by Frank Aceto

Associate Sports Editor

The best things come to those who wait?

This phrase could describe Chris Labosky, who recently graduated from Yale University.

The 2006 Tallmadge graduate overcame injuries and illness to finish 22nd with a time of 1 minute, 51.63 seconds in the 800-meter race at the NCAA Track and Field Championships last month in Eugene, Ore.

Labosky, who finished sixth in his heat, did not run his best time. But the fact he got this far after overcoming a bevy of obstacles certainly says something about his drive and determination.

“It was a weird year,” said Yale head men’s cross country coach Dan Ireland, who also works with the middle-distance runners for Yale’s indoor and outdoor track and field teams. “Our goal was to make it to regionals, but we weren’t planning on the NCAAs.”

Labosky, 22, earned a ticket to Eugene after running the race of his life during the NCAA East Regional the previous week. He placed 10th with a time of 1 minute, 47.74 seconds, which broke the school record he set earlier in the season.

“That was my big breakout race,” Labosky said. “I had dreamed of running a 1:48. I didn’t expect to run any faster than that.”

Before the outdoor season began, Labosky and Ireland didn’t know what to expect.

Labosky, who also competed for the cross country and indoor track and field teams, had a promising sophomore year before things started to go downhill.

“I was ranked in the top 50 [in the outdoor 800] in the country my sophomore year and then I dislocated my knee,” he said. “My summer was gone and then I injured my back, which caused me to miss my junior year in cross country.”

Labosky’s tough luck began to change during the 2010 indoor season. 

He won the 1,000-meter race with a time of 2:25.5 at the Indoor Heptagonals Championships in February.

“He had a really good indoor season,” Ireland said. “We were starting to think things were looking better for outdoor. And then he had a rough couple of weeks when we thought he was anemic.”

Thankfully, Labosky’s health problems didn’t last. And he saved his best races for the final stretch.

Good timing.

Labosky made his best impression during the most important meets of the season.

“He put everything together in the last three weeks,” Ireland said. “He stayed healthy and handled the training. Everything came together perfectly.”

It wasn’t easy.

Remember, Yale is an Ivy League school that considers academics its first, second and third priorities.

Labosky, however, knew how to juggle his two favorite hobbies.

After all, he had some experience at Tallmadge High School. Labosky placed fifth in the 1,600 at the 2005 state meet and later graduated as one of the class valedictorians.

“We had heps [heptagonals] during exams, which made it extremely stressful,” Labosky said. “I was doing some traveling, so I had to reschedule exams.

“But none of this would have been possible if I didn’t enjoy both things. I never considered either one of them a chore. I love running and I love competing. I also love doing all the things for academics.”

It’s safe to say everything has worked out quite well.

Labosky graduated from Yale with a 3.97 grade-point average and was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country Team.

The humanities major in Branford College at Yale plans to do some teaching in the near future. He also hopes to attend law school.

And just because he is no longer eligible to run for Yale doesn’t mean he’s ready to stop running.

“I’ll start training with my current coach in the 1,500 outdoors,” Labosky said. “My ideal situation would be to compete at the Olympic Trials.”

Don’t bet against him. Labosky’s best races may still be ahead of him.

“Chris is one of the toughest 800 outdoor kids I’ve ever coached,” Ireland said. “He doesn’t let any outside things get to him. He runs a smart race. We tell him little things he needs to do and he executes them perfectly.”

E-mail: faceto@recordpub.com

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