RIVERDALE, N.Y. - A good mix of sprinters, jumpers, throwers and distance runners are among the 28 athletes that have signed on to join the Manhattan College men's & women's track & field teams in 2010-11. Ten newcomers have been added to the women's roster, while a total of 18 athletes join the men's squad. In addition, five women and 11 men will also compete for Manhattan's cross country squads in the fall.
On the women's side, Malin Olsson from Malmo, Sweden, should immediately become one of the team's top jumpers. Olsson has personal bests of 20 feet, 5 inches (6.23 meters) in the long jump and 39'10 (12.13 m) in the triple jump. She also has a personal best of 12.46 in the 100 meters. Also expected to immediately contribute big points is pole vaulter Sarah Moore (Irvington, N.J.), who has jumped 10'6 (3.20 m).
Manhattan also adds three throwers to the women's field event corps. Ashley Sims (Hasbrouck, N.J.) comes to Manhattan with impressive credentials, having thrown 40'11 (12.47 m) in the shot put and 95'0 (28.96 m) in the discus at Paramus Catholic High School. Maggie Slane (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) should also contribute in both the shot put and weight throw indoors. Tiffany Goodwin, who attended East Meadow High School on Long Island, is a 38-foot shot putter, and is also the only pure sprinter among the women's freshman class. Goodwin competes in the 55, 100 and 200 meters.
Among the five women also joining the cross country team, Liz Rosenberger (Ramsey, N.J.) has run the 400-meter hurdles in 1:06.6 and the 800 meters in 2:17. She has also high jumped 5'0 (1.52 m). Staten Island native Katie O'Connell's event on the track is the 3000-meter steeplechase, while Meghan Hayes from Bishop Kearney High School in Brooklyn competes in the longer distances. Rounding out the newcomers on the women's squad are 800-meter runners Lauren Hanley (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) and Christine Cristobal (Dix Hills, N.Y.), who transferred to Manhattan from Quinnipiac University and has two years of eligibility remaining.
Also transferring to Manhattan this season is men's thrower Colin Quirke (Los Gatos, Calif.). Quirke, who spent the past two seasons competing for the University of Oklahoma, was an All-Big 12 selection in both the shot put and discus in 2009. Quirke has personal bests of 57'0 (17.37 m) in the shot put and 184'0 (56.08 m) in the discus and is the Irish national junior record holder in both events. His father, Paul, is a 1986 Manhattan graduate who represented Ireland in the shot put at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Another 50-foot shot putter joining the men's squad is Lithuanian Rokas Kirlys.
Another international recruit, Hungarian David Fajoyomi, has jumped 7'0½ (2.15 m) in the high jump and run the 100 meters in 10.88. Smithtown, N.Y., native Matt Perrelli is also a high jumper, having cleared 6'4 (1.93 m). Dimitri Mobley comes to Manhattan from Ramstein American High School in Germany, where he ran a time of 39.7 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles. Mobley will move up to the 400 hurdles with the Jaspers. James Cascio is a 55 and 100-meter hurdler from Somers, N.Y. The only pure sprinter among the group is Natale Recine (Bronxville, N.Y.), who has run 6.64 for the 55 meters, 11.07 for the 100 and 22.44 for the 200.
A total of 11 athletes will compete on both the men's cross country and track & field teams. Salim Corbin (Paterson, N.J.) has a personal-best time of 15:48 over a 5000-meter cross country cross. On the track, he runs the 800 and 1500 meters, and has clocked 1:54.59 in the 800. Andrew Hanifin (Long Valley, N.J.) has run 1:54.66 for the 800 and 4:27 in the mile, and Rob Tassey (Seaford, N.Y.) has personal bests of 1:59 in the 800, and 4:33 in the mile. Connor McCormack posted an 800-meter time of 1:57.44 at Monroe-Woodbury High School, and James Blasland also competed primarily in the 800 at Bishop Grimes High School.
Thomas Arias (Gaithersburg, Md.) has cracked two minutes in the 800 (1:57), and he can also step up to the 1500 and two-mile. One of the more versatile men's newcomers is Brian King (Belle Harbor, N.Y.). King competed in the 400, 800 and 1500 at Xavier High School. His high school teammate Taylor Conlon is primarily a 1500-meter runner, while John Mitchell (Suffern, N.Y.), Josh Perez (Marlton, N.J.) and Tom Voorhies (Syracuse, N.Y.) run the longer distances.
The cross country season gets underway with the Stony Brook Season Opener on Sept. 4, while the indoor track season will have its traditional start with the Manhattan Opener at Draddy Gymansium on Dec. 1. Manhattan is the defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champion both indoors and outdoors on both the men's and women's side.
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