COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY / TRACK & FIELD: NEWARK VALLEY'S SILBA SIGNS WITH CANISIUS (2019-01-27)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY - To Marissa Silba, Canisius College is like a good running shoe. It's the perfect fit. The Newark Valley senior signed a national letter of intent Friday to continue her competitive running career as a Golden Griffin.

Silba is ready for the challenge of competing at a Division I college.

"I wasn't sure if I wanted a large school or a small school, so I kind of went for both ends of the spectrum," she said. "I looked into Binghamton and Canisius, and to be honest, not any other schools. I kind of want to run Division I, not for any specific reason. I knew both, academically, were good."

After being accepted into both schools, she looked at the financial aspect.

"Binghamton wasn't offering me any scholarships and Canisius was offering me a lot of scholarships, so financially it was a better fit,"  Silba said. "During my visit, it was a much better fit. I like the team a lot."

During the selection process, she also checked out the coaches.

Silba will compete in cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field. And she will attempt to juggle those sports along with her studies and a job.

"I'm also going to try to work a little bit," she said. "I've already been kind of doing that. It's a bigger commitment in college."

NV cross country and track coach Eric D'Arcy has no doubt she can meet the challenge.

"She'll have no problem," he said. "She's pretty dedicated to running. That's one of her main focuses, that and academics, throughout high school. We've had several girls go off to college and run Division I. It's an adjustment. There's no question it's an adjustment."

Silba was a 5-time Class C state qualifier in cross country, placing in the top 20 three times in races which numbered more than 125 competitors each year.

An IAC and Section IV Class C champion this past fall, she also won the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals following the conclusion of the high school season. Silba was also was named the Ehrhart Propane and Oil / ESPN Ithaca Fueling Excellence Athlete of the Week after winning the sectional title and was selected the Girls Runner of the Year on Tioga County Sports Report's inaugural Tioga County Cross Country All-Star team.

During the 2018 track and field season, Silba won the 2,000 meter steeplechase at the IAC meet and the Section IV Class C meet, and placed third in Section IV. she also set personal records in the steeplechase (7:36.43), 1500 (5:25.55) and the 3,000 (11:16.02).

"She's a very hard worker, a very dedicated young lady, probably one of the more improved throughout her career," D'Arcy said. "Every year she kept making improvements on her time, on the distances she runs, so she's got a lot of potential still that has not fully been reached, so that's a great thing. All coaches are looking for that. A lot of college coaches, they recruit girls who have their best years when they're sophomores, juniors in high school, and they never live up to that expectation. She's one that's going to live up to that expectation, and probably well beyond."

D'Arcy's daughter, Jenna Cupp, who ran for Monmouth University, and Kayla Stewart, a senior at Canisius, have enlightened Silba and others what to expect at the D-1 level.