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Marina Muncan was a 9-time All-American at Villanova
Marina Muncan was a 9-time All-American at Villanova
Posted: Dec 08, 2022

Marina Muncan Inducted into Villanova Athletics Hall of Fame

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Marina Muncan, the head coach of the CMS women's and men's cross country teams, and an assistant with the CMS track and field programs, earned an induction into the Villanova Athletics Hall of Fame, the university announced on Wednesday.

Muncan had a standout career with the Wildcats from 2002-06 as a distance runner. She was an All-American nine times in her career, including three in both cross country and outdoor track and field (1500 meters). She also earned All-America honors three times during indoor track and field season, once with the distance medley relay team, and once in the mile.

Muncan also earned the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year honors as a senior, while taking All-Mid Atlantic Region status in cross country three times in her career. She won 11 BIG EAST titles, and was an All-BIG EAST performer 17 times.

After graduation from Villanova, Muncan competed for Serbia in the 1500 meters at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, England, and was a finalist at the 2012 European Championships. She competed professionally with New Balance USA in Boston for six years, earning Serbian national records in both the 1500 meters (4:06.45) and the mile (4:31.16), and capturing the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2009 World University Games.

After serving as an assistant coach at Rutgers, Muncan was hired to run the CMS cross country programs in 2000. In her first full season in 2021, she guided the women's and men's cross country teams to top-10 finishes at nationals. In fact, the Athenas finished in second place, just two points out of first, for the highest-ever finish in program history, while the Stags came in sixth. She coached six All-Americans, four Athenas (Meredith Bloss, Natalie Bitetti, Riley Harmon and Emily Clarke) and two Stags (Henry Pick and Stevie Steinberg), while Pick's third-place finish featured the fastest time in CMS history by over 40 seconds. 
 
Muncan also serves as an assistant with the CMS track and field programs under Head Coach Glenn Stewart, and in her first season, she coached Meredith Bloss, Henry Pick and Emily Clarke to All-America honors. The Stags set school records in the steeplechase (Adam Wilkinson), the 1500 (Daniel Sealand), the 5000 (Steinberg) and the 10000 (Steinberg), while Bloss added a CMS record in the 10000 for the Athenas.