Marist Runs To Second Place at MAAC Championships

Four Foxes named All-MAACo Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships, held at Van Cortlandt Park. The Red Foxes finished in second place to nationally-ranked Iona College, scoring 52 points the lowest point total at a MAAC Championship in school history.

Iona, ranked No. 3 in the latest national poll and top-ranked in the Northeast Region, won the meet with 17 points. En route, the Marist runners established a new school record at Van Cortlandt Park for top-5 combined time. The second-place finish is the fourth time the Red Foxes have trailed only the nationally-renowned Gaels at the MAAC Championships. The other years were 1998, 2003 and 2005.

Marist is currently ranked 13th in the latest Northeast Region poll. The top four Red Fox runners earned All-MAAC honors by finishing in the top 15 overall in the race. Sophomore Girma Segni (Bronx, NY) was fourth overall and the only runner in the race to break up Iona’s top-5 runners on this day. Segni’s time of 25:17.0 was just 1.5 seconds off his VCP best time. Sophomore David Raucci (Clermont, NY) was eighth overall in a personal-best time of 25:38.7, eclipsing his previous best at VCP by 6 seconds. Freshman Conor Shelley (Rockville Centre, NY) was ninth in 25:46.1, topping his previous VCP best by 8 seconds. Sophomore John Keenan (Centereach, NY) was 13th in 26:18.4, lopping nearly 40 seconds off his previous best on the course. Rounding out the scoring pack were senior captain Justin Harris (Wappingers Falls, NY), 18th in 26:40.0, junior Tom Williams (Pleasant Valley, NY), 19th in a personal-best time of 26:42.0 and senior captain Matt Syzmaszek (Simsbury, CT), 20th in 26:47.6. T

he top five runners’ combined time of 2:09:40.2 tops the previous school mark, set just three weeks ago at the Metropolitan Championships (2:10:12.9). The new mark calculates to an average of 25:56.04 for each runner, the first time in the 43-year history of the Marist program that a top-5 average was under 26:00 at Van Cortlandt Park.

The Red Foxes return to Van Cortlandt Park for their final two championships of the season, in November. They will compete in the NCAA Northeast Regional on Saturday, Nov. 11, and conclude the year with the ICAAAA Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18.

MAAC Championships Team standings:

1. Iona 17, 2. Marist 52, 3. Manhattan 96, 4. Loyola 112, 5. Rider 132, 6. Niagara 146, 7. Canisius 174, 8. Siena 220, 9. Fairfield 277, 10. St. Peter’s 312

Marist finishers

4. Girma Segni 25:17.0 *ALL-MAAC

8. David Raucci 25:38.7 *ALL-MAAC

9. Conor Shelley 25:46.1 *ALL-MAAC

13. John Keenan 26:18.4 *ALL-MAAC

18. Justin Harris 26:40.0

19. Tom Williams 26:42.2

20. Matt Szymaszek 26:47.6 23.

Mike Cator 26:55.6 25.

Mike Rolek 27:04.7 27.

Alex Emerel 27:07.2 37.

Kris Geist 27:41.4 41.

Jeff Belge 27:44.0 44.

Tom Dixon 27:51.0 45.

Mike Bamberger 27:54.5

48. Bryan Quinn 27:59.9

51. Omar Sow 28:12.0

53. Matt Jancyzk 28:17.0

60. Greg Masto 28:30.1

65. Joe Tarantello 28:48.7

68. Chris Locke 28:51.8

76. Bryan Dixon 29:02.1

77. Ted Marak 29:07.5

83. Joe Raucci 29:31.7

85. Rob Fleming 29:39.1

87. DJ Paulson 29:48.2

89. Mark Fernandez 29:51.5

93. Jimmy Hayden 30:24.9

109. Chris Baum 32:20.9

116 finishers

Pictured: Girma Segni