Men's Track & Field | 6/1/2015 11:53:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY - Senior Matt Giannino (Syracuse, NY/Christian Brothers Academy) of the RIT men's track and field team, was named the 2015 Liberty League Male Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year on Friday, May 29. Earlier in the season, Giannino was named the 2014-15 Liberty League Indoor Track Athlete and 2014 Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Giannino competed in both the 1,500- and 5,000-meters at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by St. Lawrence University in late May. He entered as the third seed in the 5,000-meters and 12th seed in the 1,500-meters. On May 11, Giannino smashed Mike Hardbarger's seven-year old record in the 1,500-meters at the Swarthmore Final Qualifier with a time of 3:48.79. On April 23, Giannino broke his own school record by nearly 15 seconds with a time of 14:15.54 at the Penn Relays.

A three-time All-American in 2014-15 and four-time All-American in his collegiate career, Giannino was also named the 2015 RIT co-Male Senior Athlete of the Year and earned CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District honors. He earned his first All-American honor as part of the distance medley relay team at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Track Championships. In the fall, Giannino became RIT's first runner to win the NCAA Atlantic Regional Cross Country Championship since 1996. He capped his cross-country season by earning All-American honors for the first time. During the winter track season, he set a pair of school records and was named the 2015 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Track Athlete of the Year. On March 13, he earned his third All-American honor by finishing sixth in the 5,000-meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The next day, he earned his third All-American honor of the year by placing seventh in the 3,000-meters.

Overall, Giannino is now a six-time Liberty League Athlete of the Year, three-time USTFCCCA Academic All-American, held numerous All-Region selections and a 23-time Liberty League Athlete of the Week. He holds RIT indoor records in the 800-, 3,000-, and 5,000-meters, and 4-x 800-meter relay and the outdoor mark in the 1,500- and 5,000-meters.