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Dear Alumni,
One of the breakout stars of the 2020 (2021) Summer Olympics was Sydney McLaughlin of the United States. Sydney won two gold medals, one in the Women's 400m hurdles and one in the
Women's 4x400m relay.
However, Sydney was not the first accomplished runner in her family. That honor belongs to Sydney's mom, Mary (Neumeister) McLaughlin, from the Class of 1979 of Cardinal O'Hara.
In today's HawkTalk we hear of Mary's own exploits on the track where she competed against boys throughout her career. Mary shares her experiences of being the lone female on the track team her senior year.
Mary talks about her days at 39 O'Hara Road and shares some of her favorite memories and describes the biggest impact O'Hara had on her life.
As the mother of an Olympic champion, Mary reveals how she responds when she watches her child compete on the world stage in front of millions and millions of viewers. Mary also shares the surprising thing she said to Sydney after she was finally able to talk to her after Sydney's record setting victory in the 400m hurdles.
I hope you enjoy today's article. You can get started - no need to wait for the starter's pistol! It's all printed below for you - in black and GOLD!!!
Go Hawks!
Dave Lovering ‘74
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(author's note: Due to time constraints this interview with Mary took place after Sydney won her first gold medal but before she won her second medal.)
"It’s Been Crazy"
DAVE: Hi Mary! Thanks so much for meeting with me. You’ve had a lot of excitement in your life the last week.
Congratulations on Sydney’s gold medal in the 400m hurdles!
MARY: Thank you very much. It has been very exciting!
DAVE: Does your face hurt from smiling so much?
MARY: (Laughs) It’s been crazy but I’m doing ok.
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The Neumeisters
DAVE: You and your four siblings grew up in the Town of Tonawanda. What neighborhood did you grow up in?
MARY: We lived on Idlewood, off of Woodstock - not far from Brighton Pool.
DAVE: Did all five Neumeisters attend O’Hara?
MARY: Yes, all five of us graduated from O’Hara. Jim, was the oldest, he graduated in 1973. Donna was next, she graduated in 1975. Then came John ‘77, I graduated in 1979, and Mike, the youngest, graduated in 1982.
DAVE: Since your three older siblings went to O’Hara, was it a foregone conclusion that you were headed there also?
MARY: (Laughs) Yes, our parents, Frank and Helen, made sure we all attended O’Hara. (Laughs)
I do remember that In the summer before I started high school, I received a letter from another high school that was interested in having me run track for them. I can’t remember the school that sent me the letter, but it didn’t matter anyways, because my mom made sure we all went to O’Hara. (Laughs)
DAVE: I know your brother, Jim, went to Saint Christopher’s for grammar school is that where you went?
MARY: No, I went to Saint Edmunds, which is now closed.
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Off to O'Hara
DAVE: With three older siblings, you probably heard stories about high school life, so I imagine that you were preparing to become a freshman that you had a pretty good idea about what you were getting into.
MARY: Yes, Jim, Donna, and John were part of my “orientation”, I guess. (Laughs) There were a number of friends from Saint Edmunds that also went to O’Hara. Having friends go to O’Hara with me also helped me make a smooth adjustment.
When we got to school, each class was segregated in their own hallway. I can still tell you that the freshman class was on the second floor on the left-hand side of the building and the senior hallway was right below that. (Laughs)
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The Morning Commute
DAVE: Do you have any specific recollections of your first few days at O’Hara?
MARY: (Laughs) What I remember is that in the morning, we got on the bus to go to O’Hara, but first, the bus would take us all the way to Sweet Home High School where it would drop off Sweet Home kids and pick up some more O’Hara kids. We always stayed on the bus, we never got off it. After that, we were driven to O’Hara I always thought it was weird that we lived five minutes from O’Hara but the bus ride in the morning took at least a half hour. (Laughs)
DAVE: I remember that too! The same thing was true for my neighborhood, Parkview. We’d drive to Sweet Home High School before we went to O’Hara. But no one seemed to mind because we had so much fun on the bus. (Laughs)
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Favorite Teachers
DAVE: I know there were a lot of great teachers at O’Hara. Were there any that stood out to you?
