Whatever running talent resided in Paul was undoubtedly

attributable to his father and grandfather. Paul’s father, the

late Joseph F.X. Nowicki, was the 1943 national collegiate

880-yard run champion for Fordham University, and Paul’s

grandfather was a winner of a 10-mile race in Yonkers in

1910, in 55minutes, a time thatwould be excellent even today.

Growing up in Nanuet with six brothers and sisters, Paul’s

speed was honed in races both to the dinner table and out

the door before being selected for cleaning the dishes, not

to mention in avoiding the occasional altercation with a

brother or parent.

Passionate about all sports, Paul had the quaint notion, as

he entered high school in 1966, that he would play freshman

football for Coach Rich Loughlin. After a few (painful)

scrimmages against the varsity football team, and realizing

that discretion was the better part of valor, Paul decided to

try basketball. Although freshman basketball entailed lots

of running and little contact, it was not fun losing to Clarkstown High School, 80-20.

Happily for Paul, the track team was both non-contact and

perfectly capable of beating Clarkstown.

Thanks to Chet and Gerry Stopyra, Coach Dave Hanson

and the many teammates who trained hard in cross-country,

indoor and outdoor track, Paul and the track team realized

continual success from 1966 through 1970. This culminated

in Paul’s winning the 880-yard race at the New York State

Intersectional championship meet in Rochester in 1970,

making Paul the first state champion inNanuetHigh School

athletic history. At the start of that race, Paul’s nervous

mom – who had driven to Rochester with her husband to

watch the race – ran out of the stadium to pray, thereby

contributing to the victory, but missing the entire race.

In addition to the state title, Paul also was Rockland and

Section 9 Class B champion in the 880; was undefeated in

that event in the spring of ’70; won the Section 9 indoor 600 meters; and clocked 1:13.5 for 600 yards at the Eastern

States championships, then a Rockland County record

and still No. 5 on the all-time Rockland list.

Paul earned a track scholarship to Fordham University,

where he was part of an indoor two-mile relay team that

captured gold medals at the Princeton Relays; the

Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of

America, or IC4As; the Metropolitan championships; and

capping a banner 1972-73 indoor season, a triumph at the

NCAA championships, for which the relay team members

(Paul, Marcel Philippe, John Jurgens and Alex Trammell)

were named first team All-America. Paul also cherishes his

team’s 4x800-meter relay victory at the U.S. Olympic

Invitational at Madison Square Garden in his freshman

year.

Paul was inducted into the Fordham University Athletic

Hall of Fame in 1993, making him and his father the only

father-son tandem to be enshrined in that hall of fame.

Following his father’s path, Paul joined his father’s law

firm in New City, in 1977. He became County Attorney in

1994, and currently is litigation counsel for the County of

Rockland.

Living in Piermont, Paul enjoys jogging with his wife,

Mary, and their almost 4-year-old daughter Juliet, who

insists she is faster than her father and knows more than he

does.