May 2, 2008

The Marist men's and women's track teams will compete in the MAAC Championships on Saturday and Sunday at Rider University. Last season, the women finished third as a team while the men finished fifth.

The women's team looks to place well in the distance events. Senior Caitlin Garrity (Watertown, Conn.) has been strong in the 5,000m all season, posting a season's best time of 18:17.88 at the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton. She also finished second in the event at the Metropolitan Championships on April 19. Fellow classmate Kerri Mannino (Amityville, N.Y.) has been a consistent finisher in the 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000m. Mannino posted a season's-best time of 39:44.19 in the 10,000m at Princeton. Freshman Jillian Corley (New London, N.H.) has consistently been Marist's top finisher in the 1,500m and the 800m. She posted a season's best 4:54.73 at the Metropolitan Championships in the 1,500m, an almost-six second improvement from the beginning of the season. Sophomore Holly Burns (Stafford Springs, Conn.) leads a young group of sprinters, She posted a second-place finish in the 200m at Southern Connecticut, clocking a time of 26.42 seconds.

The men's outdoor season has been highlighted by the revolving door of record-holders in the 10,000 and 5,000-meter runs. Senior Mike Rolek (Maplewood, N.J.) set a new record in the 10,000 meters at the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton on April 6 with a time of 30:36.66, eclipsing the previous mark of 30:38.82. At the same meet, freshman Adam Vess (Cromwell, Conn.) finished fifth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:33.41, bettering the school record by 9.05 seconds. Rolek and Vess both qualified for the IC4A Championships with their performances at Princeton. Vess also qualified for the USA Junior Championships along with teammate Timothy Keegan (Huntington, N.Y.), who ran a 31:39.67 in the 10,000m. Junior Girma Segni (Bronx, N.Y.) would break Vess's record in the 5,000m at the Larry Ellis Invitational on April 20 with a time of 14:32.65, qualifying him for the IC4As. On April 24, he broke Rolek's record in the 10,000m with a time of 30:22.25 at the Penn Relays.