MARY: Well, I’ll never forget Mr. Drilling. I was a good math student so I enjoyed all my math classes. In fact, I went on to major in mathematics in college. I'll never forget that Mr. Drilling gave me the honorary title "Miss Mathematics" my senior year! (Laughs)
Sister Felicia was also one of my favorite teachers. She was a science teacher. I had her for physics my senior year. (See photo)
I was one of those kids that really liked school. I enjoyed all my teachers and all the subjects.
DAVE: I guess that helps explain one of the reasons you were inducted into the National Honor Society!
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Born To Run
DAVE: I want to ask you about your athletic career at Cardinal O’Hara and especially your experience running track.
I’ll begin by asking when it was that your interest in running began. (See photo. Mary is wearing black and is directly behind the first runner. Her brother John exhorts her from the sidelines.)
MARY: I first became involved in running when I was at Saint Edmunds School. Every year the Diocese of Buffalo had a parochial school track and field meet. I participated in that meet and did pretty well.
Also, during that time, my brother, Jim, after his freshman year at O’Hara, ran some summer track meets for the Town of Tonawanda. My mom took us to those meets. I remember seeing girls participating in those meets. My mom asked me if that was something that I would like to do. I told her that I was interested.
So, I began to run with those kids that Jim ran with in the summer. I participated in meets organized by the Town of Tonawanda. I remember competing against some of the other towns that had youth track teams. That was really my first initiation into competitive running.
Also, a little later on, there was a track team for girls that was formed called the Buffalo Belles. I think there were four or five other girls on the Belles – so I joined them too.
I have a couple of scrapbooks about my days as a runner. I also have a couple of boxes full of medals that I won. They’re around here somewhere. (Laughs)
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COHS Athletics
DAVE: Got it. So, you arrived at O’Hara with some experience in running and certainly with a high interest in track.
MARY: That’s true, sports were my “thing” in high school, and especially running.
DAVE: Besides track, in what other sports did you participate?
MARY: Let’s see, I was a cheerleader, I played volleyball and badminton and I ran track for four years. Oh, and I also ran cross-country my freshman year. (See photo. Mary is #42 on the badminton team.)
When I was a freshman, the cross-country races were 1.2 miles. In my sophomore year the distance was increased to 2.4 miles. When that happened, I said, “No, I think I’m done with cross country.” (Laughs) So I only ran cross country my freshman year.
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Track Career
DAVE: Let’s talk about your four years running track at O’Hara.
There were not separate teams for “boys” and “girls” in track or cross country at O’Hara. Most of the athletes on the track and field team were males. Did that present any problems?
MARY: Honestly, I don’t remember that there were any problems. The first three years I ran track at O’Hara there were other girls on the team. We were well received by all the members of the track and field team. It didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl - we were all very supportive of one another. (See photo. Mary's senior year. She was the only female on the track team. She is sitting front and center - wearing a baseball cap.)
It helped too that all the girls that were on the team got along very well. We had a great time together. To illustrate that, I remember once over Easter break the track team was at school practicing because it was break and nobody else was at school. It had been raining heavily for a couple of days so there was this large mud puddle behind the school that had formed. So, we all went mud-diving and just had the best time. (Laughs)
DAVE: For your first three years there were several girls on the track team. In your senior year, you were the only female.
MARY: As a senior, I was the only girl on the track team. I know that the boys on the team respected me. I was a competitive runner and they knew that.
In terms of my performance on the team, I was pretty competitive against most of the schools that we ran against. There were some teams that I didn’t fare as well against but keep in mind I was running against boys in my races.
