PRINCETON, NJ – Mark Valentino capped his collegiate career in grand style with a school-record run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, leading the Marist College men's track team at the season-ending IC4A Championships, held Friday and Saturday at William Weaver Track Stadium on the campus of Princeton University.
Racing for the final time in the red-and-white, Valentino lopped more than five seconds off his personal-best time and established a school record in the 3,000 steeplechase. He placed 12th in the national-caliber field of 31 runners in 9:05.01. This time eclipses the three-year-old school record of 9:05.74, set by Arquimedes DelaCruz, one of the greatest distance runners in school history at Marist. Valentino closed his last lap with a furious kick in 70 seconds to secure the record.
On Saturday, senior Hakim Cunningham concluded his decorated career in the 110-meter hurdles by advancing to the semifinals in the event, the first Marist hurdler to accomplish that in the IC4A Championships. Cunningham raced to a time of 14.80 seconds in the preliminary round and was one of 16 hurdlers to make it to the semifinals. He improved his time to 14.75 in the semifinals but did not advance to the finals.
The meet ends an illustrious four-year career for Cunningham, who established himself as the most dominant hurdler in school history. He graduates with school records in four events and he is the only hurdler in school history to qualify for both the indoor and outdoor IC4A Championships.
“Mark and Hakim have left an indelible mark on the track program during their time here,'' head coach Pete Colaizzo. “We thank them for their many contributions on and off the track, and they will be greatly missed.''
IC4A Championships
Friday and Saturday, May 13-14, 2016
Princeton University
Friday results and splits
3,000-meter steeplechase
12. Mark Valentino 9:05.01 *school record, old record 9:05.74 by Arquimedes DelaCruz in 2013
70, 2:22 (72), 3:33 (71), 4:46 (73), 6:00 (74), 7:13 (73), 8:25 (72), 9:05.01 (40.01)
10,000-meter run
16. Spencer Johnson 31:02.84
72, 2:25 (73), 3:37 (72), 4:51 (74)
6:05 (74), 7:18 (73), 8:32 (74), 9:45(73)
10:59 (74), 12:14 (75), 13:38 (74), 14:43 (75)
15:57 (74), 17:11 (74), 18:26 (75), 19:43 (77)
20:58 (75), 22:13 (75), 23:29 (76), 24:45 (76)
26:01 (76), 27:17 (76), 28:36 (79), 29:51 (75)
31:02.84 (71.84)
1600m splits: 4:51, 4:54, 4:58, 5:00, 5:02, 5:06
29. Dietrich Mosel 32:33.53
73, 2:27 (74), 3:41 (74), 4:54 (73)
6:08 (74), 7:23 (75), 8:37 (74), 9:53(76)
11:10 (77), 12:27 (77), 13:47 (80), 15:06 (79)
16:27 (81), 17:49 (82), 19:09 (80), 20:30 (81)
21:52 (82), 23:14 (82), 24:37 (83), 26:00 (83)
27:22 (82), 28:44 (82), 30:04 (80), 31:23 (79)
32:33.53 (70.53)
1600m splits: 4:54, 4:59, 5:13, 5:24, 5:30, 5:23
Saturday results and splits
1,500-meter run trials
33 of 46. Stefan Morton 3:59.49
Coach Pete's splits
60.2, 2:02.2 (62.0), 3:07.7 (65.5), 3:59.49 (51.79)
Official race timing splits (from finish line)
44.82, 1:46.82 (1:02.00), 2:51.46 (1:04.64), 3:59.49 (1:08.04)
110-meter hurdles, preliminary round
15. Hakim Cunningham 14.80 (14.792), advanced to semifinal round
30. Josh Taylor 15.36
110-meter hurdles, semifinal round
14. Hakim Cunningham 14.75
Hakim Cunningham records
--Indoor 60-meter hurdles: 8.13 seconds
--Outdoor 110-meter hurdles: 14.50
--Outdoor 400-meter hurdles: 55.62
--Outdoor 4x100 relay: 42.74
--He is the only hurdler in school history to qualify for the IC4A Championships both indoors and outdoors.
