Distance runner Luke Marsanskis had some big shoes to fill when he decided to attend the University of Maine.
And he has done a nice job filling them.
His late grandfather, George Marsanskis, won the 1948 IC4A championship in the hammer throw and qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials. He also captained the Black Bear football and indoor track teams and played baseball for one year.
His father, Michael Marsanskis, was a track athlete at UMaine from 1986-89. He was involved in multi-event competitions like the decathlon (10 events), heptathlon (7) and pentathlon (5).
Graduate student Luke Marsanskis has become the first Black Bear to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships since Kelton Cullenberg in 2013.
The championships will be held in Verona, Wisconsin, on Saturday morning.
He was the first UMaine runner to win the America East title since 2016 when he posted a time of 23:51.8 on the 8K course in Vermont and followed that up with a seventh-place showing at the NCAA Division I Northeast Regional in New Hampshire with a time of 30:07.5 over the 10K course.
The Cumberland native said this season has exceeded his expectations.
“It’s been a good season. At the beginning of the season, I wasn’t sure what kind of shape I was going to be in. But I ran the Beach to Beacon (10K race in Cape Elizabeth on Aug. 3) and that went really well so, after that, I thought I could do big things this season,” said the 24-year-old Marsanskis.
He finished 11th in the prestigious 10K event in 29:12.
His confidence also got a boost at a race at the University of Missouri in September when he finished seventh in the 8K event which featured 36 teams.
“We ran against one of the best teams in the country, Stanford, and I ran right with their guys the whole race. Three of their guys finished ahead of me but I was ahead of the rest of their guys and their top five are all guys who could get All-American so that was exciting,” said Marsanskis.
He posted a time of 23:17.9 which was just nine seconds behind Stanford’s Leo Young, who wound up second. Stanford’s Cole Sprout was third (23:10) and Lex Young (23:11.2) wound up fifth.
Stanford won the race by 132 points over runnerup Tennessee and all seven of their runners placed in the top 18.
“After that, I said, ‘Okay, I better make the nationals this season and I did,’” said Marsanskis.
In addition to his exploits as a cross country runner, he has also had an outstanding track career at UMaine.
He holds the school indoor record for the 5,000 meters at 14:07.42 and the outdoor records for the 5,000 meters (13:53.64) and 10,000 meters (28:56.90).
He has the third best time, indoors, in the 3,000 meters (8:09.75).
“I was really excited to come here and do track and cross country. I remember looking at the top-10 boards and thinking I would never get on those but I improved a lot more than I thought. It’s pretty exciting,” said Marsanskis, who is working toward his master’s degree in data science.
Marsanskis began running when he was eight years old.
“Living in Cumberland, I grew up near Twin Brook (cross country course) where they hold a lot of races. I remember seeing my cousin run there so I thought it would be fun,” said Marsanskis.
“I joined up and, many years later, I’m still doing it.”
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father at UMaine means a lot to him.
“That definitely gives me a lot more pride being a Black Bear. I’m doing this for my grandfather, who died before I was born. I love coming in here and seeing his face on the Hall of Fame board. That’s pretty cool. As is seeing my dad’s name on the boards around the indoor track,” said Marsanskis.
He will leave for Wisconsin on Thursday and the 10K race at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course will start at 11:10 a.m. (EST). It will be broadcast on ESPNU.
“I’m glad I made the nationals. That was my big goal for the year. If I get in the top 40, I’ll be an All-American. That’s definitely something I’m trying for,” said Marsanskis. “I’m not exactly sure what my race strategy will be. I may find some guys I’ve raced against before, see where I’m at and go from there.
“It’s going to be interesting,” said Marsanskis.