SCOTT CLARKE
Haverstraw High School
Class of 1965
Scott Clarke vividly recalls having to make a difficult choice in the spring of 1965, his senior year at Haverstraw High School. The Yonkers Invitational, a prestigious track meet at that time, was being held the same time as his senior prom. You could say Scott passed up an opportunity for good times in favor of a chance at a good time. He chose running over dancing and was rewarded with a third-place mile effort of 4:28.3, not far off the Rockland County record of 4:26.0, set a decade earlier by Tappan Zee’s Gene Martin. Gene just happened to have been Scott’s freshman coach as an assistant to head coach Dick Teetsel at Haverstraw. Looks like the pupil learned pretty well from the teacher!
Scott was a versatile middle distance and distance runner at Haverstraw, excelling at the half-mile, mile, two mile and cross country, and even clocking a swift 53.2 for the open quarter-mile and 52.1 on a relay leg at the Penn Relays. He was the first Rockland schoolboy to officially break two minutes in the 880-yard run, clocking 1:59.8 to capture the RCPSAL championship in the spring of 1964, his junior year. Under Coach Teetsel’s tutelage, Scott upped his game the following year, stringing together consecutive triumphs at the Rockland County, Section 9 Class A and State Qualifier meets, the latter two in 1:58.8 and 1:57.8, a Section 9 record. He went on to finish fifth in the NYSPHSAA championships in 1:58.0.
No slouch at longer distance, Scott was a two-time Rockland County mile champion, winning the 1965 edition in 4:32.1 and the famed Nyack Jaycees meet in 4:32.4 the previous year. In the two mile, he was the first Rockland runner to breach the 10:00 barrier, clocking 9:51.4 in a dual meet against Suffern his senior year. Scott made a clean sweep of first team All-County honors in the 880, mile and two mile his senior year, the first time that feat had been accomplished.
Although middle distance and distance runners are rarely called upon to compete in the jumping events, Scott excelled in the few opportunities that arose in horizontal jumps, spanning 20-2 in the long jump and 39-11 ¾ in the triple jump.
Scott initially planned to use cross country season as conditioning for basketball in the winter, but he never did join the hoops team. He did get a taste of indoor track, however, thanks to coaches Teetsel and Martin, competing at the 168th Street Armory in upper Manhattan on the old wooden floorboards.
On the cross country hills and trails, Scott finished second behind Suffern’s Russ Karvonen at the Rockland County championships in 12:38 for Bear Mountain’s tough 2.5- mile course, just four seconds in arrears. He also placed second in the Section 9 Class A meet, lowering his time at Bear Mountain to 12:21, the fastest by a Rockland runner that day. Scott was awarded All-County honors in cross country three years in a row. All told, he lost only one race to a Rockland runner and only two races to Section 9 runners from his sophomore through senior years.
After graduating from Haverstraw, Scott attended the University of Houston as a walk-on but his success for the Cougars led to full scholarship offers his junior and senior years. He started out as only fifth-fastest miler on the freshman team, but improved to 4:16.0 in the mile and 1:56 in the 880 that year, winning both events at San Jacinto Relays. He ran on a freshman two-mile relay that was out leaned at the tape by Rice University for the national freshman college record in that event. As a sophomore, he placed 25th to help lead the Cougars to their second straight third-place finish in the National Federation cross country championships, conducted over the six-mile distance.
Scott also acquired a measure of fame by landing on the front page of The New York Times Sports section, in a photo of him and two teammates crossing the finish line together in first place in the three-mile run at the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas. By the end of a highly successful college career, Scott had bettered his times at all distances, including the 440, 51.1; 880, 1:51.1; mile 4:09.4, two mile, 9:04 (time trial); three mile, 14:27, four mile, 19:53, and six mile, 30:30 (time trial).
Scott graduated from Houston in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a behavioral management concentration. He went on to Bronx-based Lehman College to attain a Master of Science degree, with a concentration in therapeutic recreation, in 1975. Scott worked for New York State for 32 years, either at the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) or the Office of Mental Health (OMH). For a 16-year stretch he served as head recreation therapist at Program Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Service Office (DDSO). He also held the role of training director for Area 28 Special Olympics and was certified to teach coaches in 16 of the 20 available sports.
The desire to work with student-athletes manifested itself in a two-year stint for Scott as head indoor track coach at Tupper Lake (N.Y.) High School, in 1995 and 1996. He also taught speedskating, a popular sport in upstate New York, at the Tupper Lake Ice Rink in 1994-1995.
