Mount St. Mary College Men's Cross Country

Callo begins his 10th season with the Mount Saint Mary College mens and womens cross country programs in 2015.  Callo will also begin his fifth year at the helm of the the men's and women's track and field teams. Callo made history in 2014 when his men's cross country team took home its first-ever Skyline Conference Championship. The Knights narrowly edged out the four-time defending champion St. Joseph's College (L.I.) for first place at the Skyline Conference Championship meet. Callo was awarded with the 2014 Skyline Conference Men's Lacrosse Coach of the Year distinction. The women's cross country team finished as the runner-up at the Skyline Conference Championship meet for the fifth year in a row in 2014. Callo coached six total Skyline Cross Country All-Conference Team members, as well as the 2014 Skyline Men's Lacrosse Rookie of the Year. In the 2014-15 season, the mens track and field team set a total of eight new program records this season, while the womens team accounted for four new record marks, illustrating the continuing growth of the program through four years of existence. The 2013 season was an accomplished one for the Knights cross country program as it saw the women's team finish 2nd at the Skyline Conference Championship meet, and the men's team set a new program record by finishing third at the conference meet.  Callo coached three runners onto the All-Skyline team for the women and coached Adam Al-Haraizeh onto the men's All-Skyline First Team, the first male cross-country runner to accomplish the feat in program history. During Callo's tenure, the women's cross country squad produced an improved finish at the year-end Skyline championships for four consecutive seasons and has now finished second for three years in a row.  The Knights placed three runners on the all-conference squad in 2012, including Rachel Sleeter who earned a spot on the first team.  The men's team finished sixth at the Skyline meet in 2012. The winter and spring seasons of 2012-13 saw the Knights compete in track and field events for the third full season.  Mount Saint Mary competed in 12 meets from December to May and set 46 new school records. Coach Callo is a well-respected coach in the area, having led the cross country and track and field teams in the Marlboro Central School District for the past ten years. During Callos tenure at Marlboro, he has successfully coached over 30 New York State Championship participants, including four state champions. In both 2004 and 2006, he was named the Hudson Valley Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year by the Poughkeepsie Journal.  Coach Callo is a graduate of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where he earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration. He is currently employed by the Marlboro Central School District.  Callo also holds a Level II Certification from USA Track and Field. Callo resides in Milton, New York, with his wife Dusti and their two children, Laynie and Fred Jr.

Koonz joined the Mount Saint Mary College staff as a volunteer assistant coach for both cross country and track and field after her four years of NCAA eligibility at the Division I Level. She competed in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field for all four years of her collegiate career. Her running career started at the University of Hartford for the first two years, and then continued after transferring to the University of Delaware. Koonz focused on the distance events, including outdoor 1500m, indoor mile, 6k, indoor and outdoor 5k, indoor 3k and 3k steeplechase. For her senior year at UD, Koonz earned captain, sportsmanship and 'Golden Shoe' honors. Kayla also graduated with the 3k steeplechase school record. Koonz was also a competitive cross country skier in high school, earning a Section IX Title racing for New Paltz High School, multiple top ten finishes at the state meets and multiple appearances at Junior Nationals. Koonz is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she earned a Bachelors of Science in exercise science, concentrating on biomechanics and motor control. She is currently attending Mount Saint Mary to become a registered nurse, with hopes of continuing on to become a nurse practitioner. She currently resides in Gardiner, New York.

Carofano has spent the last 10 years teaching College, Honors, and Regents Biology at Marlboro Central High School, where he is also the Head Coach of the Varsity boys spring track team, as well as an Assistant Coach for the Varsity indoor track and field teams.  Prior to his time at Marlboro, he worked for 2 years as a Biology teacher at Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls, NY, and served as the Head Coach for Junior Varsity football and as an Assistant Coach for Varsity football.   For cross country/track and field, Coach Carofano has experience working with athletes in every event.  He has directly coached numerous male and female athletes that have not only set high school and collegiate school records, but also qualified for the NYS High School Track and Field Championships (Indoor and Outdoor).  Two of those athletes have won NYS Championships, in the 100m Hurdles and the 100m Dash.  In the spring of 2013, Carofano also helped coach an athlete at Mount Saint Mary College who qualified for the ECAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 400m Hurdles.  This was the first ECAC Championship appearance for any track and field athlete in school history.  In the fall of 2014, he also helped guide the Mount Saint Mary College men's cross country team to the first ever Skyline Conference Championship in the history of the young program.  Needless to say, Coach Carofano is extremely proud to have had the opportunity to work with all of these amazing student-athletes. A 2001 graduate of Marlboro Central High School, Carofano lettered in three varsity sports.  He went on to receive his bachelor's degree from the State University of New York College at Oneonta in 2005, where he graduated with honors and was a dual major in Adolescence Education and Biology with a minor in Chemistry.  He completed his master's degree in Special Education at Mount Saint Mary College in 2008. Coach Carofano holds a Level 1 Certification from USA Track and Field.  He currently resides in the Town of Newburgh, NY with his wife, Ashley and their daughter, Elizabeth. Pete Carofano returns to the Mount Saint Mary College coaching staff in 2016-2017 for his fifth year as a collegiate coach. Carofano has spent the last 10 years teaching College, Honors, and Regents Biology at Marlboro Central High School, where he is also the Head Coach of the Varsity boys spring track team, as well as an Assistant Coach for the Varsity indoor track and field teams.  Prior to his time at Marlboro, he worked for 2 years as a Biology teacher at Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls, NY, and served as the Head Coach for Junior Varsity football and as an Assistant Coach for Varsity football.   For cross country/track and field, Coach Carofano has experience working with athletes in every event.  He has directly coached numerous male and female athletes that have not only set high school and collegiate school records, but also qualified for the NYS High School Track and Field Championships (Indoor and Outdoor).  Two of those athletes have won NYS Championships, in the 100m Hurdles and the 100m Dash.  In the spring of 2013, Carofano also helped coach an athlete at Mount Saint Mary College who qualified for the ECAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 400m Hurdles.  This was the first ECAC Championship appearance for any track and field athlete in school history.  In the fall of 2014, he also helped guide the Mount Saint Mary College men's cross country team to the first ever Skyline Conference Championship in the history of the young program.  Needless to say, Coach Carofano is extremely proud to have had the opportunity to work with all of these amazing student-athletes. A 2001 graduate of Marlboro Central High School, Carofano lettered in three varsity sports.  He went on to receive his bachelor's degree from the State University of New York College at Oneonta in 2005, where he graduated with honors and was a dual major in Adolescence Education and Biology with a minor in Chemistry.  He completed his master's degree in Special Education at Mount Saint Mary College in 2008. Coach Carofano holds a Level 1 Certification from USA Track and Field.  He currently resides in the Town of Newburgh, NY with his wife, Ashley and their daughter, Elizabeth.