RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College men's and women's track & field teams aren't accustomed to being the underdogs at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Outdoor Championships. Yet that's the position both squads find themselves in entering this year's event. The Manhattan men, who won the indoor title, are seeded second behind host Rider, while Saint Peter's is the favorite on the women's side. But the Jaspers are the defending champions (for both the men and women) and aren't prepared to hand over their titles. That defense begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday and continues at 11 a.m. on Sunday from the Rider Track & Field Complex.
For the Manhattan women, the strength lies in the sprints and jumps. Cara Rostant (Valley Stream, N.Y.), who has qualified for the ECAC Championships in four different events, is the top seed in both the 200 and 400 meters. Heidy Palacios (Yonkers, N.Y.) is also among the favorites in the 200 and 400, while Ashley Bowman (Elmont, N.Y.) is the defending champion in both the 100 and 200. Along with Jackie Hargrove (Vienna, Va.), that trio comprises Manhattan's 4 x 400 meter relay team that's the best in the conference.
Malin Olsson (Malmo, Sweden) was named Most Outstanding Performer for Field Events after winning both the long jump and triple jump at the MAAC Indoor Championships. Olsson, who won the bronze medal in the championship long jump at last weekend's Penn Relays, will be favored in both those events outdoors, as well. In addition, she's entered in both the 100 and 200 meters, and she ran the anchor leg on the 4 x 100 relay squad that posted an ECAC-qualifying time of 47.79 seconds last weekend.
Others expected to provide big points for the women are Andrea Nyback (Koping, Sweden), who set the school record in the heptathlon earlier this outdoor season and will contest five events at the MAAC Championships, Melissa Yap (Orchard Park, N.Y.), the defending champion in the pole vault, and Megan Tice (Hyde Park, N.Y.), who will compete in all four jumps and the javelin throw. Among the distance contingent, Maria Jangsten (Gothenburg, Sweden) placed second in both the 800 and 1500 meters last year, and Emmy Koskinen (Sodtertalje, Sweden) is among the favorites in the 800 meters and 400 meter hurdles.
Manhattan finished second behind Saint Peter's at the MAAC Indoor Championships, which Head Coach Dan Mecca sees as a source of extra motivation. "It puts a little fire in there," he said, "especially for our seniors. They don't want to be the ones who go out not winning a MAAC championship. And I'm sure they're going to get the rest of the team together and do everything we can as a team."
The men's team has battled through injuries to key personnel for most of the outdoor season, but is deep and talented. The Jaspers are strong in all areas, especially the field events. Roman Ewald (Olching, Germany) has qualified for the IC4A Championships in three different events, while Colin Quirke (Los Gatos, Calif.), the Most Outsanding Performer for Field Events at the MAAC Indoor Championships, has qualified in both the shot put and discus. They will both contest all four throws at the MAAC Championships. Andrew Trass (River Dell, N.J.) is the favorite in the javelin throw, but can also provide points in the shot put and discus.
Among the jumpers, Albert Johnson III (Painted Post, N.Y.), who took home Most Outstanding Performer for Field Events at last year's MAAC Championships, will have a busy weekend. He'll compete in the 100 and 200 meters, as well as the long jump and triple jump. Dan Duffy (Monre, N.Y.) is also among the favorites in the long and triple jumps, while Brian McGovern (Yonkers, N.Y.) set a school record in the pole vault while winning the IC4A indoor title. Felix Siljeback-Larsen (Vasteras, Sweden), normally a decathlete, is entered in six different individual events (as well as both relays), and is capable of scoring in all of them.
On the track, Tobias Lundgren (Alta, Sweden) will attempt the difficult 5000-10,000 double. Fellow Sweden Mikael Rojeras (Sala, Sweden) is a contender at both the 800 and 1500 meters. Carlos Petrovich (Yonkers, N.Y.) and Nick Estis (Bardonia, N.Y.) will be looked to in the sprints. Justin Chiaravelle (Danbury, Conn.) and Dimitri Mobley (Abington, Pa.) are the Jaspers' top hurdlers.
"It looks like Rider should be the favorite on the men's side, especially having the home field advantage at their facility," Mecca said. "But it's doable. Both squads need to go out, compete and do what they can."
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