Track and Field Meet that they hosted. “That was our hot year.
The kids were buying in and things were rolling. We had sprinters, jumpers, throwers and distance kids,” Bennett said of the spring of 2018, when Maazin Ahmed, Keegan Cochrane, Trebor Davis and Lamont Walters shined. “We followed up with a decent 2019, and when 2020 came, we had to shut everything down [due to the COVID-19 pandemic].
When we came back, we were starting with a whole new batch of kids.” While Schenectady boys and girls tasted a smattering of success in the early 2020s, Bennett can sense a significant and collective move forward in upcoming campaigns, which he will eagerly watch rather than oversee. The 55-year-old Rotterdam resident and Mohonasen High School and Cortland State graduate has stepped down from his post after coaching Schenectady runners, jumpers and throwers for 21 years.
Bennett said he will continue to teach physical education at Schenectady High School for one more school year — his 33rd there — before retiring. “We always hung tough at 70 to 80 kids, but this year, we had around 100. T.