Past and future come together in Gaughan's rise 

By Mary Albl for DyeStat 

EXETER, N.H. -- It's the fall of 2016 and Joe Scascitelli keeps thinking back to the 1980s. 

It was more than 30 years ago that Scascitelli coached one of the top runners in the country, and one of the best high school runners ever, Cathy Schiro (now O'Brien) at Dover High in New Hampshire. 

Those memories of O'Brien are flooding back for the veteran coach, now at Exeter High, as he watches high current star, Jackie Gaughan, develop into one of the top runners in the country as a junior.

"It's like the rerun of a movie," Scascitelli said. "Some of the workouts that Jackie is able to do are incredible. They are pretty close to what Cathy was capable of doing back then."

Gaughan is creating her own path, but given the results it has been easy to draw some comparisons. 

This fall Gaughan won the New Hampshire Division 1 title (17:35.6) and Meet of Champions (17:14.6), setting course records in the process. 

Gaughan enters the Foot Locker Northeast Regional Championships on Nov. 26 at Van Cortlandt Park (NY) after posting a dominant win at the New England Championships in 17:34.11, 20 seconds faster than second place. 

The last female runner from New Hampshire to win the Northeast title was O'Brien, back in 1984 in a time of 16:46, which still stands as the course record. She went on to win the Foot Locker Championship crown that year in 16:48. 

To be fair, O'Brien was not just an elite high school runner. She was one of the best American distance runners of her generation and she placed ninth in the inaugural U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 1984 while she was still in high school. She made the Olympic team in the 26.2-mile event in 1988 and 1992.

"I've been coaching for almost 40 years now. It's kind of really exciting for me to see it one more time," said Scascitelli of being able to coach another high-caliber runner. 

O'Brien and Gaughan have gotten to know each other. Scascitelli asked O'Brien if she would help mentor Gaughan. 

"Cathy's been a great additional support who has graciously provided some valuable insights to her former high school coach,"  Scascitelli said.  

The past and the future of female running in New Hampshire have come together and it's been a special thing to witness.

"She's an amazing runner," Gaughan said of O'Brien. "She's been through the whole high school running circuit and to have someone who understands and to get advice from someone so accomplished as a runner ... I'm so thankful for all the people who've helped me."

Gaughan's own experience and maturity have also contributed to her success this fall. A strong outdoor season that saw Gaughan break O'Brien's Division I 3,200 record, and place second at New Englands in the 3,200 (10:24.27), ended with a fifth place finish and All-American status in the 5,000 meters at the nationals (16:53.82). 

"I just found what works for me," she said. "I think in earlier years I would get freaked out before races, and I still do, but as long as you put in your best effort, that's all you have to do. That's all you can control."

Scascitelli, who describes Gaughan as dedicated and passionate, said she's just 'got the gift.' He said they all work together, as Gaughan offers some suggestions and they all keep an open mind about ideas to keep improving. 

"You think you're two steps ahead of her, and she's three steps ahead of you," Scascitelli said. 

Gaughan heads into Saturday's race as one of the top contenders to earn a trip to San Diego for the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. Last year she finished 34th at regionals. 

"I've never really been in a position where I've been running strong at the end of the season, so I guess I just want to see what I can do," Gaughan said. "I'm really lucky to have so much competition. I just want to run with the girls and get pushed really hard and run as hard as I can and hopefully that will take me farther."

Gaughan's support team will be at Van Cortlandt Park as well. O'Brien's son, Patrick, a senior at Oyster River, has a good shot to qualify for nationals as well. He's had his own record-breaking season in New Hampshire and is coming off a runner-up finish at New Englands (15:20.93). 

 “We just want her to have fun and just enjoy the rest of the ride,” Scascitelli said of Gaughan. “I say to her, 'Just run, run, run.'”