Marc My Words!

Sports columnist Marc Maturo’s official column

At Dominican College in Orangeburg, the women’s cross country team returns to Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia, Pa., on Oct. 27, where it placed seventh at the Jack Saint Clair Memorial Championships.

Senior Krystal Campbell of New Windsor led Dominican, finishing 16th with a time of 26:56, while Nyack HS graduate Renee Roncace of Valley Cottage was clocked in 30:51.

Other scorers for the Lady Chargers were Chantal Fernandez of the Bronx, Jessica Avila of Mount Vernon and Kadijah Cox of New Milford, N.J.

Spartans sparkle

The Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill head to the East Coast Conference Championships, set for Oct. 27 at LIU Post, full of confidence after senior Keeley Bateman of Pearl River sparked a third-place finish at the University of Delaware Blue & Gold Invitational.

The men’s team was fifth in the standings, led by senior Mike Galonski of Newton, N.J., who finished a strong third.

Bateman finished 12th in 24:12 while Meagan Jaskot of Blauvelt and Gabby Sloezen of Westwood, N.J., clocked 24:44 and 25:18, respectively.

Rookies Meagan Ventarola of Monroe and Jumana Khatib of Suffern tackled their first ever 6K crossing the line in 26:09 and 26:24, respectively.

Galonski has established himself as a top runner in the conference with a handful of top-five finishes.  In 27:19, he was the second DII finisher, just behind Dowling’s Scott Litts.  Junior Joe Chegwidden of Hamburg, N.J., crossed in 28:42 which was good for 12th place.  Senior Matthew Buell of Staten Island helped pace freshman Ryan Gasser, also Staten Island, locking in their final times of 29:23 and 30-flat. Freshmen Stephen McNiff of Middletown rounded out the Spartan scorers in 30:59.

KING FOR A MONTH

Meghan King of New City, who was honored as the student-athlete of the month for September by the Association of Division III Independents, led a balanced attack with a team-high 10 kills and nine digs as the College of New Rochelle volleyball team defeated Brooklyn College, 3-2, in a non-conference contest.

The Blue Angels, who will host the Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoffs on Oct. 27, close the regular season at home on Oct. 24 against Yeshiva University at 8 p.m.

King, an outside hitter, has been the leader of a Blue Angels squad that posted a 10-4 record in September. The Clarkstown North HS alumna leads the team in kills, kills per set, total attacks, and hitting percentage.

Diana Desir of Spring Valley is also a cog for the Blue Angels, with 216 digs that rank fourth on the team – just one behind Marissa Armstrong of Scottsdale, Ariz.

QUICK HITTERS: Rockland CC transfer Greg Remedor of Spring Valley is a junior forward on the Purchase College men’s soccer team. The Panthers, coming off a 5-0 loss to highly rated Richard Stockton, one of the elite programs in the tri-state area, hope to bounce back at home on Oct. 24 with an 8 p.m. game against SUNY at Old Westbury. The Panthers then travel to Poughkeepsie on Oct. 26 to meet Mount Saint Mary at 3:30 p.m. … Luke Houston of Pearl River is preparing for his junior season on the men’s basketball team at Southern Connecticut State University. Houston, a guard, averaged eight points and four rebounds a game, with 56 assists, for the Owls last season. The Owls open the new season on Oct. 30 in Storrs, Conn., against the University of Connecticut at 7 p.m., and stay on the road Nov. 1 to meet the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, also at 7 p.m. … Senior Connor Alexander of Blauvelt had two shots, including one of the Huskies’ six shots on goal, as the Northeastern University men’s soccer team lost to William & Mary, 1-0, in Williamsburg, Va. Alexander, who is now playing at attack following several seasons on defense, was lost to Northeastern in the 80th minute after being issued a second yellow card. The Huskies, who lost their first Colonial Athletic Association game after three victories, are home on Nov. 2, meeting the College of Charleston at Parsons Field in Brookline, Mass., at 6 p.m. in another CAA contest. …

Host SUNY Brockport rallied from an early 10-point deficit to defeat Cortland, 49-32, in a New Jersey Athletic Conference  (NJAC)  game. Gabe Ostrow of Nanuet, a defensive end, had a team second-best nine tackles for the Red Dragons, while sophomore safety Frank Tucek of New City had five stops. Tucek, a Clarkstown South HS alum, was coming off an outstanding game in his first collegiate start, when he made a team second-best eight tackles and forced a fumble as Cortland routed Montclair State, 48-14. … The Dominican College men’s soccer team, which elevated its record to 8-5-2 with a 1-0 victory over host Wilmington (Del.) University, returns home to Orangeburg on Oct. 26 in a 2:30 p.m. Senior Day battle against Holy Family University. Jorge Subillaga of Uruguay scored for the Chargers, assisted by Sony Narro of Stamford, Conn. … Frank Morgera of West Nyack and the men’s cross country team at SUNY Maritime College are prepping for the Skyline Conference Championships on Oct. 27 at Van Cortlandt Park in Riverdale. … Playing without leading scorer Michael Corbi of Hopewell Junction, serving a mandatory one-game red-card  suspension, the St. Thomas Aquinas College men’s soccer team had little chance of stopping undefeated LIU Post, No. 1 in the NCSAA Division II national rankings  The Spartans were beaten 5-1, dropping to 4-6-1 overall and 2-5 in the East Coast Conference. LIU Post remained unblemished with 14-0, 7-0 marks. STAC closes the season with four home games at Spartan Field off Route 340 in Sparkill, beginning Oct. 26 at 2:30 against Molloy College and continuing on Oct. 28 against Concordia College of Bronxville at 3 p.m. … Chris Klass of Nanuet returned seven kickoffs for 121 yards, and Greg Caneparo, also of Nanuet, gained 20 yards on three punt returns as the SUNY Maritime football team lost to Norwich, 42-21, in Northfield, Vt. Maritime (2-4) returns home after two straight games on the road as the squad hosts Castleton State for a noon kickoff at Reinhart Field in Throggs Neck on Oct. 26. … Nyack HS alumna Klarissa Armada of Valley Cottage is a freshman competing in foil on the CCNY women’s fencing team, which competes at the Temple Open in Philadelphia on Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. … Candice Zugibe of Garnerville and Samantha Vinci of Hauppauge won in doubles as the St. Thomas Aquinas College women’s tennis team closed the fall campaign with a 6-3 victory over The University of the Sciences. Raven DeLeon of Bushwick and Sam D’Andrea of Stony Point also won at doubles while Bianca Signore of Staten Island and Shannon Biehle of Tomkins Cove won their singles matches, as did Zugibe and DeLeon.