Marascia Nears the Finish Line
It seems like just yesterday that Maria Marascia was starring on the Huntington High School girls' basketball and track teams, but three years have passed since she last wore a Blue Devil uniform.
Marascia is completing her junior year at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where she has been competing in sprints, hurdles and relays for the Minutemen's track and field team and double majoring in finance and marketing.
The past three years "have gone really well," the Huntington alum said during a recent interview. "I am actually sad how fast college has been going since I feel like I was a freshman yesterday."
A member of Huntington's Class of 2009, Marascia has been doing well academically, holding down a 3.3 grade point average. She completed an internship with the WNBA Connecticut Sun last summer and has another one lined up with the New York Islanders for the coming summer, "which I am really excited about because I will be interning in the marketing, community relations and sponsorship segments," she said.
The 5'2 Marascia was a four-time All-League honoree in high school with the Blue Devils girls' track and field team. She was All-Division in 2008 and 2009 and at the time of her graduation held the school record in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:06.8. She also earned four varsity letters in both volleyball and basketball, playing a key role on the latter when Huntington won the Suffolk championship.
The former Blue Devil star said the move from high school athletics to rugged NCAA Division I "is definitely a big step because the girls get a lot faster and stronger." She enjoys the outdoor spring track season much more than the indoor winter season, "because I never did indoor in high school," Marascia said. Of course, her winters were spent playing basketball.
"Right now I am hoping to get a job with a professional sports team or facility when I graduate, but it is really hard to break into this," Marascia said. "I am very happy I went to UMass. The school has opened so many doors for me. We have great professors that are willing to help you all the time and the students here are great, too."