Nov. 3, 2003

NEW YORK - The Marist College men's cross country team had its best showing in school history Friday at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships, placing second out of 10 teams in the league, at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Four Marist runners placed in the top-15 in the race and earned All-MAAC honors. The four All-MAAC runners were the most in school history at a conference championship.

Iona College, which is ranked 3rd nationally, won the meet with 17 points. The Red Foxes were second with 60 points, the lowest point total at a MAAC cross country championship in school history. The second-place finish equaled the best showing in school history in 1998, when Marist also placed second behind Iona. At the 1998 meet, the Red Foxes totaled 70 points.

Senior captain Kirk Dornton (Syracuse, NY) led the way for Marist, placing ninth in 26:20.5. Dornton earned his third consecutive All-MAAC honor with the top-10 finish. Junior Geoff Decker (Delmar, NY) led a tightly packed grouping of runners, placing 12th in 26:27.9 and also earning All-MAAC honors. Following closely on Decker's heels were junior Steve Hicks (Red Hook, NY), who was All-MAAC with his 13th-place finish of 26:36.9 and freshman Mark Fernandez (Commack, NY), who became the first Marist freshman in school history to earn All-MAAC honors with his 14th-place effort of 26:39.7.

Rounding out the scoring for Marist was sophomore Sean Prinz (Wantagh, NY), who was 18th in 27:00.7, junior Sean Hopkins (Brookhaven Hamlet, NY), who was 19th in 27:01.4 and sophomore Justin Harris (Wappingers Falls, NY), who was 22nd in 27:07.9.

Next up for the Red Foxes is the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships, to be held Saturday, November 15 at Franklin Park in Boston.

Team standings: 1. Iona 17, 2. Marist 60, 3. Manhattan 80, 4. Rider 131, 5. Loyola 142, 6. Fairfield 154, 7. Siena 198, 8. St. Peter's 244, 9. Niagara 254, 10. Canisius, INC

Overall winner: Nigel Wray (Iona) 24:47.1

Marist finishers

9. Kirk Dornton 26:20.5 *All-MAAC 12. Geoff Decker 26:27.9 *All-MAAC 13. Steven Hicks 26:36.9 *All-MAAC 14. Mark Fernandez 26:39.7 *All-MAAC 18. Sean Prinz 27:00.7 19. Sean Hopkins 27:01.4 22. Justin Harris 27:07.9 26. Ed Burns 27:32.9 31. Charlie Williams 27:44.7 37. Matt Syzmaszek 28:05.1 40. Will Colucci 28:09.3 43. Mike Bamberger 28:13.9 46. Jeff Belge 28:18.0 51. Mike Schaffer 28:40.6 55. Mike Schab 28:49.2 62. Chris Camp 29:11.9 63. Matt Walsh 29:13.7 73. Rick Ambrosio 29:53.6 76. Chris Baum 30:00.5 82. Adam Ritter 30:18.9 83. Joe Raucci 30:19.8 87. Mike Guarascio 30:28.8 93. Scott LaPiedra 31:01.9 94. Mike Blum 31:02.9 96. Pat Taylor 31:13.0 114 finishers