Albertus Magnus College Director of Athletics Michael Spinner has announced a reorganization for the college's Men's and Women's Cross Country programs. Beginning with the 2011 Cross Country season, the programs' coaching positions will be combined. Longtime Hamden High School Head Coach John Sudusky has been named Head Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach at Albertus Magnus College, while Dan Sgrigneri - hired in December to serve as the Head Men's Cross Country Coach at Albertus Magnus - will serve as the Assistant Coach for both programs.
"This is a great move for the Albertus Magnus College Cross Country programs, and will put our programs in line with the norm for college athletics, where one head coach serves both programs. After much conversation within the department when the Head Women's Cross Country Coach position opened this spring, we realized that not only was the timing perfect to combine the coaching positions, but we also had the right people in place to make this reorganization a reality,” said Spinner.
“ John Sudusky brings to the programs a wealth of experience running one of the most successful track programs in the state, while Dan Sgrigneri will continue the excellent work he started as Head Men's Cross Country Coach, but now he will serve both programs with his tremendous talents. We also have two coaches who have worked together professionally for many years, and have a shared vision for the development of our programs. This is a win-win for the Athletic Department at Albertus Magnus and for the student-athletes who will compete for our Cross Country programs." added Spinner.
Sudusky, a Milford resident, who teaches for the Hamden Public Schools, began his coaching career in 1999 as an Assistant Coach at Amity Regional High School, before moving to Hamden High School in 2004 as an Assistant. Beginning with the 2008 season, Sudusky became the Head Boys' Indoor and Outdoor Coach at Hamden High School, and led both programs to incredible success, earning the 2009 New Haven Register Indoor Coach of the Year award and leading Hamden's indoor team to the 2010 Class LL State Championship, the 2010 New England Championship in the 4x800m Relay and the 2010 National Championship in the Medley Relay. In Outdoor Track, Sudusky repeated the New England Championship in 4x800m and led his team to a National Championship in that event.
Sudusky is a 1995 graduate at the University of Connecticut and holds a Master’s Degree from Southern Connecticut State University in Health Education.
Sgrigneri, also a teacher in the Hamden Public Schools, is an avid runner with tremendous experience training for long-distance races, and is still a competitive distance runner. Sgrigneri, a North Haven resident, is 2002 graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, where he also earned a Master’s Degree in Science Education in 2002.
The Albertus Magnus Men's and Women's Cross Country teams are coming off of a successful 2010 season where the women's team finished in eighth place at the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships, while the men's team finished in tenth place.