I got a varsity letter each of my four years at O’Hara. You had to earn 10 points each year in order to get a letter. Points were awarded by how well you did in the races. I acquitted myself pretty well. (Laughs)
DAVE: When you competed against other schools did the other teams have any girls on the track team?
MARY: Not fair - that was a long time ago. (Laughs)
There may have been one or two girls on one or two of the other teams - but it certainly wasn’t the norm. What II remember is that in my races, I ran against boys.
DAVE: What were your events?
MARY: I ran the 440m race and I was on the relay team.
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Homecoming
DAVE: What is a favorite memory of O’Hara?
MARY: Homecoming was always a favorite event.
Each class had their own section of the gym to decorate. Seniors would decorate their section, juniors would decorate theirs and sophomores and freshman each had their own section also. You’d decorate the walls behind your section. It was kind of a competition between the classes. They’d close the divider so that classes couldn’t see how other classes were decorating their section. (Laughs)
That was always so much fun.
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O’Hara’s Impact
DAVE: In looking back, how did O’Hara impact you?
MARY: I received an incredible education at O’Hara. In fact, I would say that, in a roundabout way, O’Hara had an influence on my own kids’ high school experience.
Our first child, Morgan, attended the public high school here in Dunellen, New Jersey for two years. But in my view, they didn’t offer Morgan the type of quality education that I had received at O’Hara. Therefore, we moved Morgan to Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains after her sophomore year.
That move began the pathway for our other three children to also attend Union Catholic. And, really, it was all based on the high standard of education that I received at Cardinal O’Hara. I wanted my own children to have a high quality education – like the one I had at O’Hara.
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Manhattan College
DAVE: After you graduated from O’Hara you decided to attend Manhattan College in New York City.
MARY: I started at Manhattan in the fall of 1979, after I graduated from O’Hara. I pursued a major in mathematics and a minor in computer science. That was a time, the late 1970s and early 1980s, when computer technology was just starting to become big.
DAVE: Why did you choose Manhattan?
MARY: Honestly, it was at the recommendation of my guidance counselor at O’Hara. I only applied to two schools: Buffalo State, where my sister, Donna, went, and Manhattan College.
DAVE: I presume that one of your considerations for college was that you wanted to run track.
MARY: It was a consideration. I was told that Manhattan had a women’s track team but when I got there in August, I found out that they did not. This was in the days before the Internet where I could’ve double-checked to see if they had one. So, it was disappointing to find out that did not have a women’s track team.
Later on, after I had already graduated from O’Hara, I found out that I was eligible to compete in the New York State High School Championship track meet. Had I run in that meet, I would have run against other girls and there likely would have been more people that would have seen me race. That could possibly have led to a scholarship offer or two to different colleges. That would have given me more options as to what college I would have gone to. I was running some pretty good times at that point.
DAVE: What times were you running?
MARY: In my senior year of high school, I ran track for O’Hara but I also participated in summer track clubs. In the summer I ran the 800m race because that was my best event and I’d race against other girls – not boys. My best time in the 800m was 2:12 (two minutes and 12 seconds).
DAVE: Wow! That’s very impressive!
MARY: Thanks. That was a very good time in the 800m for a female high school runner in the late 1970s. But it wasn’t fast enough to compete with high school boys in the 800m. That’s why I ran the 400m for O’Hara. I was more competitive running against boys at 400m, even though it wasn’t my best event.
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Student Manager
DAVE: Although Manhattan College did not have a women’s track team you wanted to get involved in their track program.
MARY: Yes. I approached the track coach my freshman year and offered to be the student manager of the track team. He informed me that someone had already volunteered. As it turns out the person who had originally volunteered changed their mind so I was the student manager of the team for four years. (Photo: zoom call with Mary)
I also played club volleyball my freshman year at Manhattan.
DAVE: It was through your involvement with the track team that you met your future husband, Willie McLaughlin.
MARY: (Laughs) That’s right!
