2008 Woodie Awards
Men's cross country finishes third at Met Championships
Eric Zedalis
Issue date: 10/7/04 Section: Sports
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The Marist College men's cross country team finished third out of 15 teams at the Metropolitan Championships last Friday.
The race was held on a sunny day at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and the Red Foxes, with 117 points, finished only behind Columbia (32), and Iona (113).
"We went in hoping for a top-five finish, with third place probably being the best," head coach Pete Colaizzo said. "Iona is nationally ranked, and [they] didn't even have to use all of their guys. They are unbelievable. Columbia is also a power in the region, so we did the best I thought we could do."
Colaizzo said he likes Van Cortlandt Park because it is a "fair" course, one that has hills and flat land.
"It's five miles long, and what I like about it is that it's been the same forever. It's a good way to compare your team with teams from the early 1990s," he said. "It starts flat, then there are the back hills, then it gets flat again, and then near the end is what they call Cemetery Hill, which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for where it is positioned, near the end of the race."
Colaizzo said he preaches to his runners the importance of toughness during the last two miles.
"Maintaining, and even jumping up spots near the end of the race, was key for us," he said. "Our guys had real strong finishing kicks."
However, Colaizzo pointed out that the warm temperature and fatigue did factor in the Marist runners' times.
"Our times were a little off, partly because of the heat, and partly because it was our third meet in three weeks, but it was a solid finish," he said.
For the Red Foxes, junior Justin Harris (Wappingers Falls, NY), coming off a personal best time at the Iona College Meet of Champions just six days before, trimmed another 18 seconds for a time of 26:11.4 and a 15th overall finish in the meet.
Colaizzo said this was the best race Harris has run in his career at Marist.
"He ran a great race. He's really worked hard and had a great summer. Mentally, he's focused in and knows what he needs to do right now."
The race was held on a sunny day at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and the Red Foxes, with 117 points, finished only behind Columbia (32), and Iona (113).
"We went in hoping for a top-five finish, with third place probably being the best," head coach Pete Colaizzo said. "Iona is nationally ranked, and [they] didn't even have to use all of their guys. They are unbelievable. Columbia is also a power in the region, so we did the best I thought we could do."
Colaizzo said he likes Van Cortlandt Park because it is a "fair" course, one that has hills and flat land.
"It's five miles long, and what I like about it is that it's been the same forever. It's a good way to compare your team with teams from the early 1990s," he said. "It starts flat, then there are the back hills, then it gets flat again, and then near the end is what they call Cemetery Hill, which wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for where it is positioned, near the end of the race."
Colaizzo said he preaches to his runners the importance of toughness during the last two miles.
"Maintaining, and even jumping up spots near the end of the race, was key for us," he said. "Our guys had real strong finishing kicks."
However, Colaizzo pointed out that the warm temperature and fatigue did factor in the Marist runners' times.
"Our times were a little off, partly because of the heat, and partly because it was our third meet in three weeks, but it was a solid finish," he said.
For the Red Foxes, junior Justin Harris (Wappingers Falls, NY), coming off a personal best time at the Iona College Meet of Champions just six days before, trimmed another 18 seconds for a time of 26:11.4 and a 15th overall finish in the meet.
Colaizzo said this was the best race Harris has run in his career at Marist.
"He ran a great race. He's really worked hard and had a great summer. Mentally, he's focused in and knows what he needs to do right now."