MARK OVERBEY
Suffern High School
Class of 1982
You did not want to get the baton a step ahead of Mark Overbey on a sprint relay. Or even a step behind him, for that matter. Especially indoors.
"Indoors is my domain," Mark says flatly. "If you're gonna try to pass me, you'd better go wide or else you'll get an elbow in the biceps."
Mark was a master on the flat-floor indoor tracks of his era, most notably the irregular-sized track at the Rockland Community College field house. It was on that no-spikes-allowed, 287-yard oval where Mark got the baton in last place on the anchor leg of the 880-yard relay at the 1982 Rockland County indoor championships. He proceeded to
spread-eagle the field with a blazing sub-22-second split to give Suffern the victory in the relay. Combined with his gold medals in the 60 yards (6.5 seconds) and 300 yards (32.5), Mark played a pivotal role in spearheading the Mounties' team championship, along with middle distance/distance ace Jeff Van Wie.
The '82 winter season was chock full of highlights like those for the 6-foot-2 ½, long-striding Overbey. At the Section 9 Class A meet at RCC, he won the 300 meters in 35.0, which was faster than the existing New York State and national record of 35.1, established earlier that season, in the first year as an official State event for the metric distance. (RCC's oversized track ruled out the mark for record purposes.) The marquee performance was part of another triple conquest for Mark, including the 55 meters (6.5) and 800-meter relay, again helping pace the Mounties to the team title.
Collecting Titles and Records
Among Mark's other outstanding efforts that season included a fifth-place finish at the State meet in the 300 meters, 35.89; a gold medal at the Section 9 State Qualifier in 35.8; a 300-yard time of 31.9, good for No. 3 on the all-time Rockland list; a 49.5 anchor split on Suffern's 1,600-meter relay triumph at the Vitalis/Olympic Invitational at the Meadowlands; anchoring Suffern's 880-yard relay to a Rockland and Section 9 record 1:32.9 at the Rockland Relays; anchoring the Mounties' 1,600-meter relay to a Rockland and Section 9 record 3:24.6 with a 49.3 split at the West Point Invitational; sweeping the 60-yard (6.3) and 300-yard (32.4) dashes at the Pearl River Holiday Festival; and running a 22.3 220-yard leg on Suffern's Rockland and Section 9 record sprint medley relay (3:35.3) at the Rockland Relays.
During the previous indoor season, Mark anchored Suffern's winning 880-yard relay at the Section 9 State Qualifier with a 22.1 split. Outdoors, he contributed to Suffern's team title at the 1982 Rockland County championships with a leg on the winning 400-meter relay (43.8) and a runner-up finish in the 200 (22.5). He also placed second in the 200 at the State Qualifier (22.4), and was named outstanding individual performer at the Nanuet Relays for his legs on the winning 1,600 relay (3:29.3) and sprint medley (3:36.2). As a junior outdoors, he earned first-team All-County honors on Suffern's 880 relay, which swept the Rockland County, Section 9 Class A (1:33.1) and State Qualifier (1:33.5) championships. The Mounties captured both Rockland County and Section 9 team titles as well.
Revving Up at Manhattan
After a sterling two-year run with the Mounties, coached indoors by Joe Biddy and outdoors by Ralph Coleman, Mark earned an athletic scholarship to attend Manhattan College. The Jaspers, under Coach Fred Dwyer, were loaded with sprint talent and Mark was a valuable member of that unit. One of the most vivid memories of his collegiate career came at the 1986 Penn Relays, when Manhattan finished second in the Championship of America 4x400-meter relay in a superb time of 3:03.64. Mark handed off in first with a solid 45.9 leadoff leg. Manhattan's third runner fell back to last, but anchor Willie McLaughlin (father of Olympic gold medalist hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone) brought the Jaspers back to second place with a scorching 44.2 leg, just behind winner Auburn.