It was just before my junior year at Manhattan when the track coach approached me and told me that some of the new track athletes were arriving on campus. He said, “I’d like you to come with me and introduce yourself to them.” My future husband, Willie, was one of the new recruits so I actually met him the first day he set foot on campus.
DAVE: Willie as quite a runner himself. I read that Willie was invited to the U.S Olympic Trials in 1984.
MARY: Willie participated in the Olympic trials in 1984. His event was the 400m race. He made it to the semifinals, but didn’t place on the team.
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Bellcore
DAVE: You graduated from Manhattan College in 1983 with a Bachelor degree in Mathematics and a minor in Computer Science. What path did your career take?
MARY: In 1983, right out of college, I was hired by Western Electric to work with computers where I collaborated on projects with Bell Labs. The Western Electric Company served as the primary equipment manufacturer, supplier, and purchasing agent for Bell Systems until 1984 when the Western Electric company was dismantled.
After Western Electric went through divestiture, I ended up working at Bellcore. I worked at Bellcore for 15 years. I had a number of titles and I was a member of the technical staff (MTS).
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Interests
DAVE: Now that the Olympics are over perhaps you have a chance to return to a more normal life.
What do you look forward to doing?
MARY: Treasure Hunting (Laughs)
I am reading a book now called The Beacon Star by Randy R. Pischel. Within the park there are “treasure hunts” where the author provides different clues to finding things and solving puzzles. I haven’t worked on it for a couple of weeks but I really enjoy it and I’m actually making progress. (Laughs)
I may never find the treasures but it’s fun to follow the clues and try to piece things together. (Laughs)
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The McLaughlin Family
DAVE: When did you and Willie get married?
MARY: We got married in 1992.
DAVE: Where is home these days?
MARY: We live in Dunellen, New Jersey.
DAVE: You have four children. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about each of them?
(Photo: L to R - Ryan, Sydney, Taylor, Morgan)
MARY: Our first child, Morgan, is 27 years old. She works with older folks in an elder care facility. She’s really great at it. Morgan will talk to my mom on the phone, my mom is in her 90s now, and I just love to listen to her talk to my mom. She just has the best way with the elderly. I’m proud of her and happy that he’s working in a field that she’s so good at.
DAVE: I’m just curious, did Morgan run track?
MARY: Morgan ran track beginning in middle school and that’s really what prompted the other kids to run too.
Our son Taylor is 24. He lives in California. This fall he is starting a grant program at the University of Southern California. Taylor is a professional runner. He was hoping to compete in the Olympics this year. He was at the Olympic trials but has been dealing with hamstring issues this year so that really limited him. The day before his meet at the Olympic Trials he had to withdraw because of the hamstring problems.
In the next couple of years there will be a lot of high-profile races that I’m sure Taylor will participate in. I am quite sure that he is planning to be at the next Olympic Trials.
Sydney was our next child.
DAVE: Let’s skip Sydney for a minute. We’ll get back to her later. (Laughs)
MARY: (Laughs) Ok.
Ryan is our fourth child. He’s in California. He just finished his second year of school at Santa Monica. He’s going to Cal State Fullerton next year and is really excited about that.
Ryan doesn’t run now, but like the others, he ran in high school.
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DAVE: How much influence did you and Willie have on your children and their interest in running track?
MARY: We let them do whatever it was that they were interested in doing.
Like I said earlier, it our first child, Morgan, who got the other kids liking track when she started running in middle school.
For our kids, it wasn’t until high school that they really got serious about running track.
(Photo: Willie and Sydney)
When Sydney got to high school and she was so good, people were saying, “… where did she come from?” Well, we weren’t hiding her. (Laughs) It’s just that before high school, we really hadn’t “pushed things” with Sydney. We kept her out of the summer track clubs in our area because some of the clubs were super competitive, and we didn’t want that for Sydney. She was so young. As a result, she wasn’t too well known yet.
