POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. ? Marist senior Mike Rolek (Maplewood, N.J.) was named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-America Third Team for track & field/cross country on Monday, joining 44 other male runners from across the country.
"This is a fantastic honor for Mike and for our entire program. Mike accomplished quite a bit in the classroom and on the track for us during his four years, and this award re-affirms all that he accomplished,” said Marist men’s track and field head coach Pete Colaizzo.
Rolek, a Sports Journalism major, graduated last month with an impressive 3.90 grade point average. On March 5, he became the first student-athlete at Marist to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. A nine-time MAAC All-Academic Team selection in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field, Rolek was also named Marist’s Male Sportsperson of the Year for 2007-08. Rolek was named All-MAAC in cross country after finishing 12th at the MAAC Championships on Oct. 26. During the outdoor track season, he set a then-school record in the 10,000m on April 6 with a time of 30:36.66.