Liberty League Honors Six Saints with Weekly Awards

Oct. 23: The Liberty League announced its weekly award winners on Monday, and six student-athletes were honored for their athletic accomplishments.

The St. Lawrence cross country runners swept the weekly Performer and Rookie of the Week honors on both the men's and women's sides. Sam Rakoc and Amy Cymerman were Performers of the Week, while Spencer Patterson and Ella Martin were Rookies of the Week.

Rakoc earned Performer of the Week honors for the fourth time this season after becoming the fourth consecutive Saints runner to win the NYSCTC individual title. The Swampscott, MA native captured the state crown with a time of 25:44.6, a 10-second margin over the second place finisher in the 143-runner field.

Patterson earned the Rookie of the Week award for the second time in three weeks, as he was the top first-year runner at the NYSCTC Championships. The Saratoga Springs, NY native was the second St. Lawrence runner across the line with a sixth place overall finish in 26:10.6.

Cymerman earned her first Performer of the Week honors for the 2012 season after posting a career-best second place finish in the women's state championship race. The Pittsford, NY native ran in 22:39.9, helping the Saints to a fifth consecutive team title with a record-tying low score.

Martin was also key to the Saints' victory this weekend, finishing third overall in a field of 141 runners. The Woods Hole, MA native ran in 22:49.5 to collect her fourth top-10 finish in five collegiate races.

Junior Andrea Strauss and first-year Ryan Grant of the women's and men's soccer teams also earned weekly honors from the Liberty League.

Strauss earned Defensive Performer of the Week for her play in goal against Oswego State and RIT. The Wilmette, IL native combined for 20 saves over the two games to anchor the Saints' defense and pick up a 1-0 win against the Lakers.

Meanwhile, Grant assisted on Alex Laird's game-winning goal that capped a dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 victory over RIT on Saturday. Grant's assist helped seal a crucial victory in the conference standings, despite the Saints having faced a 2-0 deficit with only 6:45 remaining in regulation.

Three St. Lawrence student-athletes were named to their respective sports' Honor Roll by the Liberty League, including Laird for men's soccer, first-year student Lexi Brown for volleyball and sophomore quarterback Danny Metzgar for football.

The women's hockey team is back in action tonight as they visit nationally-ranked No. 2 Cornell University in Ithaca, NY at 7:00pm. Meanwhile, the St. Lawrence swimming and diving team get its 2012-13 season underway this weekend with home events against Skidmore and Union on Friday and Saturday. The women's hockey team returns to Appleton Arena to start ECAC Hockey play this weekend with RPI and Union, while men's soccer hosts Clarkson in its 2012 regular season finale on Saturday at 1:00pm.