SAINT WOMEN’S PROGRAM RANKED 10TH NATIONALLY BY USTFCCCA

                May 29: St. Lawrence University’s women’s cross country and track and field programs finished the 2008-09 season ranked tenth nationally in the first Deb Vercauteren Program of the Year compilation.

                The Deb Vercauteren Program of the Year Award will be awarded annually to the top Division III cross country and track and field programs, based on finishes in the NCAA Championships in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field. In order to be eligible, teams must qualify for all three championships and the scoring for the award will be based on the lowest score among eligible teams, adding the finishes in the three national competitions.

                Wartburg College, which won both the indoor and outdoor championships and was fourth in cross country, was the first winner of the award with a total of six points. St. Lawrence finished with 63.5 points based on a 21st place finish in cross country, a tie for 16th in indoor track and a tie for 24th in outdoor track. SLU was just .5 behind ninth place Messiah.

                MIT was the top eastern team in the top 20 in sixth place while other New York State schools included Cortland in 15th and Ithaca in a tie for 17th.

                Mike Howard is the Saints Director of Cross Country and Track and Field and the head women’s cross country coach while Kate Curran just completed her first year as the Saints’ head women’s track and field coach.

PIRINELLI 2ND IN NCAA SHOT PUT

May 23:St. Lawrence University junior Alyssa Pirinelli earned All-America status for the seventh time in her career Saturday after finishing in second place in the women's shot put at the NCAA Division III championship meet.

Pirinelli threw 14.40 meters (47-3) on her first throw of the competition and it stood as the second best throw in the meet. Monique Riddick of Montclair State, the top seed in the event going into the meet, threw 15.77 meters (51-9) on her first throw of the competition and that was the eventual winning throw and the best in Division III this season. Riddick won both the indoor and outdoor NCAA titles.

Pirinelli becomes the first athlete in Saint women’s track history to earn All America honors in two events in both the indoor and outdoor championships in the same year. She was All America in the weight throw with a seventh place finish and was third in the shot indoors in match and was sixth in the hammer on Thursday to go with Saturday’s second place finish in the shot.

PIRINELLI IS ALL AMERICA IN HAMMER

May 21: St. Lawrence University junior Alyssa Pirinelli added an All America finish in the hammer throw to her already impressive list of All America finishes as she was sixth in the hammer in the 2009 NCAA Division III Championships on Thursday.

        Pirineilli threw 51.36 meters (168-6) on her final throw of the trials to advance to the finals and it stood up as the sixth best throw in the competitition. Ellie Sitek of , Wisconsin Oshkosh threw 53.51 meters to win the event. It was Pirinelli’s sixth career All America finish and she is now a three event All America with four All America finishes in the shot and one each in the weight and hammer throws.

        Pirinelli will also compete in the shot put on Saturday.

KUENZEL IS NAMED REGION’S TOP ASSISTANT COACH

May 20: St. Lawrence University track and field throws coach Matt Kuenzel has been named the Atlantic Region Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the second straight year by the USTFCCCA.

In his third year as an assistant coach at St. Lawrence, Kuenzel has guided St. Lawrence student-athletes to outstanding performances in the throwing events during the 2009 indoor and outdoor track & field seasons.

Kuenzel’s student-athletes collected 36 points in the throwing events at the indoor Liberty League Championships, and Alyssa Pirinelli earned All-American honors in both indoor throwing events. Outdoors, Kuenzel’s student-athletes earned a total of 59 points at the Liberty League Championships to lead St. Lawrence to a second-place team finish.