Completed Event: Men's Cross Country versus Friar Invitational on September 5, 2025 ,
Men's Cross Country
vs Friar Invitational
Final
Providence College Athletics
Photo by: Brian Foley for Foley-Photograph
Marcelo Rocha Named BIG EAST Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership Award Winner
8/17/2023 2:01:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Men's Track and Field
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The BIG EAST announced today, Aug. 17, men's cross country and track star Marcelo Rocha as a Michael Tranghese Postgraduate Leadership Award recipient, as selected by the BIG EAST Conference Academic Affairs Committee.
The awards are given to one male and one female student-athlete from a BIG EAST-sponsored sport who have been admitted to a degree-granting or professional program for the following academic year and who have demonstrated leadership through excellence in academic credentials, athletic performance, and depth of commitment to service within the institution or the community.
Rocha is the first student-athlete from Providence to be awarded the honor and will receive a $5,000 scholarship, which may be applied to postgraduate study. The award is named for Michael Tranghese, the BIG EAST's first full-time employee who served as commissioner of the conference from 1990 to 2009 and embodied leadership and dedication from the league's inception.
In May 2023, Rocha graduated with a 3.91 GPA having earned a Master of Business Administration in sport management. Prior to his graduate studies, Rocha earned his Bachelor of Science degree in environmental biology with a 3.98 GPA. Rocha is a three-time recipient of the BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award. He is a six-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team selection. In 2021, Rocha was awarded the Providence College Male Athlete of the Year for individual sports. Rocha is also heavily involved in his community having participated in Davinci Center Civic and Community Adopt-A-Family, Thanksgiving Turkey Drive and multiple 5K races.
His athletic accomplishments include finishing sixth at the 2022 BIG EAST Cross Country Championship and fifth at the NCAA Northeast Regional in 2022. Rocha finished 73rd at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships, after earning an individual at-large selection. During the indoor track season, Rocha placed third in the 5,000 meters at the BIG EAST Championship and won the 5,000 meters at the IC4A Indoor Championship. Over the course of his outdoor track season, Rocha broke his own facility record at the Friar Invitational in the 5,000 meters, won the Penn Relays 10,000 meters, and competed in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track Championship.
For more information on Providence College men's and women's track and field teams, follow @FriarsXCTrack on Twitter and Instagram.
-GO FRIARS!-
The awards are given to one male and one female student-athlete from a BIG EAST-sponsored sport who have been admitted to a degree-granting or professional program for the following academic year and who have demonstrated leadership through excellence in academic credentials, athletic performance, and depth of commitment to service within the institution or the community.
Rocha is the first student-athlete from Providence to be awarded the honor and will receive a $5,000 scholarship, which may be applied to postgraduate study. The award is named for Michael Tranghese, the BIG EAST's first full-time employee who served as commissioner of the conference from 1990 to 2009 and embodied leadership and dedication from the league's inception.
In May 2023, Rocha graduated with a 3.91 GPA having earned a Master of Business Administration in sport management. Prior to his graduate studies, Rocha earned his Bachelor of Science degree in environmental biology with a 3.98 GPA. Rocha is a three-time recipient of the BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award. He is a six-time BIG EAST All-Academic Team selection. In 2021, Rocha was awarded the Providence College Male Athlete of the Year for individual sports. Rocha is also heavily involved in his community having participated in Davinci Center Civic and Community Adopt-A-Family, Thanksgiving Turkey Drive and multiple 5K races.
His athletic accomplishments include finishing sixth at the 2022 BIG EAST Cross Country Championship and fifth at the NCAA Northeast Regional in 2022. Rocha finished 73rd at the 2022 NCAA Cross Country Championships, after earning an individual at-large selection. During the indoor track season, Rocha placed third in the 5,000 meters at the BIG EAST Championship and won the 5,000 meters at the IC4A Indoor Championship. Over the course of his outdoor track season, Rocha broke his own facility record at the Friar Invitational in the 5,000 meters, won the Penn Relays 10,000 meters, and competed in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Track Championship.
For more information on Providence College men's and women's track and field teams, follow @FriarsXCTrack on Twitter and Instagram.
-GO FRIARS!-
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