EDISON, NJ (Aug. 28, 2024) – The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee announced its official roster for the 2024 U.S. Paralympic Team, and four Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference student-athletes are among the 225 athletes who will represent Team USA in Paris.
 
The four athletes represent three MAAC institutions, competing in three sports. The Para Athletes include Annie Carey of Mount St. Mary’s University (track & field), Fairfield University’s Colleen Young (swimming) and Matthew Torres (swimming), and Saige Harper of Sacred Heart University (rowing).
 
Of the 45 total conferences represented on the 2024 U.S. Paralympic Team, the MAAC ranks second with its four athletes, only trailing The ACC who has six athletes across five sports.
 
A rising sophomore for the Mount St. Mary's track & field team, Carey will compete in both track and field events which include the 100m and 200m dashes in track and the long jump in field. No stranger to the international stage, Carey won a bronze medal at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Chile as a long jumper. She holds world records for the long jump, resetting the record three times in various meets over the years. In her first season as a Mountaineer, she participated in nine meets including the MAAC Outdoor Championship, earning a season best long jump of 4.79m (15 ' 8.75").
 
The Fairfield pair of Torres and Young will both challenge for more medals this year after winning medals in previous Paralympic Games. Torres will compete in the 100m backstroke, the 400m free, the 100m free, and the 50m free. Young’s three events are the 100m breaststroke, the 100m free, and the 200 IM. In previous Paralympic Games, Young collected a silver (200m IM) and a bronze (100m breast) at the Tokyo games and a bronze at the Rio de Janeiro games. Torres earned his first Paralympic medal at the Tokyo games, picking up a bronze medal in the 400m free. Young also won 12 World Championship medals over her career (3 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze) while Torres has two silver medals from World Championship competition. The pair also made their mark while swimming for the Stags, each competing at various championship events. Young won a pair of MAAC Championships in the 200y breaststroke (2018 and 2019) and was part of three 400 medley relay teams that capture the gold at the 2018, 2019, and 2020 MAAC Championships. Torres participated in practically every distance of the freestyle during his career and also contributed to the team cause with his performances in the backstroke.
 
Harper will make her fourth appearance with the USRowing Paralympic National Team and will represent the United States at the 2024 Paralympic Games with the PR3 mixed double sculls crew. She won silver in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain at the 2023 World Championships and gold in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain at the 2023 Para Rowing Regatta to Paris. Harper also finished fifth in the PR3 mixed four with coxswain at the 2022 World Championships.

The American collegiate athletics system plays an important role in Team USA’s success on the Paralympic stage. This summer in Paris, more than 50% of U.S. Paralympians will have competed collegiately as part of their journey to Team USA. In total, 90 schools will have one or more U.S. Paralympians competing in Paris.
 
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games kick off Wednesday, August 28 and run through Sunday, Sept. 8. During this time, the city of Paris will welcome more than 4,400 Paralympians from around the world to compete in 22 different sports. In total, there will be 549 medal events with Paralympic competition spanning 17 different venues. Tune-in to Peacock to watch the Opening Ceremony on August 28.
 
All collegiate data of the 2024 U.S. Paralympic Team was collected by the USOPC collegiate partnerships department. Team USA’s collegiate footprint is defined by athletes who have or will represent their college in competition. This includes athletes who have finished their collegiate careers, those currently competing and incomers who have signed National Letters of Intent. Athletes who competed in NCAA intercollegiate athletics, non-NCAA varsity programs, junior college programs and club sports are included in the USOPC’s collegiate data collection. More information about the collegiate composition of the 2024 U.S. Paralympic Team can be found at USOPC.org/2024college.
 
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 44th year of competition during the 2024-25 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist College, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
 
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