Sept. 20, 2008
NEW YORK - The Marist College men's cross country team set multiple school records en route to its best finish in program history Saturday at the Iona College Meet of Champions at Van Cortlandt Park. Senior captain Girma Segni (Bronx , NY) set a Van Cortlandt Park school record with his ninth-place finish of 25:01.4. The time eclipses the 10-year-old school record of 25:11, set by Mike Melfi at the 1998 IC4A Championships.
As a team, the Red Foxes finished in sixth-place with 211 points in a field of 29 teams. The sixth-place finish was the highest in school history.
Segni's record-breaking effort led the team to its best top-5 combined performance in school history. The top-5 combined time of 2:08:48.0 equals an average of 25:45.6 per runner, eclipsing the previous best of 2:09:40.2 (25:56 per runner) set at the 2006 MAAC Championships. Each scoring member of the team ran personal-best times on the course Saturday afternoon.
Senior David Raucci (Clermont , NY) placed 23 rd in 25:19.1, a personal-best time on the course. Junior Conor Shelley (Rockville Centre , NY) was 38 th overall in 25:33.8, also a personal-best. Segni, Raucci, and Shelley for the fastest top-3 in school history.
Rounding out the scoring pack were freshman Timothy Keegan (Huntington, NY), who was 86 th in 26:28.5, a personal-best; sophomore Nick Webster (Latham, NY), who was 93 rd in 26:35.1, a personal-best; graduate student Joe McElhoney (Beacon, NY), who was 108 th in 26:42.1.
In addition, the Marist Alumni Racing Team placed 16 th overall with 486 points. Justin Harris (Class of 2007), an assistant cross country coach at SUNY New Paltz, led the Alumni Team with a time of 26:26.8.
The Red Foxes return to action on Friday, October 3, at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University.
Team Standings
1. University of Michigan 39
2. Penn State 121
3. Iona 153
4. Navy 197
5. Lehigh 205
6. Marist 211
7. Kentucky 212
8. Penn 214
9. Southern Utah 218
10. UMass Lowell 241
11. St. Joseph's 289
12. Stony Brook 295
13. Boston College 325
14. Stonehill 328
15. Providence 482
16. Marist Alumni Racing Team 486
17. Wayne State 495
18. Toledo 495
19. California (PA) 549
20. Bloomsburg 559
21. Hofstra 564
22. Manhattan 585
23. Ramapo 663
24. UDC 784
25. Dowling 806
26. Mercy 812
27. Cornell, CW Post, KSU incomplete
Marist Finishers
9. Girma Segni 25:01.4 *school record, fastest all-time at VCP
23. David Raucci 25:19.1
38. Conor Shelley 25:33.8
82. Matthew Flint 26:25.2
86. Timothy Keegan 26:28.5
93. Nick Webster 26:35.1
108. Joe McElhoney 26:42.1
116. William Griffin 26:49.7
120. Curtis Jensen 26:51.0
131. John Keenan 27:01.6
132. Matthew Janczyk 27:02.0
133. Thomas Lipari 27:02.3
139. Brian Townsend 27:05.1
159. Alex Emerel 27:17.6
163. Zachary Smetana 27:21.3
183. Sam McMullen 27:46.1
188. Frank Stewart 27:54.3
205. Patrick Duggan 28:10.9
212. Gregory Masto 28:20.4
229. Kyle Havard 28:47.8
241. Ryan Brown 29:25.6
277 finishers
