women's cross country News - July, 2009 Archive

May 20: St. Lawrence University women's cross country head coach Mike Howard has announced that Johannah Ludington and Chelsea Nuffer will captain the Saints in the fall of 2009. The senior duo will attempt to lead the Scarlet and Brown back to the NCAA Championship after a 21st place finish in 2008.

Dec. 5: The 2008 season accolades continued to pour in for the St. Lawrence University women's cross country program on Friday, as the Liberty League announced its annual award winners. Sophomore Wendy Pavlus was named the Runner of the Year, while first-year student Jenna Hulton earned Rookie of the Year honors. Finally, head coach Mike Howard was voted the conference's 2008 Coach of the Year.

"This season has truly been a pleasure of mine, as I had the privilege of coaching some wonderful young women who gave everything they had each and every race and practice," said Coach Howard. "I'm proud of what we accomplished this year as a team, but also of what Wendy (Pavlus) and Jenna (Hulton) have earned this season."

Pavlus won six of the nine races she competed in this fall, including the Liberty League Championship, the NYSCTC Championship, and the Atlantic Regional meet. The Tupper Lake, NY native, who was both the Atlantic Regional and NYSCTC Runner of the Year, earned All-American honors with a 20th place finish at NCAA's, crossing the finish line as the top Liberty League competitor.

Hulton made an immediate impact on the Saints' program, as she was second overall at the 2008 Liberty League Championships and was fourth at the NYSCTC Championships. The Aurora, NY native, who was the NYSCTC Rookie of the Year, finished seventh at the NCAA Atlantic Regional meet as the top first-year runner and was in the top-60 at the NCAA Championships.

Nov. 22: St. Lawrence University sophomore Wendy Pavlus, who was named the Atlantic Region's Women's Runner of the Year on Friday, put an exclamation point on her fantastic 2008 season by earning All-America honors at the NCAA Championships on Saturday. The Tupper Lake, NY native's 20th place showing led the Saints to 21st place out of 32 teams.

The women's race began at 12:00pm in mid-20 degree temperatures, heavy frost and light winds. The 6k L.S. Ayres Complex on the campus of Hanover College in Hanover, IN was firm and fairly fast, with the sidelines occupied by a large contingent of St. Lawrence University parents and alumni who were out in full force to support both the men's and women's squads.

Pavlus, who won the Atlantic Regional last weekend at St. Lawrence, finished the race in a time of 21:32, landing in 20th position out of 279 athletes. The All-American honors are the first for Pavlus, who finished 50th in the national championship race last season.

First-year student Jenna Hulton was the second runner for St. Lawrence in 59th place overall with a time of 22:05, while junior Johannah Ludington followed ten spots back in 69th place with a time of 22:10.

Rookie Jenny Kaagan was next for the Scarlet and Brown, as she was clocked in with a time of 23:41. Rounding out the team's line-up on Saturday were junior Hillary St. John (248th, 23:55), senior Lyndsay Bisaccio (255th, 24:04) and sophomore Elizabeth Atwood (258th, 24:09).

Nov. 21: St. Lawrence University sophomore standout Wendy Pavlus and women's cross country head coach Mike Howard will be honored this evening at the 2008 NCAA Championship Awards Banquet, as the pair have been selected the 2008 Atlantic Region Women's Athlete and Coach of the Year, respectively.

The USTFCCCA selects the Division III men's and women's athletes and coaches of the year for eight regions across the country.

Pavlus, who is considered one of the favorites going into Saturday's NCAA Championship race at Hanover College, defeated the elements and a field of 218 runners to win the Atlantic Region title on her home course. The Tupper Lake, NY native added victories in the NYSCTC and Liberty League meets as well. In her rookie season last year, Pavlus finished 50th in the NCAA Championships.

Meanwhile, Howard, in his 20th year of coaching track and cross country at his alma mater, guided the Saints to their first ever NYSCTC title this season. The 17th-ranked Saints qualified for the NCAA Championships as an at-large selection by placing third at the Atlantic Regional. Pavlus and junior Johannah Ludington finished 1-2 at Regionals for St. Lawrence, which won its fifth straight Liberty League championship.

Nov. 16: Thanks to a third place team finish in Saturday's NCAA Atlantic Regional, the St. Lawrence University women's cross country team has earned a bid into the 2008 NCAA Championships to be held next weekend, Saturday, November 22.

"I felt strongly that we had put together a sound resume this season, and that continued with a solid performance yesterday at Regionals," said St. Lawrence head coach Mike Howard. "I'm very proud of this team, but we still feel like we have something to prove next weekend."

In order to be eligible to participate in the national championship, teams and individuals must qualify in their respective NCAA regions by finishing in the top-five as a team or top-seven individually.

Thirty-two teams were selected to participate in both the men's and women's championships. The top two, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 16 teams. Sixteen additional teams were selected at-large. Fifty-six individuals, the first seven athletes from each region who are not a part of a qualifying team, were selected to participate in each championship.

The 2008 NCAA Championship races will be run on Saturday, November 22nd at Hanover College at the L.S. Ayres Complex in Hanover, IN. The men's race will begin at 11:00am eastern time followed by the women's race at 12:00pm eastern time.

Nov. 15: Wendy Pavlus, Johannah Ludington and Jenna Hulton can pack their bags for sure for next weekend's NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championship at Hanover College in Indiana.

And, while they won't be sure until the complete field is announced on Sunday, the Saint trio will probably have company when they head to the Midwest.

Pavlus was the 2008 NCAA Atlantic Regional Individual Champion, Ludington ran an impressive race to finish a strong second and rookie Hulton gave the Saints three in the top ten with a seventh place finish on a wet and muddy 6000 meter Ronald C. Hoffmann Cross Country Course on the St. Lawrence campus Saturday afternoon.

