The College of Staten Island recently completed what was their final turn through the City University of New York Athletic Conference in 2019-20, and will be fully integrated into the East Coast Conference with an NCAA Division II schedule in 2020-21.  Leaving behind a tremendous wake as one of the CUNYAC's founding members, day-by-day we will be looking back at each of CSI's programs, notably the CUNYAC Championship teams spanning over 40 years in our spring CUNYAC retrospective entitled, "Remember the Legacy."  This historical look back will chronicle the amazing achievements of CSI athletics programs, complete with championships, milestones, and amazing performances.

Our next sports spotlighted will be Cross-Country and Track & Field, programs between them that have claimed three CUNYAC Championships to their credit and great individual efforts at Championships.  The programs are the newest at CSI, with Cross-Country making its reboot in 2007 after a long hiatus, and Track & Field developing into a varsity program as part of the 2018-19 academic year.

THE START

From time to time, CSI has suspended or discontinued a sport, only to be picked up the following year.  In the case of Cross-Country, the program lay dormant for many years.  The College of Staten Island started their Division III foray in time for the 1977-78 season, and from there until the late 1980's, Cross-Country was a featured sport.  The CUNYAC didn't come to keep records in the sport or house championship data until 1989 (although they sponsored a championship meet earlier), so the sport is still rather new, historically, across the board.  Still, several CSI student-athletes made their presence felt.  Hall of Famer Jeff Benjamin was one of those mid-80's standouts, sporting a decorated career and record-setting pace from 1983-87, doubling on CSI's Track & Field team as well.

In 1983 The CSI Team - with runners John Down, Benjamin, Mike Crowe, Steve Foley, Mark Conte & Darryl Peterson - finished two points behind 2nd place CCNY to finish 3rd in the CUNY Cross-Country Championship.  The finish gave the Dolphins their first ever acceptance into the NCAA Division III National Championship which was held at Cortland State.  They topped out in third place again in 1987, great results considering the tremendous times garnered during that time.
 
Shortly after, however, CSI disbanded the sport, and it took almost two decades for it to come back.  After a year as a club, student-interest, program, it was the women's side that made their debut first, debuting in 2007, followed by the men's team in 2008.  Over ten years later, after several years running as a club, CSI's Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field teams debuted at the varsity level again in 2018-19.

Because so little record-keeping was done pre-90's for Cross-Country and Track & Field, both at CSI and the CUNYAC, our retrospective will focus on the reboots of the sports from the mid-2000's on.

THE FIRSTS (REBOOTED)...
First Meet (Cross-Country Women):  September 9, 2007 - CSI participated in the Baruch College Invitational at Van Cortland Park.
First Meet (Cross-Country Men): September 7, 2008 - CSI participated in the Baruch College Invitational at Van Cortland Park
First Meet (Track & Field): December 1, 2018 - Both CSI units participated in the Springfield College Opener in Springfield, Massachusetts.

 

GETTING THEIR FOOTING 2006-2009
Although CSI made the plunge to move forward with Cross-Country again in 2007, The Dolphins women's side made their debut as a club team in 2006 and it took awhile for the programs to get their footing.  For one, the men's program was supposed to debut alongside the women, but poor roster numbers held the team back until 2008.  There was promise for the units under Head Coach Mary Mancini, but momentum was stalled in 2007, when Mancini left prior to the 2007 season.  Ernan Vega would then be tasked to lead the units for their official debut in 2007, but just four weeks into the season, Vega would leave the team, and midseason, Adam Lazatin took over the reigns.  Two days later, CSI scored in their first official race, a fourth-place finish at the Lehman College Invitational.  Despite the slow start, the unit that featured the likes of standouts Lisa LaManna and Iris Moore was up to the challenge competitively, and CSI placed third at the CUNYAC Championship Meet that season in the field of eight schools, a great debut.

In 2008, Jon Lewis Biles took over as Head Coach for both units, CSI's fourth coach in a little over a calendar year.  Biles too would last only a year, a stop-gap of sorts as the Dolphins did a deeper dive for a long-term replacement.  It didn't stop CSI from gaining momentum.  LaManna would set both 5K and 6K records that year that still stand today, and the men successfully made their debut.  The CSI women registered a second-place finish at the CUNYAC Championship, one that easily could have been first-place had CSI not suffered an injury on the course that afternoon.  The men debuted in 8th-place, enough, however, for the foundation they were hoping for.

In 2009, CSI found their long-term answer at coach, hiring Robert Russo, who would champion the program until the close of the 2017 season.

