Sept. 22, 2007

Photo Gallery 

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Junior Girma Segni (Bronx, N.Y.) ran the third-fastest time in Marist College men's cross country school history at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday, leading the Red Foxes to an eighth-place finish at the 13th annual Iona College Meet of Champions.

The Red Foxes scored 193 points, narrowly missing seventh place Army by two points. The placement was the highest for a Marist team in meet history, eclipsing the 2005 team's showing of 10th place with 329 points.

Segni ran a personal-best time of 25:13.5, placing third overall in the field of 205 runners. The time was two seconds faster than his previous best of 25:15.5, set at the 2006 Metropolitan Championships. On the school's all-time record list, he trails only 1999 graduate Mike Melfi, who ran 25:11 and 25:12.3 during the 1998 cross country season at Van Cortlandt Park.

Junior David Raucci (Clermont, N.Y.) placed 15th overall in 25:51.0. Raucci is a model of consistency on the Van Cortlandt Park course. It was his seventh time under the 26:00 barrier on the famed, five-mile layout. It was also Segni's seventh sub-26:00 on the course as well.

Senior captain Mike Rolek (Maplewood, N.J.) was 64th overall in 26:51.2, less than 15 seconds off his all-time best on the course. Freshmen Adam Vess (Cromwell, Conn.) and Timothy Keegan (Huntington Station, N.Y.) rounded out the top five for the Red Foxes, placing 78th (27:11.1) and 100th (27:42.1), respectively.

The men's cross country team returns to action Friday, October 5, at the Metropolitan Championships at Van Cortlandt Park.

Marist finishers:
3. Girma Segni, 25:13.5
15. David Raucci, 25:51.0
64. Mike Rolek, 26:51.2
78. Adam Vess, 27:11.1
100. Timothy Keegan, 27:42.1
111. Conor Shelley, 27:52.0
117. John Keenan, 28:06.9
125. Matt Janczyk, 28:18.7
129. Nick Webster, 28:23.2
134. Tom Dixon, 28:31.5
144. Joe Tarantello, 28:50.8
149. Kris Geist, 29:02.5
151. Zak Smetana, 29:05.0
173. Tom Williams, 30:22.5
176. Patrick Duggan, 30:28.7

Team standings:
1. Iona 72, 2. Brown 77, 3. Penn State 93, 4. Navy 109, 5. American 120, 6. Cornell 176, 7. Army 191, 8. Marist 193, 9. UMass Lowell 224, 10. Youngstown State 320, 11. Manhattan 337, 12. Harvard 354, 13. Kutztown 399, 14. Brockport State 428, 15. Albany 431, 16. West Virginia Wesleyan 459, 17. Le Moyne 462, 18. FDU 517, 19. NJIT 589, 20. LIU Inc.