The Saints finished third in the 30-team field, one spot out of a guaranteed berth in next weekend's championship field, but based on the finish of the top three and some impressive results earlier in the season, coach Mike Howard is fairly confident the Saints will be there as a complete team instead of just sending the top ten trio who qualify automatically if the Saints do not make the field as a team.

"I think based on today's performance that the NCAA will recognize that we could run a pretty good race next weekend," said Howard. "It would have taken all the doubt out of it to finish second, but we are delighted with the way things went today."

Nov. 8: St. Lawrence University sophomore Wendy Pavlus won the individual title and the Saint women's cross country team posted an impressive victory in the 2008 New York State Collegiate Track Conference Cross Country Championship at Hamilton College on Saturday. It was the first-ever NYSCTC Cross Country title for the Saint women's program, which also swept the women's awards.

Pavlus ran the five kilometer course in 18:28.4 with junior teammate Johanna Ludington finishing second in 18:29.1 and first year runner Jenna Hulton finished fourth in 19:12.4 as the Saints placed three in the top five to set up the team victory on a sloppy track.

"It was a tough course to run, and I would estimate the times were about a minute slower than they normally might have been," said coach Mike Howard. "We changed our strategy after seeing the men's race, because it was a hard course to make up any ground on if you started conservatively. I thought we ran a very good race under difficult conditions."

Pavlus was named the Runner of the Year, Hulton was the Rookie of the Year and coach Mike Howard earned Coach of the Year honors.

The Saints finished with 35 points with Ithaca second with 52, Hamilton third with 75 and Rochester fourth with 88 in the ten team field.

Hillary St. John was the fourth finisher for the Saints, 13th overall in 19:51.6 and Liz Atwood completed the Saint top five with a 15th place finish in 20:04.3. It was Atwood's best finish of the year.

Oct. 25: St. Lawrence University sophomore Wendy Pavlus won the 2008 Saratoga Invitational on Saturday afternoon with a time of 17:28. The Tupper Lake, NY, native was followed closely by first-year student Jenna Hulton who finished in second place overall out of 267 runners on the 5k course with a time of 17:41. The Saints' duo paced the women's cross country team to the 2008 team title as well.

St. Lawrence closed with a total of 65 points from their top-seven, 24 better than Ithaca College.

"The ladies continue to impress us with their willingness to work hard and their desire to succeed," said St. Lawrence University head coach Mike Howard. "This is the first time we've won this meet in many years and this should set a very good tone for us as we prepare for the post-season."

Pavlus and Hulton were joined in the top-five with junior Johannah Ludington, who was 5th overall behind a time of 17:51. Classmate Hillary St. John was the fourth St. Lawrence finisher in 27th position (18:57), while rookies Cassie DiMarino (32nd, 19:03) and Jenny Kaagan (46th, 19:18) and senior co-captain Lyndsay Bisaccio (69th, 19:38) rounded out the team's top-seven scorers.

Also competing for St. Lawrence on Saturday were first year student Kat Long (74th, 19:42), sophomores Liz Atwood (83rd, 19:54) and Katie Loignon (85th, 19:55), rookie McKayla Nuffer (86th, 19:56) and junior Alexis Nuffer (91st, 20:05).

Oct. 18: Wendy Pavlus was second in a field of 232 runners and the Saint women?s cross country team placed three in the top ten for an impressive third-place finish in the 27-team Interregional Rumble at Oberlin on Saturday.

Pavlus ran the 6-kilometer course in 21:25, trailing only Oberlin sophomore Joanna Johnson, who won the individual title with a time of 21:03. Pavlus held off Grove City?s Kristin Carter at the finish for the second spot in the race.

Case Western won the team championship with 60 points while Depauw was second with 124, the Saints third with 131, Dickinson fourth with 144 and Kenyon fifth with 189 in the 27 team field.

Junior Johannah Luddington finished eighth in 28:48 and first year Jenna Hulton was 10th, the top first-year runner in the race with a time of 21:52. Cassie Dimarino was the fourth Saint finisher in 51st place, running 23:17 while Hillary St. John completed the Saint top five with a 60th place finish in 23:24. Jenny Kaagan was the sixth Saint finisher, 65th overall in 23:38 while Linsday Bissaccio was 76th in 23:41.

The Saints will run at the Saratoga Invitational on Oct. 25.

Oct.4: Sophomore Wendy Pavlus had the fastest 6-kilometer time in Liberty League Championship history as she led an exciting 1-2-3 Saints finish in a field of 74 competitors as the St. Lawrence University women's cross country team earned their seventh consecutive and eighth overall conference title at the 2008 Liberty League Championships, held on the Ronald C. Hoffmann Cross Country Course in Canton, NY on Saturday afternoon.

St. Lawrence, who is currently ranked 16th in the country, finished first in the team standings with 21 points, while Vassar College claimed second place with 51 points and Rensselaer came in third with 58. Union, William Smith, and Clarkson finished fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

Pavlus' time of 22:28 was under the previous record, held by former teammate Elizabeth Ludovici '07, of 22:41. The sophomore, who finished second at last year's meet, is the sixth straight St. Lawrence winner, a new league record for most individual champions, which was previously shared with Rensselaer, who has had five individual titles.

First year Jenna Hulton and junior co-captain Johannah Ludington went stride-for-stride down the stretch with Hulton just edging Ludington for second place honors. Both Saints finished with a final time of 22:42, rounding out the top three spots.

Also finishing in the top ten for the Scarlet and Brown was junior Hillary St. John, who placed sixth (24:01), and rookie Cassie DiMarino, who placed ninth, crossing the finish line at 24:08.