Chenango Forks Track and Field
Hall of Fame

Graduated:
School Record in Mile
School Record in 880 Yard Run, Class Record in the 880 Yard Run
School Record in Sprint Medley

Class Champion: 880 Yard Run (1961, 1962)
SUS Champion: 880 Yard Run (1961, 1962)
Divisional Team Champion: 1961
SUS Team Champion: 1961
Class Team Champion: 1961
Sectional Trials Team Champion: 1961
State Meet: 880 Yard Run (1961, 1962)
Overall Sectional Champion: 880 Yard Run (1962)

Sometimes a small suggestion from a coach ends up being the spark behind greatness.  As an underclassman, Pete Gumaer was a very good Miler with a ton of potential.  This potential was realized in his sophomore season as he finished second in the Mile at the Class Meet.  However, before the next season, Pete grew four inches (to a height of 6’5”) and Coach Spalding told him that he should concentrate on the Half Mile instead.   

It was obviously the right decision, as Pete became an essential point scorer for the legendary 1961 Sus League and Class B Champion Forks squad and the 880 Yard leg of our School Record Sprint Medley Team (a record that still lasts today). Individually, Gumaer won the Susquenango League Championship and the Class B title in the Half Mile that year and went on to finish second at the Sectional Meet with a time of 2:05.4, meaning he qualified for the State Meet (just the second Forker to ever accomplish that feat).  

In his senior season, Gumaer repeated as both the Susquenango League Champion and the Class B Champion in the 880 and at the Class Meet he broke a fifteen year old Class Record by two seconds when he ran 2:01.5.  Days later at Sectionals, Gumaer became the first Chenango Forks Track Athlete to win the Overall Sectional Championship clocking in at 2:01.1.  When the Press and Sun interviewed Pete about his chances at the State Meet, he said he was just going to go for it!  He also said that he was not going to take any chances (referencing the infamous breakdown on the way to the 1959 Sectional Trials), so his Dad was driving the bus...     

In the fast heat at the State Meet, Pete Gumaer ended up finishing 7th, with the paper saying that he was leading by 10 yards after the first lap.  Undeniably, Pete went for it!  Just as undeniably, Pete was our first in a long line of great distance runners at Forks and his hard work and goal setting still act as an example for our athletes.