University of New Haven senior Shannon Gagne was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II National Women's Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season.

The Lyman Hall graduate also earned the award after an impressive indoor season, becoming the third Division II student-athlete to be named the indoor and outdoor national track athlete of the year.


The Meriden native recently added two more championship titles to her historic senior season by claiming the 200 and 400 meter dashes at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She also earned points in the long jump with a fifth place finish. Her three performances earned the Chargers a ninth place finish at the national championship meet in Turlock, Calif.

Earlier this year, she won three national titles at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships meet and became just the third student-athlete in Division II history to win five national titles across both the indoor and outdoor season.

Gagne has earned several accolades throughout the 2010-11 indoor and outdoor seasons. The many honors include East Region Athlete of the Year, Northeast-10 Conference Track Athlete of the Year in both indoor and outdoor seasons.

She was named one-of-three finalist for the Northeast-10 Conference Women of the Year Award and earned Capital One Academic All-District honors from CoSIDA.

The Southern Connecticut men’s cross country team was selected fourth in the Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. New Haven was selected eighth.

1. UMass Lowell (7) — 188

2. Stonehill (7) — 185

3. American International (1) — 157

4. So. Connecticut — 154

5. Adelphi — 145

6. Bentley — 135

7. Saint Rose — 122

8. New Haven — 102

9. Assumption — 82

10. Le Moyne — 80

11. Saint Michael’s — 59

12. Saint Anselm — 56

13. Merrimack — 51

14. Southern New Hampshire — 35

15. Pace — 24

(First-place votes in parentheses)

WOMEN
The Southern Connectiut women’s cross country team was picked to finish third in the Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. New Haven was picked eighth,

1. Stonehill (14) — 224

2. UMass Lowell (1) — 206

T3. Adelphi — 190

T3. So. Connecticut (1) — 190

5. Saint Rose — 159

6. Bentley — 147

7. American International — 128

8. New Haven — 127

9. Merrimack — 125

10. Le Moyne — 115

11. Saint Michael’s — 78

12. So. New Hampshire — 63

13. Pace — 59

14. Saint Anselm — 57

(First-place votes in parentheses)

New Haven is favored to three-peat as Northeast-10 Conference regular season champions as voted upon by the conference's head coaches.

The Chargers received 14 first-place votes and a total of 224 points in this year's preseason coaches' poll.

New Haven (25-6, 15-0 NE-10) won its second straight Northeast-10 regular season title last year after finishing 15-0 in conference play.

In 2008, the Chargers first year in the conference, they finished 14-0 to claim the teams first-ever title.

Adelphi University (27-10, 14-1 NE-10) received one first-place vote and had 202 points and is predicted to finish second this year just ahead of Bentley (18-13, 11-4 NE-10). The Falcons received the final first-place vote and 192 points.

Southern Connecticut (26-10, 9-6 NE-10) with 119 points was selected ninth.


2010 Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. New Haven (14) - 224

2. Adelphi (1) - 202

3. Bentley (1) - 192

4. UMass Lowell - 180

5. American Int'l - 154

6. Pace - 148

7. Merrimack - 142

8. Le Moyne - 126

9. So. Connecticut - 119

10. Stonehill - 117

11. Saint Rose - 91

12. Franklin Pierce - 66

13. So. New Hampshire - 63

14. Saint Michael's - 44

15. Assumption - 30

16. Saint Anselm - 22() First Place Votes