Vincent Biunno caps rookie season with six all-region awards

RINDGE, N.H. (May 24, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's and women's outdoor track & field teams capped a tremendous inaugural season recently as seven student-athletes garnered nine United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)  Outdoor All-Region awards. The men's group earned eight honors, while the women's team picked up an honoree.

All-region awards are presented to student-athletes who rank among the top-five in their respective events throughout the outdoor season, or are members of a top-three relay team.
The men's side was led by freshman Vincent Biunno (Montgomery, N.Y.), who racked up three honors in the 4x100 relay, high jump and decathlon. It marked the fourth, fifth and sixth all-region awards for Biunno during his rookie season as he also picked up three honors during the indoor season in the events of the high jump, heptathlon and 60-meter hurdles.

Biunno's three outdoor awards came less than a month after he won the decathlon at the 2013 Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, marking the first individual title in program history.

The other three rookies who ran on the 4x100 relay team and picked up a regional honor include Mike Abrams (Newark, N.J.), Ryan Dionne (Amesbury, Mass.) and Connor Rogowsky (Nashua, N.H.). Sprinters weren't the only Ravens to earn all-region accolades as a pair of distance runners brought home recognition, including junior Antoine Gisore (Concord, N.H.) in the 5000 meters and freshman Colton Ham (Webster, N.H.) in the 3000-meter steeplechase. It was Ham's second all-region award as he also received similar accolades during the cross country season.

Freshman Micaila Olson (Upton, Mass.) was the female competitor to be recognized by the USTFCCCA, as she earned all-region honors in the javelin.

The Franklin Pierce cross country/track & field programs enjoyed a tremendous 2012-13 season, which marked the programs' maiden voyages at the varsity level. Overall, the programs combined to earn 14 USTFCCCA All-Region awards.

For more information on Franklin Pierce cross country/track & field, please visit the respective team pages at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the programs even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce cross country or track & field apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)