Madeline Dery Named Captain of RPI Track & Field Team

2016 Nov 30

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Madeline Dery of Putnam Valley 10579 has been named a captain of the track & field team. This is the first year she will serve in that role.

A distance runner, Dery (Mahopac HS) has competed in the 1000 meters, 1500 meters, mile, 3000 meters, 5000 meters and 3000 steeple chase, along with relays, throughout her Rensselaer career. In 11 events during the 2016 indoor season, she finished in the top 10 in every one and qualified for the NCAA Championship Meet in two. She was sixth in the nation - earning All-America - in the 3000 meters with a personal record time of 9:40.65 and was on the ninth place distance medley relay team that finished in 11:55.17. Dery set a personal best (5:09.21) when winning the mile at Utica College and established a PR in the 1000 (3:04.30) when she was second at Middlebury College. The chemical engineering major was part of the DMR championship team at the New York State Championship Meet (11:59.89) and the runner-up in the 3000 meters at the Liberty League Meet (10:15.39). During last year's outdoor season, Dery set personal bests of 4:41.39 in the 1500 meters, 17:02.44 in the 5000 and 10:55.88 in the steeple. She was the New York State champion (10:58.27) and Liberty League runner-up (10:55.88) in the 3000 steeple chase before competing in the NCAA Championship Meet in the 5000 meters, finishing 20th in Division III (18:41.56). It was her second straight nationals appearance, having competed in the steeple in 2015 (11:05.71). Also a standout in cross country, Dery was captain of this year's team, which earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship Meet for the second straight season. She ran the 6K course in 22:18.0 and the team finished 18th in the nation.

The Engineers begin the season on Saturday at Utica College. Rensselaer returns to Utica on January 14 before traveling to Ithaca College on January 21.

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is America's oldest technological research university. For nearly two centuries, the Institute has been a driving force behind breakthroughs in engineering and science in virtually every arena-from transportation and infrastructure to business, medicine, outer space, and cyberspace.

As it approaches its bicentennial anniversary, the Institute continues to define The New Polytechnic, a new paradigm for teaching, learning, and research that uses advanced technologies to enable fresh collaborations across disciplines, sectors, and regions, in order to answer the global challenges of our day.