BUILDING A WINNER - 2009-2012

Just because Russo was solidified as coach, did not mean there was instant success.  Building a culture took time, and Russo began the arduous task of seeking out legitimate talent to create a bedrock for the future.  On the women's side, that proved difficult.  CSI lost some standouts and dipped to 7th place in the standings in 2009, and in 2010, although some racers competed individually, CSI did not sponsor a women's team at all.  After a good bounce-back year in 2011, where CSI placed fourth overall at the CUNYAC Championship, they again regressed in 2012, falling to last place in the conference during a year where they were decimated with injury.

On the men's side, the same ebb and flow followed during this pocket of time.  CSI did not meet proper sports sponsorship numbers in 2009 and did not compete in the CUNYAC Championship, and in  2010, CSI made the minimum number of meets but finished last in the standings.  Things started to pick up in 2011, where CSI became a fixture at every meet, and in 2012, CSI finally started to achieve some swagger.  Led by standouts Andrew Pate and Samuel Obisanya, CSI raced in with a second-place finish.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP RUN - 2013-15
On the doorstep of a Championship in 2012, CSI had high hopes for 2013, and they delivered.  Led by Pate's top finish (CSI's first ever), and freshman standout Justin Mills, CSI took the Championship crown by one point over John Jay in what was obviously one of the tightest races in CUNYAC history.  In 2014, CSI added a collection of outstanding runners to the mix, including Andrew Scharf, Liam McMunn, and Kenneth Morella, and tabbed the favorites this time around, CSI delivered a back-to-back title in 2014, beating their rivals at John Jay by just six points.  Both McMunn and Scharf would set new 8K records for CSI as well, building on Pate's times in 2013.

In 2015, eyeing a third-consecutive crown, CSI made it happen.  Scharf would set the 8K record again (still standing), but fell ill for the CUNYAC Championship and the three-peat was in doubt.  The Dolphins proved up for relieving Scharf, and still managed to win the title, this time by 17 points, as McMunn raced in fifth overall in the vast field.  For CSI and Russo, they became the only other CUNYAC program aside from Hunter College to ever win three-straight CUNYAC titles to that point.

The women didn't realize the same level of success, but were consistent under Russo.  In 2014, thanks to an infusion of women's basketball players joining the team, CSI placed second overall for the second time in program history.  It was the year of the Victoria, as Victoria Barry, Victoria Crea, and Victoria Gallinaro were top finishers at the meet, leading the amazing result.  It remains CSI's highest faring under Russo's tenure.
 
THE NEW ERA - 2016-20

CSI never could duplicate the successes they had during their Championship run from 2013-15.  In 2016, the men's program suffered from the early departure of Scharf, and fell to third in the standings on the CUNYAC's final day.  In 2017, after injuries depleted the roster early-on, CSI suspended their season altogether in late September. On the women's side, CSI was near the middle of the pack in 2016, before falling to seventh in 2017.  Going into the new year, CSI had made the announcement that they would be adding Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field to the fold, first as a club sport in 2017-18, in time for varsity in 2018-19.

In the spring of 2018, with Track & Field on the radar as added sports, CSI went to a full-time Head Coach model, and already with full-time obligations, Russo stepped away from the role.  The Dolphins went into the 2018-19 season then with Jason McFall at the helm.  McFall bolstered numbers, and CSI was back, placing third on the women's side, with Brittany Broderick, and Deavion Brown lending themselves to the outstanding running of Tristiana Adragna, while the men, infused by Spencer Milito, placed fifth at the Cross-Country Championship.  The units then doubled on the Track & Field circuits, making a tremendous debut with fourth and sixth-place finishes at Indoor and Outdoor competitions.

Just two years into their Track & Field debut and just a handful of years removed from their first-ever Cross-Country Championships, CSI made the move to NCAA Division II, and with that, new Head Coach Andrew Gangemi entered the fold as the teams seventh Head Coach on the Cross-Country side, and second for Track & Field.  The Dolphins were ineligible for the CUNYAC Postseason, but were welcomed into the ECC Championships this past fall and winter, becoming the first schools at CSI ever to compete at a Division II East Coast Conference sponsored Championship.  High hopes now surround the programs, which account for almost half of those offered by CSI at the NCAA Division II level.

REMEMBER THE LEGACY
First Season (Rebooted): 2007 (Women), 2008 (Men)
CUNYAC Postseason Championships: 3 - 2013, 2014, 2015 (Men)
Hall of Famers: Jeff Benjamin (2012)

Cover Photo from left to right: Lisa LaManna, Andrew Pate, Liam McMunn