Mark matched strides with some of the finest collegiate long sprinters in the Northeast and nationally. He relished duels with stars like Andrew Valmon of Georgetown ("he never beat me in an open race"); Chip Jenkins of Villanova ("I caught him, too,"), who called Mark "the Duke of New York"; Olympic bronze medalist Dennis Mitchell of Florida, who edged Mark "by inches" in the NCAA 500 meters; and Butch Reynolds, the former 400-meter world record holder.
Just as in high school, the indoor arenas proved ideal venues for Mark's competitive mettle. Among the highlights of his collegiate tenure were a third-place showing in the IC4A 500 meters in 1:02.58; second place in the Metropolitan Intercollegiate 400, 47.8; anchoring Manhattan's winning 4x400 relay at the Met Intercollegiate with a 47.1 split, helping the Jaspers win the team championship; anchoring the winning mile relay at the Princeton Relays in 47.7; clocking 47.3 on Manhattan's runner-up mile relay at the Millrose Games; and winning the 500 at the Boston University Open Meet in 1:01.53, then No. 7 on the all-time Eastern collegiate list.
Mark graduated from Manhattan in 1986 with a B.A. degree in finance and marketing.
From Newark to Suffern With Stop-Off in Germany
Born and raised in Newark, N.J., Mark lived in Germany for 2 ½ years with his uncle, an Army officer who was stationed in Augsburg, outside of Munich. Mark's mother had died when he was 10 and his grandmother took care of him and his brothers for a couple years. Mark spent his eighth, ninth and 10th grade years in Germany before moving to Suffern entering his junior year.
Mark did not pursue track after college, but did try his hand at semipro football, playing tight end and wide receiver for the Brooklyn Mariners for three years. He also served as a player-coach for three years in the highly competitive Urban Professional Basketball League in New York City, on a team sponsored by his employer at the time, Towers Financial Corp.
Mark, who is 58, lives in Brooklyn and works in the financial industry for Hanover Capital Group. He has two children: daughter Kierra, 21, a junior at Brooklyn College; and son Karron, 17, a senior at Eagle Academy charter school in Brooklyn. Karron, a talented wide receiver and tight end in football, recently accepted a full scholarship offer from Ithaca College, an NCAA Div. III school.
"Indoors is my domain," Mark says flatly. "If you're gonna try to pass me, you'd better go wide or else you'll get an elbow in the biceps."
Mark was a master on the flat-floor indoor tracks of his era, most notably the irregular-sized track at the Rockland Community College field house. It was on that no-spikes-allowed, 287-yard oval where Mark got the baton in last place on the anchor leg of the 880-yard relay at the 1982 Rockland County indoor championships. He proceeded to
spread-eagle the field with a blazing sub-22-second split to give Suffern the victory in the relay. Combined with his gold medals in the 60 yards (6.5 seconds) and 300 yards (32.5), Mark played a pivotal role in spearheading the Mounties' team championship, along with middle distance/distance ace Jeff Van Wie.
The '82 winter season was chock full of highlights like those for the 6-foot-2 ½, long-striding Overbey. At the Section 9 Class A meet at RCC, he won the 300 meters in 35.0, which was faster than the existing New York State and national record of 35.1, established earlier that season, in the first year as an official State event for the metric distance. (RCC's oversized track ruled out the mark for record purposes.) The marquee performance was part of another triple conquest for Mark, including the 55 meters (6.5) and 800-meter relay, again helping pace the Mounties to the team title.
Collecting Titles and Records
Among Mark's other outstanding efforts that season included a fifth-place finish at the State meet in the 300 meters, 35.89; a gold medal at the Section 9 State Qualifier in 35.8; a 300-yard time of 31.9, good for No. 3 on the all-time Rockland list; a 49.5 anchor split on Suffern's 1,600-meter relay triumph at the Vitalis/Olympic Invitational at the Meadowlands; anchoring Suffern's 880-yard relay to a Rockland and Section 9 record 1:32.9 at the Rockland Relays; anchoring the Mounties' 1,600-meter relay to a Rockland and Section 9 record 3:24.6 with a 49.3 split at the West Point Invitational; sweeping the 60-yard (6.3) and 300-yard (32.4) dashes at the Pearl River Holiday Festival; and running a 22.3 220-yard leg on Suffern's Rockland and Section 9 record sprint medley relay (3:35.3) at the Rockland Relays.
