University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
NCAA Championships
Prizzi of Track & Field Finishes 19th Overall in the 3K Steeplechase Semis at NCAA Championships
6/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
EUGENE, Ore. – Senior John Prizzi (Wyckoff, N.J.) of the University of New Hampshire placed 10th in heat one and 19th overall in the 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. ending his UNH career.
At historic Hayward Field, on the campus of the University of Oregon, Prizzi was just short of qualifying for the finals against the top college runners in the country. A time of 8 minutes, 55.66 seconds placed him five spots outside of qualification in his heat as the top five runners advance automatically.
The finish gives Prizzi two top-20 finishes in consecutive years. In last year's NCAA Championships, the New Jersey product placed eighth overall in the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals with a time of 8:44.02. This year, he qualified at the NCAA East Region Preliminaries (May 29) on an 11th place finish, breaking the tape in 8:42.24.
Originally a track & field walk-on, Prizzi closes out his New Hampshire career as the school record holder in the indoor 3,000-meter race (8:02.40), the indoor distance medley relay (9:41.45) and the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase (8:42.20). This season he collected championships at the America East Championships (May 2) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, his third consecutive, and at the New England Championships (May 9) a part of the school and meet record setting 4x800-meter relay team. He finishes his four years with six total championships and five runner-up finishes.
The senior had the same success in the classroom, as he earned Chi Alpha Sigma Honor society induction, was named to the America East All-Academic team and received CoSIDA Acadmic All-District honors throughout this outdoor season epitomizing the term student-athlete.
Tomorrow (June 11) on the women's side, Elinor Purrier (Montgomery, Vt.) and Laura Rose Donegan (Melbourne, Australia) both will compete in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase semifinals with a 7:38 p.m. start.
For the most up-to-date information on the men's track and field team, visit www.UNHWildcats.com.
Players Mentioned
