PIRINELLI WINS SHOT, HAMMER AT ROCHESTER

Apr. 6: Alyssa Pirinelli won the shot put and hammer competitions to lead St. Lawrence University’s women’s track team in its 2008 outdoor opener at the University of Rochester’s Alumni Invitational on Sunday.

Pirinelli threw 13.29 meters to win the shot and 45.96 meters to win the hammer. She also added a tenth place finish in the discus.

She was named Liberty League Field Athlete of the Week for her performance and Chelsea McKenzie was named Liberty League Rookie of the Week.

Other top finishes for the Saints on Sunday included a second by Holly Irion in the discus with a 34.55 meter throw, a fourth by Carleigh Fedorka in the javelin, a third by Emily Bean in the pole vault and a fifth in the long jump and sixth in the triple jump by Jessica Venezia. Megan Derby finished fourth in the high jump.

Chelsea McKenzie was second in the 800 in 2:22.87 with Elizabeth Atwood fourth and Wendy Pavlus eighth while Pavlus added a fourth in the 1500. Hillary St. John was fourth, Michelle Laframboise was eighth and Katrina Loignon was ninth in the 5000 and Maia Moyer was ninth in the 100 hurdles. Beth Muller was fifth in the 100 and eighth in the 200 while Alexis Nuffer was sixth in the 800 with Lindsey Taylor seventh and Whitney Koch eighth.

The Saint 4x400 relay team finished second.

SAINTS SWEEP INDOOR AWARDS

St. Lawrence University’s women’s indoor track and field team swept the 2008 Liberty League indoor awards as selected by the league’s coaches.

First Year Wendy Pavlus was named Liberty League co-Track Performer of the Year with Union’s Allie Couzzo while sophomore Alyssa Pirinelli was the Field Performer of the Year for the second straight season and first year Jessica Venezia was named Rookie of the Year.

Pavlus posted a third-place finish in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors with a school record time of 17:16.78. She was the Liberty League and ECAC champion in the 5000 meters and was the NYSCTC champion in both the 5000 and 3000 meters, earning Rookie of the Meet honors for her efforts. Pavlus was a four-time selection as Liberty League Track Performer of the Week and was also named Rookie of the Week four times.

A seven-time selection as Liberty League Field Performer of the Week, Pirinelli was the Liberty League champion in both the shot put and the weight throw, setting a Liberty League record in the weight with a toss of 15.61 meters. She was the NYSCTC and ECAC champion in the shot put and earned All-America honors for the second straight year with a seventh-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA championships.

Venezia earned All-America honors with a sixth place finish in the triple jump at the NCAA championships. She was second in both the long and triple jumps in the Liberty League championships, third in the NYSCTC multi-event, fourth in the NYSCTC long jump, fifth in the triple and fourth in the ECAC triple jump. She was named Liberty League Rookie of the Week five times this season and once earned Field Performer of the Week honors.

Mike Howard coached the St. Lawrence women's track and field team to the Liberty League championship and second in the NYSCTC championships. The Saints place 13th at the NCAA championships, with three individuals earning All-America honors. Howard was named USTFCCCA Regional Women's Coach of the Year and was one of eight finalists for national coach of the year. He is assisted by Melissa DeRan, Matt Kuenzel, Bill Lewis, Deb Lyndaker, John Newman, and Erin Woodward.

CURRAN NAMED HEAD WOMEN’S TRACK COACH

Mar. 24: Kate Curran, a former Penn State cross country and track and field athlete who has been an assistant coach in cross country and track and field at Susquehanna University since 2006 has been named head women’s track and field coach at St. Lawrence University.

Curran joins a Saint track staff which is undergoing a restructuring for the 2008-09 season. Current Saint director of cross country and track and field Mike Howard will retain that position and oversee the two sports. He will become head women’s cross country coach, replacing Deb Lyndaker, who is retiring to spend time with her young family following the conclusion of the 2008 outdoor season. The addition of a head coaching position in women’s track will allow Howard to continue to work with the program while reducing his time commitment somewhat to allow more time for his duties as an associate athletic director.

John Newman, who is head men’s cross country coach, will also become men’s track and field coach, with the Saint men’s and women’s teams continuing to train and compete together as one program.

“I am very pleased that Kate will be joining our coaching staff,” said Howard. “She is an outstanding young coach and she will bring some new ideas to our track and field programs. We anticipate a smooth transition as we alter the structure of the coaching staff for our cross country and track and field programs.”

Curran coaches distance and mid-distance runners along with pole vaulters at Susquehanna. She coached two NCAA qualifiers in the pole vault in the 2006-07 season.

As an undergraduate, she was a member of the Penn State cross country and track and field teams and was varsity cross country captain as a senior. She was a member of the 2004 Big Ten Champion women’s track and field team and earned Penn State and Big Ten Scholar-Athlete Awards and was the recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award in 2005.

In addition to coaching at Susquehanna, she has been Gatorade Sport Camp Hydration Manager since 2003 at the Penn State summer sports camps. She holds a USATF Level 1 Coaching Certification.

Howard will continue as head men’s and women’s outdoor coach this spring with the new coaching structure going into effect with Curran’s arrival on campus in August.

HOWARD NAMED REGIONAL

COACH OF THE YEAR

March 19: St. Lawrence University director of cross country and track and field Mike Howard was named regional coach of the year for women’s track by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Howard was one of eight finalists for the USTFCCCA women’s Coach of the Year honors as the Atlantic Regional women’s Coach of the Year. He led his women’s team to the Liberty League championship, second in the NYSCTC Championships and 11^th in the ECAC championships.

The Saints also had the most NCAA qualifiers in a single year in women’s track and all three Saint qualifiers were All America.