During the previous indoor season, Mark anchored Suffern's winning 880-yard relay at the Section 9 State Qualifier with a 22.1 split. Outdoors, he contributed to Suffern's team title at the 1982 Rockland County championships with a leg on the winning 400-meter relay (43.8) and a runner-up finish in the 200 (22.5). He also placed second in the 200 at the State Qualifier (22.4), and was named outstanding individual performer at the Nanuet Relays for his legs on the winning 1,600 relay (3:29.3) and sprint medley (3:36.2). As a junior outdoors, he earned first-team All-County honors on Suffern's 880 relay, which swept the Rockland County, Section 9 Class A (1:33.1) and State Qualifier (1:33.5) championships. The Mounties captured both Rockland County and Section 9 team titles as well.
Revving Up at Manhattan
After a sterling two-year run with the Mounties, coached indoors by Joe Biddy and outdoors by Ralph Coleman, Mark earned an athletic scholarship to attend Manhattan College. The Jaspers, under Coach Fred Dwyer, were loaded with sprint talent and Mark was a valuable member of that unit. One of the most vivid memories of his collegiate career came at the 1986 Penn Relays, when Manhattan finished second in the Championship of America 4x400-meter relay in a superb time of 3:03.64. Mark handed off in first with a solid 45.9 leadoff leg. Manhattan's third runner fell back to last, but anchor Willie McLaughlin (father of Olympic gold medalist hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone) brought the Jaspers back to second place with a scorching 44.2 leg, just behind winner Auburn.
Mark matched strides with some of the finest collegiate long sprinters in the Northeast and nationally. He relished duels with stars like Andrew Valmon of Georgetown ("he never beat me in an open race"); Chip Jenkins of Villanova ("I caught him, too,"), who called Mark "the Duke of New York"; Olympic bronze medalist Dennis Mitchell of Florida, who edged Mark "by inches" in the NCAA 500 meters; and Butch Reynolds, the former 400-meter world record holder.
Just as in high school, the indoor arenas proved ideal venues for Mark's competitive mettle. Among the highlights of his collegiate tenure were a third-place showing in the IC4A 500 meters in 1:02.58; second place in the Metropolitan Intercollegiate 400, 47.8; anchoring Manhattan's winning 4x400 relay at the Met Intercollegiate with a 47.1 split, helping the Jaspers win the team championship; anchoring the winning mile relay at the Princeton Relays in 47.7; clocking 47.3 on Manhattan's runner-up mile relay at the Millrose Games; and winning the 500 at the Boston University Open Meet in 1:01.53, then No. 7 on the all-time Eastern collegiate list.
Mark graduated from Manhattan in 1986 with a B.A. degree in finance and marketing.
From Newark to Suffern With Stop-Off in Germany
Born and raised in Newark, N.J., Mark lived in Germany for 2 ½ years with his uncle, an Army officer who was stationed in Augsburg, outside of Munich. Mark's mother had died when he was 10 and his grandmother took care of him and his brothers for a couple years. Mark spent his eighth, ninth and 10th grade years in Germany before moving to Suffern entering his junior year.
Mark did not pursue track after college, but did try his hand at semipro football, playing tight end and wide receiver for the Brooklyn Mariners for three years. He also served as a player-coach for three years in the highly competitive Urban Professional Basketball League in New York City, on a team sponsored by his employer at the time, Towers Financial Corp.
Mark, who is 58, lives in Brooklyn and works in the financial industry for Hanover Capital Group. He has two children: daughter Kierra, 21, a junior at Brooklyn College; and son Karron, 17, a senior at Eagle Academy charter school in Brooklyn. Karron, a talented wide receiver and tight end in football, recently accepted a full scholarship offer from Ithaca College, an NCAA Div. III school.