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.