Oct. 1, 2004
NEW YORK, N.Y.-The Marist College men's cross country team placed third out of 15 teams Friday at the Metropolitan Championships, held on a sunny and warm afternoon at Van Cortlandt Park.
Columbia University was first with 32 points. Iona College was second with 113 points and the Red Foxes earned the third-place trophy with 117 points. Manhattan College (131 points) and Stony Brook (160) rounded out the top five.
Junior Justin Harris (Wappingers Falls, NY) led the Red Foxes with a stellar performance. Harris placed 15th overall in a Van Cortlandt Park personal-best time of 26:11.4. Harris trimmed 18 seconds off his previous best, set just six days earlier at the Iona College Meet of Champions.
Senior Steve Hicks (Red Hook, NY) was next for Marist, placing 26th in 26:37.6. He was trailed closely by senior captain Geoff Decker (Delmar, NY), 29th in 26:44.3 and sophomore Mark Fernandez (Commack, NY), 31st in 26:45.0.
Senior captain Sean Hopkins (Brookhaven Hamlet, NY) keyed the Red Foxes third-place showing with a clutch performance as fifth runner. Hopkins placed 45th in 27:10.9. Rounding out the top seven were junior Sean Prinz (Wantagh, NY), 69th in 27:45.8 and freshman Brandon Cartica (Pleasant Valley, NY), 72nd in 27:53.5.
After racing on three consecutive weekends, the Running Red Foxes will take a well-earned 15-day break from meet competition before returning to action at the Albany Invitational on Oct. 16.
Metropolitan Championships
Friday, October 1, 2004
Van Cortlandt Park
Weather: Sunny and warm, mid-70s
Team standings: 1. Columbia 32, 2. Iona 113, 3. Marist 117, 4. Manhattan
131, 5. Stony Brook 160, 6. Fordham 166, 7. Southern Connecticut 172, 8. NYU 181, 9. Rutgers 245, 10. Long Island 269, 11. Seton Hall 280, 12. Wagner 351, 13. CW Post 366. 14. St. Francis 371, 15. FDU 390
Marist finishers
15. Justin Harris 26:11.4
26. Steve Hicks 26:37.6
29. Geoff Decker 26:44.3
31. Mark Fernandez 26:45.0
45. Sean Hopkins 27:10.9
69. Sean Prinz 27:45.8
72. Brandon Cartica 27:53.5
79. Bryan Quinn 28:01.1
80. Chris Baum 28:01.8
90. Mike Bamberger 28:16.0
97. Matt Syzmaszek 28:30.0
99. Jeff Belge 28:31.9
102. Ted Marak 28:35.4
104. Mike Schab 28:37.7
109. Will Colucci 28:54.0