I’m not sure how much influence we had on our kids and their running - all our kids are hurdlers - but Willie and I never ran hurdles. (Laughs)
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Mary Neumeister – Fan or Fanatic?
DAVE: Before we talk specifically about Sydney, I have question for you.
We have all heard horror stories about the way some parents behave at their children’s athletic competitions. What kind of a “fan” are you?
MARY: (Laughs) Well, I don’t yell at the referees. (Laughs)
(Photo: Taylor and Mary at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon in June 2021)
Along with running track, our kids played soccer also. I’m the type of parent where if the soccer ball came near them, I would be kicking my leg out in the stands as if I were helping them kick the ball. (Laughs)
When they are running in a track event, we tend to yell a lot! (Laughs) That is why we didn’t allow network television to show us watching Sydney at the Olympics. (Laughs) There was a lot of screaming and yelling during that 400m hurdle race. (Laughs)
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Syd the Kid
DAVE: OK, let’s talk about Sydney now! (Laughs)
MARY: (Laughs)
DAVE: When did you begin to get a sense that Sydney might have special talent as a runner?
MARY: In 2007, when she was seven years old, we took her to the AAU Nationals (the Junior Olympics) in Tennessee and she did very well in her age group. She came in second place in the 100m race and third in the 200m.
At that point Sydney was just running for fun. She wasn’t on a team and she wasn’t practicing really. We didn’t “push” any of our kids into running. But after that AAU race Willie and I thought wow, maybe she should be practicing. (Laughs)
The next year, in 2008, we took her to the nationals once again. She did well. But comparatively speaking, probably not as well as she had done the year before. And that’s because the other kids that she was competing against were getting coached.
We didn’t take her to the nationals after 2008. We didn’t feel she was ready for that type of competition. We also didn’t want her to get into a training or coaching program that soon. We wanted to keep running “fun” for Sydney - so we just entered her in a couple meets over the summer.
Before Sydney started middle-school, Willie would take her to a track and show her some things but it was “light” coaching certainly.
When Sydney got to middle-school, she joined the track team and began to practice regularly and received formal coaching. That’s really when her “training” began and she was coached as a member of a team.
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2016 Olympics
DAVE: in 2016 Sydney qualified for the US Olympic team at the age of 16. She was the youngest member of the United States track and field team since 1972. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be 16 years old and be in the Olympics. Amazing!
In 2016, the Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro. Did you go? (Photo: Sydney in Rio)
MARY: Yes, we went. Certainly, it was a great experience for all of us, because our whole family was able to be there in person. But it wasn’t without its challenges.
Especially for Sydney.
Sydney was only 16 and there hadn’t been someone that young on the track and field team for a long time so they didn’t know exactly how to deal with her. Everybody said they would look after her but nobody was assigned to do that and therefore nobody was really responsible for looking out for her. She’s 16 years old and is on a team with professional athletes - none of whom are close to her in age. It was not easy for her, but she rose to the challenge and it probably helped prepare her for the games in Japan. I think that the “extra year” she had, due to the pandemic, may have actually benefitted her.
Our whole family went to Rio. We’d go watch Sydney work out but we also decided that since we were at the Olympics that we ought to see a competition or two. (Laughs) so we bought tickets for a diving competition and that was a lot of fun.
I’m not sure we got the full Olympic experience in Rio because many of the events were not that well attended. Venues were only half-filled. You didn’t have the loud cheering crowds and things like that. So, in that sense I’m not sure we experienced a normal Olympics atmosphere. Not that this year’s Olympics was normal either. (Laughs)
Also, in Rio, our seats were kind of high up and far away from the track. It was kind of hard to see the race. But just going to the Olympics and watching our daughter compete as a member of the United States Olympic team was amazing. I was just so proud of her.
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2020/2021 Olympics
DAVE: Let’s talk about this year’s Olympic Games in Japan.
The Olympic trials for the United States track and field team were held in Oregon in June 2021, five weeks before the Olympic Games began.
