Oct. 17, 2009

ALBANY, N.Y. - Led by top-ten finishes by Conor Shelley (Rockville Centre, N.Y.), William Griffin (Columbia, Conn.), and Arquimedes DelaCruz (Wantagh, N.Y.), the Marist men's cross country team took the team title at the 43rd Annual UAlbany Cross Country Invitational. The Red Foxes' 47 points put them 26 points clear of second-place Rochester Institute of Technology. Shelley finished second overall in the 8K race in a personal-best time of 24:39.8.

Griffin finished fourth overall in a time of 24:53. DelaCruz ran the best time of his freshman campaign Saturday, covering the 8K course in a time of 25:20.3 to finish in ninth place. Junior Timothy Keegan (Huntington, N.Y.) ran a personal-best time of 25:27.8, placing 14th. Nick Webster (Latham, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring pack for Marist with a 19th place finish, running a time of 25:36.4. Two other Red Foxes ran personal-bests in the varsity race. Sam McMullen (Newton, N.J.) covered the 8K course in a time of 25:54.2, and Thomas Lipari (Greenvale, N.Y.) ran a time of 26:08.1.

Marist also had five runners place in the top-ten for the junior varsity purple race. Sean Nestor (Madison, Conn.) was the Red Foxes' top finisher, placing second in the 8K race in a personal-best time of 26:14. Mike Nicoletti (Wantagh, N.Y.) also ran a personal-best time, finishing fourth in a time of 26:27.1.

The Red Foxes will next race at the 2009 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships, held at Van Cortlandt Park on Friday, Oct. 30.

UAlbany Invitational Championship Race Team Scores
1. Marist 47
2. RIT 73
3. UAlbany 91
4. Sacred Heart 147
5. Plattsburgh State 161
6. Binghamton 196
7. Middlebury 210
8. Colgate 243
9. Brandeis 277
10. Harvard 294
11. Canisius 319
12. Springfield 374
13. UMass-Dartmouth 377
14. Long Island University 398
15. Niagara 405
16. Bryant 408
17. Vassar 421
18. SUNY Delhi 438
19. St. Francis 535
20. Siena 554
21. SUNY New Paltz 580
22. Dowling 681
23. Keystone 689
24. St. Bonaventure 698

Marist Men's Varsity Results
2. Conor Shelley 24:39.8 (personal-best time)
4. Will Griffin 24:53
9. Quimes DelaCruz 25:20.3 (personal best)
14. Tim Keegan 25:27.8 (personal best)
18. Nick Webster 25:36.4
41. Sam McMullen 25:54.2 (personal best)
60. Tom Lipari 26:08.1 (personal best)
82. Matt Janczyk 26:24.6
122. Zak Smetana 27:04.3

Men's Purple Race Results
2. Sean Nestor 26:14.0 (personal best)
4. Mike Nicoletti 26:27.1 (personal best)
6. Pat Duggan 26:31.3
8. Brian Townsend 26:49.7
9. Matt Panebianco 26:50.8 (personal best)
11. Billy Posch 26:55.6
13. Colin Johnson 26:57.2 (personal best)
14. Mike Keegan 27:01.2 (personal best)
19. Ryan Brown 27:11.3 (personal best)
29. Ryan Fitzsimons 27:23.0 (personal best)
34. Joel Moss 27:38.7 (personal best)
61. Will Schanz 28:21.5 (personal best)
63. Greg Masto 28:24.7
72. Brendan Green 28:51.2 (personal best)
101. Luke Shane 30:38.7 (personal best)