Scott feels indebted to coaches Teetsel and Martin – both of whom are RCT&FHOF inductees – for making such a positive impact on his life. “To once again be recognized with them at the Hall of Fame is a priceless honor that also recognizes their contribution to my life and many others,” he said. “They both laid the foundation for my life that hard work leads to an easier, more enjoyable life, and [always] respect your fellow competitors.”
Scott was a versatile middle distance and distance runner at Haverstraw, excelling at the half-mile, mile, two mile and cross country, and even clocking a swift 53.2 for the open quarter-mile and 52.1 on a relay leg at the Penn Relays. He was the first Rockland schoolboy to officially break two minutes in the 880-yard run, clocking 1:59.8 to capture the RCPSAL championship in the spring of 1964, his junior year. Under Coach Teetsel’s tutelage, Scott upped his game the following year, stringing together consecutive triumphs at the Rockland County, Section 9 Class A and State Qualifier meets, the latter two in 1:58.8 and 1:57.8, a Section 9 record. He went on to finish fifth in the NYSPHSAA championships in 1:58.0.
No slouch at longer distance, Scott was a two-time Rockland County mile champion, winning the 1965 edition in 4:32.1 and the famed Nyack Jaycees meet in 4:32.4 the previous year. In the two mile, he was the first Rockland runner to breach the 10:00 barrier, clocking 9:51.4 in a dual meet against Suffern his senior year. Scott made a clean sweep of first team All-County honors in the 880, mile and two mile his senior year, the first time that feat had been accomplished.
Although middle distance and distance runners are rarely called upon to compete in the jumping events, Scott excelled in the few opportunities that arose in horizontal jumps, spanning 20-2 in the long jump and 39-11 ¾ in the triple jump.
Scott initially planned to use cross country season as conditioning for basketball in the winter, but he never did join the hoops team. He did get a taste of indoor track, however, thanks to coaches Teetsel and Martin, competing at the 168th Street Armory in upper Manhattan on the old wooden floorboards.
On the cross country hills and trails, Scott finished second behind Suffern’s Russ Karvonen at the Rockland County championships in 12:38 for Bear Mountain’s tough 2.5- mile course, just four seconds in arrears. He also placed second in the Section 9 Class A meet, lowering his time at Bear Mountain to 12:21, the fastest by a Rockland runner that day. Scott was awarded All-County honors in cross country three years in a row. All told, he lost only one race to a Rockland runner and only two races to Section 9 runners from his sophomore through senior years.
After graduating from Haverstraw, Scott attended the University of Houston as a walk-on but his success for the Cougars led to full scholarship offers his junior and senior years. He started out as only fifth-fastest miler on the freshman team, but improved to 4:16.0 in the mile and 1:56 in the 880 that year, winning both events at San Jacinto Relays. He ran on a freshman two-mile relay that was out leaned at the tape by Rice University for the national freshman college record in that event. As a sophomore, he placed 25th to help lead the Cougars to their second straight third-place finish in the National Federation cross country championships, conducted over the six-mile distance.
Scott also acquired a measure of fame by landing on the front page of The New York Times Sports section, in a photo of him and two teammates crossing the finish line together in first place in the three-mile run at the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas. By the end of a highly successful college career, Scott had bettered his times at all distances, including the 440, 51.1; 880, 1:51.1; mile 4:09.4, two mile, 9:04 (time trial); three mile, 14:27, four mile, 19:53, and six mile, 30:30 (time trial).
Scott graduated from Houston in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a behavioral management concentration. He went on to Bronx-based Lehman College to attain a Master of Science degree, with a concentration in therapeutic recreation, in 1975. Scott worked for New York State for 32 years, either at the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) or the Office of Mental Health (OMH). For a 16-year stretch he served as head recreation therapist at Program Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Service Office (DDSO). He also held the role of training director for Area 28 Special Olympics and was certified to teach coaches in 16 of the 20 available sports.
The desire to work with student-athletes manifested itself in a two-year stint for Scott as head indoor track coach at Tupper Lake (N.Y.) High School, in 1995 and 1996. He also taught speedskating, a popular sport in upstate New York, at the Tupper Lake Ice Rink in 1994-1995.
Scott feels indebted to coaches Teetsel and Martin – both of whom are RCT&FHOF inductees – for making such a positive impact on his life. “To once again be recognized with them at the Hall of Fame is a priceless honor that also recognizes their contribution to my life and many others,” he said. “They both laid the foundation for my life that hard work leads to an easier, more enjoyable life, and [always] respect your fellow competitors.”