The women’s cross-country team raced in their season opener at Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve in Poughkeepsie, NY on Saturday morning. Marist hosted Siena College, Manhattan College, Central Connecticut College and MAAC rival Iona and proved to be the best. The women’s team dominated the field and won the meet by a landslide, with a final score of 19. The runner-up Siena had a score of 60.
Junior Gianna Tedeschi finished first overall with a time of 18:32 in the 5k, followed by junior Hayley Collins, sophomore Gianna Mastromatteo and junior Alexandra Bartolotta finishing second through fourth, respectively. Marist had five, top-ten finishers while no other team had more than two. The team got out to a fast start and never looked back, maintaining a good pace throughout the entire race. A good crowd was in attendance, cheering on the Red Foxes who saw a great first race of the season with clear promise going forward.
Following the meet, the seniors of both men’s and women’s teams were honored for Senior Day. As a bittersweet way to start their final season knowing that this would be the end of great careers they all looked optimistic of a great season to come.
Captain Denise Grohn was pleased with the outcome of the first meet, but still referred to it as the “rust buster.”
“In this race, it is always fun to see what kind of shape everyone is in, but it’s not telling of what we can do in the future,” said Grohn. “We won this one and it’s good to hype us up to keep us rolling but it also shows us that we need to keep working hard and keep it going for the rest of the season.”
With a great deal of talent returning from last year, the team looks to continue moving forward as the season progresses. While each runner is competing against one another, it is very much a team sport and everyone must do well to succeed and reach the ultimate goal of winning the MAAC championship and doing well in the national race that follows.
On this senior day, it was clear that each and every senior got the applause that they deserved as their younger teammates cheered loudly when each of their names was called. The leadership that the captains, as well all seniors showed for their teammates, proved why Marist is ranked second overall in the MAAC preseason poll.
“These seniors have been really good,” said head coach Pete Colaizzo. “They’re just seniors now but this preseason they’ve done a great job of taking command of the program and helping me organize.” The Red Foxes look to make a statement in their first MAAC meet of the season at the Siena Invitational on Saturday, September 7.
Edited by Lily Caffrey-Levine