Sydney sent a strong message to her competition in the 400m hurdles by placing first in the US trials, beating the reigning Olympic gold medal winner, Dalilah Muhammed. At the trials, Sydney set a new world record becoming the first female 400m hurdler to finish the race in less than 52 seconds.
MARY: My son Taylor and I were at the trials. It was great to see her break the record.
DAVE: I have to ask you something. I watched that race on television. After the race, the camera panned over to show you and Taylor. Taylor said something to you. You responded by saying, “Oh my God.” I pride myself on my lip reading ability, Mary!
What was it that Taylor said to you?
MARY: (Laughs) Everyone thinks that Taylor told me that Syd broke the world record but that’s not so. I knew she broke the record. Taylor told me that Anna Cockrell had come in third place. And I was excited for Anna.
DAVE: Obviously, due to the pandemic you were unable to attend the Olympics this year. Did you talk to Sydney before the 400m hurdle race?
MARY: Syd has her “zone” before a race so I wasn’t going to interfere with her preparation. I did text her in the morning. I told her that I loved her and was very proud of her
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DAVE: So, Sydney runs a spectacular race, breaks her own world record and wins the gold medal. What was the reaction at the McLaughlin house?
MARY: Well, you can probably imagine! (Laughs) There was yelling and screaming and hugging!
DAVE: At what point did you feel she was going to win? Before the race, in the middle of the race, or not until she crossed the finish line?
MARY: I will tell you that I was feeling confident before the race began. Both Sydney and her coach felt she was in a really good spot and was ready to do something special.
DAVE: How long after the race did it take for you to talk to her.
MARY: I texted her after the race and congratulated her. I told her to give me a call when she could. I think it was about four hours after the race when we were finally able to speak to her - so it was about 2:30 in the morning.
DAVE: Would you be willing to share what you said to her?
MARY: We told her that we loved her and that we were very proud of her. We also asked her if she really had to make it that close! (Laughs)
DAVE: Do you think Sydney has fully processed what happened?
MARY: I’m not really sure. She was actually more animated after having won the US Trials in Oregon then she was after winning the Olympics. (Laughs) That may have been because at the Trials she had just become the first female hurdler to ever run a ‘sub 52 second’ 400m race, so she was very excited about that.
DAVE: O, so where are the 2024 Summer Olympics?
MARY: (Laughs) They are in Paris, France.
DAVE: Well, if Sydney decides to compete for a spot on the 2024 team - and if she makes it – I hope that you have the chance to go! Congratulations!
MARY: Thank you!
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Last Word
The day after I conducted my interview with Mary, Sydney ran the 4 x 400m relay race and together with her teammates: Dalilah Muhammad, Athing MU, and Allyson Felix won the gold medal for that event.
For Felix, it was her 11th Olympic medal - the most ever for an individual athlete.
And for Sydney McLaughlin, it was her second. And it was her birthday. She turned 22.
Sydney's 400m hurdles race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdjBR_LeZCM
Sydney's 4x400m relay race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcFulpeI-to
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Alumni and Friends
Golf Outing
Thursday, August 26th
Golf Outing
9:00 am Registration
10:00 Shotgun Start
Rothland Golf Course
Click HERE to download the brochure
Click HERE to register on-line
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Thank you to everyone who has made a gift to the COHS Alumni Annual Fund. Your donations are so important to everything we do!
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Don't forget about Amazon Smile! COHS is a participating organization in this program that gives back all year, not just at the holidays. Use is any time you shop Amazon to support COHS. Amazon donates a percentage of your order back to COHS. Simply sign up at smile.amazon.com and select Cardinal O'Hara, Tonawanda, to start generating donations, at no cost to you.
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Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with what is happening at COHS! |
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ADVANCEMENT DEPARTMENT:
Reneé Orr, Director of Advancement
Dave Lovering '74, Alumni Relations Coordinator
Barbara Tucker, Public Relations Coordinator
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