women's cross country

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.

Sept. 27: The St. Lawrence University women's cross country team had three top-10 finishers on Saturday at the 17th Annual Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational. The trio, which included sophomore Wendy Pavlus, junior Johannah Ludington and rookie Jenna Hulton, led the Saints to a third place finish overall in their home meet, which also served as this year's Atlantic Pre-Regional.

Pavlus, who finished in 8th place last year, was the top collegiate finisher on Saturday as she earned 2nd place overall out of 189 runners. The Tupper Lake, NY native ran the 6k course in a time of 22:01 and finished behind the women's champion from the Ottawa Lions Club, Kelly Young (21:55).

Ludington and Hulton also logged top-ten finishes, with Ludington landing in 8th place overall behind a time of 22:34 while Hulton was two spots back in 10th (22:44).

First year student Cassie DiMarino was next for St. Lawrence in 34th place with a time of 24:07 and junior Hillary St. John followed two spots back in 36th place (24:08). First year student Jenny Kaagan (69th, 24:59) and senior co-captain Lyndsay Bisaccio (79th, 25:18) rounded out the host team's top-seven scoring.

Also competing for the Saints on Saturday were rookie Melanie Solandt (87th, 25:32), sophomore Katie Loignon (89th, 25:35), junior Alexis Nuffer (94th, 25:39), sophomore Liz Atwood (107th, 26:05), rookie McKayla Nuffer (108th, 26:08), senior Allison Gulka (138th, 27:15) and first year student Kyla Sener (165th, 29:09).

Sept. 9: St. Lawrence University junior Johannah Ludington and sophomore Wendy Pavlus shared first place honors at the 2008 North Country Invitational hosted by Clarkson University on Tuesday evening. The Saints' duo both ran the 4km course in a time of 16:29 to tie for the win in the individual race.

St. Lawrence had an impressive showing in the event, claiming the top 11 places. It was the second consecutive victory for Pavlus, while it was Ludington's first collegiate victory.

First year students Cassie DiMarino and Melanie Solandt led four consecutive first year student finishers for the Saints in a tie for third place behind times of 16:34. Jenny Kaagan was five seconds back in fifth place (16:39) while Jenna Hulton was in sixth overall (16:45).

Junior Hillary St. John (7th, 17:09), senior Lyndsay Bisaccio (8th, 17:10), sophomore Elizabeth Atwood (9th, 17:14) and rookie Kat Long (10th, 17:14) rounded out the tournament's top-10. Other competitors for the Scarlet and Brown in the North Country Invitational included juniors Chelsea Nuffer (11th, 17:21) and Alexis Nuffer (13th, 17:39), sophomore Katie Loignon (17th, 17:49) and first year students McKayla Nuffer (16th, 17:49) and Kyla Sener (24th, 19:32).

The Saints' women's cross country squad will not race again until Saturday, September 27 when they host the 2008 Hoffmann Invitational. The annual race is set to begin at 11:00am.

Aug. 30: The St. Lawrence University women's cross country team picked up a solid victory over North Country rival Plattsburgh State on Saturday afternoon to kick off the 2008 season. Sophomore Wendy Pavlus won the race in impressive fashion, while three rookies landed in the team's top-seven finishers.

Pavlus, the reigning Liberty League Rookie of the Year, finished a full 13 seconds ahead of teammate junior Johannah Ludington to earn the win with a time of 18:48.9. Ludington was 2nd overall (19:02.4), while first year students Jenna Hulton (19:19.2) and Cassie DiMarino (19:50.1) and junior Hillary St. John (20:07.9) finished in spots four through six.

Rookie Jenny Kaagan was solid in her first collegiate race as well, clocking in at 20:29.6 for 7th place overall while senior co-captain Lyndsay Bisaccio finished in 12th position with a time of 21:20.8 to complete the team's scoring 23 points ahead of the Cardinals.

Sophomore Katie Loignon finished in 14th place with a time of 21:24.8 while junior Alexis Nuffer was two spots behind in 16th (21:41.7). Other participants for St. Lawrence included sophomore Elizabeth Atwood (17th, 21:57.0), rookie McKayla Nuffer (18th, 21:58.4) and senior Allison Gulka (22nd, 22:45.3).

"Overall I think is a very successful day for our team as we earned a solid victory against a very talented Plattsburgh State squad," said Saints' head coach Mike Howard. "We received solid performances from both our veterans and our newcomers which makes this win very exciting."