Male Student-Athlete of the Week
Matt Rankin, Iona, Cross Country
Gr. / Blackbutt, Queensland, Australia, Nanango State
Matt Rankin is set to run his last MAAC Championship race for the Iona University men’s cross-country team this upcoming weekend. The graduate student opened his fall season at the Nuttycombe Invitational two weeks ago, running a time of 24:48.5 in an ultra-competitive field. A season ago, Rankin finished runner up at the 2024 MAAC Cross Country Championship with a time of 23:57.6 and earned a third-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Northeast Region Championships, clocking in at 29:56.0. As a member of Iona’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Rankin has produced the last two NCAA Division I National SAAC Video Contest winning videos in 2024 and 2025.
Female Student-Athlete of the Week
Shirleysa Rivas, Saint Peter’s, Cross Country
So. / North Bergan, NJ, North Bergan
A sophomore from North Bergen, Shirleysa Rivas has been the driving force for the Saint Peter’s women’s cross-country team since her freshman debut. Last season, she led the Peacocks in all five races and has continued her streak into 2025. Rivas has been the top Saint Peter’s finisher in each of the last four team events and also represented the Peacocks individually in the first two meets of the year. In her most recent outing at the Haverford invitational, Rivas clocked in at 20:33.5, finishing 14th overall. And earlier this month, she led the women’s squad in their opening meet with a second place finish and later that week, shattered her personal record at the Metropolitan Championships—cutting two minutes from her previous best with a 19:51.0 finish to place in the top 50. For her outstanding performances, Rivas earned Jersey Mike’s MAAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week honors, becoming the first Saint Peter’s runner this season to receive a MAAC weekly award (10/15).
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 45th year of competition during the 2024-25 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena University.
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