Aug. 18, 2003

FAIRFIELD, CT (August 18, 2003) - Sacred Heart University men and women's cross country head coach Christian Morrison announced his captains for the upcoming 2003 season this afternoon. The women will have four captains for the coming year in seniors Katherine Wrinkle (Medford, NY), Christina Mendoza (Union City, NJ), Emily Marks (New Milford, CT) and Suzanne Neglia (Andover, NJ). Seniors Matthew Uzenski (Oceanside, NY) and Andrew Renna (Danbury, CT) will captain the Pioneer men's squad for the second-straight year.

Wrinkle heads into her senior season coming off an outstanding 2002 campaign. Wrinkle was one of the Northeast Conference's dominant runners this past season, finishing the year with six top-five finishes in nine races, including first place at the Fairfield Invitational. She took runner-up honors at the NEC Championships in October, breaking the school record with a time of 18:02.4 to earn all-NEC honors for the third straight year. Moving on to the postseason, she took home All-ECAC honors with a fourth-place showing in leading the women to their best-ever finish at the ECAC race. She finished 47th at the NCAA regional meet, a significant improvement from her 105th place showing as a sophomore. In addition, Wrinkle was honored for her outstanding work in the classroom, earning Northeast Conference Fall Scholar Athlete of the Year honors for women's cross-country.

Mendoza turned in the best performance of her collegiate career at last season's ECAC race, finishing 19th in a time of 19:28.0. She was the second-highest finisher from the Northeast Conference runners in the race, behind only Wrinkle, while beating out four All-NEC runners on the day. On the season she recorded two top-10 and five top-15 performances. She also picked up NEC Women's Cross Country Athlete-of-the-Week honors for her second place finish at last season's CTC Championship.

Neglia turned in five top-25 finishes in 2002, highlighted by a 10th place finish at the Collegiate Track Conference Championships. Neglia finished 10th in a time of 20:27.7 in a race the Pioneer women dominated, taking six of the top-15 spots. She turned in her best time of the season, 19:24.1, at the NEC meet. Marks posted two top-25 performances last season, finishing 25th at the Bantam Invitational and 22nd at the Fairfield Invitational.

Uzenski heads into 2003 after making major strides for the men's program a year ago. Uzenski became the first Pioneer runner to earn All-ECAC honors for the men's program after a 25th-place finish. His outstanding performance helped the men's team to their best-ever finish at the race. On the year, he recorded four top-25 finishes and two top-five placings. He also became the first Sacred Heart male runner to win a race when he took individual honors at the Fairfield Invitational and then lowered the school record by 18 seconds when he finished 75th at the New England Championships in a time of 25:47. Uzenski went on to place 20th at the NEC Championships, the best ever showing for a Sacred Heart competitor. He capped his season by earning NEC Fall Scholar Athlete of the Year honors for men's cross country, give the Pioneers a clean sweep in the sport.

Renna finished with two top-25 finishes to his credit last season including a 15th-place finish at the Fairfield Invitational. He recorded a career-best time of 27:33 at this year's New England race. Renna finished right behind Uzenski in four races last season.

Both Pioneer teams will open the 2003 season on Saturday, September 6th, at the Stony Brook Seawolves Invitational.

XXXXXXXXXXX