By Mike Ferraro
GALLOWAY, NJ – Senior Gianna Tedeschi paced three Marist women’s cross country runners who finished in the top 15 of Friday’s Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championships.
Tedeschi placed fourth in the championship meet, held at Seaview Golf Club, with a 6K time of 21:59.71. Her fourth-place finish was the best at the MAAC Championships for the program since Addie DiFrancesco also came in fourth in 2011.
By virtue of her top-15 finish, Tedeschi was also one of three runners to earn All-MAAC honors. She was joined by graduate student Alexandra Bartolotta and senior Hayley Collins, who placed 14th and 15th, respectively. Tedeschi, Bartolotta, and Collins were all named all-MAAC for the third time.
Tedeschi has a chance to be selected for the NCAA Championships, which will be held on Monday, March 15 at the Oklahoma State University Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The three runners who finished ahead of her on Friday were all from first-place Iona. If Iona is selected to participate in the NCAA Championships, then Tedeschi will also qualify as the top finisher from the team that did not place first.
As a team, the Red Foxes placed fifth with 104 points.
Here are the full team results, along with Marist finishers.
Team Results
1-Iona, 36
2-Siena, 58
3-Quinnipiac, 70
4-Monmouth, 83
5-Marist, 104
6-Rider, 201
7-Fairfield, 219
8-Manhattan, 221
9-Canisius, 239
10-Saint Peter’s, 285
Marist Finishers
4-Gianna Tedeschi, 21:59.71
14-Alexandra Bartolotta, 22:36.89
15-Hayley Collins, 22:38.57
37-Tori Mariano, 23:41.51
44-Talia Cutrone, 23:58.60
79-Sara Leavens, 25:11.49
84-Ellie Davis, 25:28.75
92-Maria Smith, 26:07.01
96-Greta Stuckey, 26:38.39