July 22, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Former Providence College cross country and track stars Marie McMahon-Davenport '98 and Mark Carroll '95 will compete for Ireland in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. McMahon-Davenport will compete in the 10,000 meters and Carroll will run the 5,000 meters.

McMahon-Davenport, who also competed in the 5,000 at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics by running the 10,000 meters at the Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif. on April 30. With her time of 31:28.72, McMahon-Davenport earned the "A" Standard, which is any time under 31:45.00. McMahon-Davenport was a 10-time All-American during her career at Providence. She led the 1995 Friar cross country team to its first NCAA title. McMahon-Davenport also captured eight BIG EAST titles and won the 1996 NCAA 5,000 meter indoor championship.

Carroll will be competing in his second Olympic games. In 2000, he ran the 5,000 meters at the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Carroll qualified for the 2004 Olympics by finishing the 5,000 in a time of 13:18.75 at the Home Depot Meet in Stanford, Calif. on May 29. He earned the "A" Standard, which is any time under 13:19. Carroll, a six-time All-American at Providence, won the 1995 NCAA Indoor 5,000 meter title and seven BIG EAST titles as a Friar.

McMahon-Davenport and Carroll join New Zealand's Kim Smith (5,000 meters) as the Friars scheduled to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

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