STANDISH, ME - Saint Joseph's cross country Head Coach Ray Putnam has released his team awards for the 2012 season. Most Valuable, Most Improved and Rookie of the Year honors have been given to deserving individuals from both the men's and women's teams.

On the women's side, Amber Dostie (Standish, Maine) earned Most Valuable honors, Audrey Curry (Perry, Maine) claimed Most Improved accolades and Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) and Lauren Rabideau (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) were named as the Co-Rookies of the Year.

For the men, Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) was selected as the Most Valuable runner, Jeff Merrill (Fitchburg, Mass.) earned Most Improved honors and Andrew Caron (Gardiner, Maine) claimed Rookie of the Year accolades.

DiSalvo proved to be one of the Monks' best runners in recent memory during his sophomore season. He registered five top-20 finishes and notched his first collegiate victory when he toured the SJC course in 29:24 to win the Runnin' Monks Invitational on October 6th. He also topped his previous personal-best by 1:21 with a 26:32 effort in the Rivier University Invitational on September 21st.

Merrill showed solid improvement, both on and off the course, across the board as a sophomore. He finished as the Monks' #3 finisher in three events and topped his personal-best time by 1:03 with a 30:14 performance at Rivier on September 21st.

Caron, one of four contributing freshmen runners on the 2012 men's squad, set himself apart with tremendous growth during the course of the season. He posted a pair of top-20 finishes and was the team's #2 runner with a 32:09 effort in the ECAC Championship on November 3rd. Much of the men's success in 2013 will depend on the rising-sophomore's efforts and Caron will be expected to lead the 2015 class this fall.