Dix Hills, NY - Five Towns College Athletics has announced Leonora Petrina as the head coach for the Men's and Women's Cross Country teams.
“We are pleased to welcome Leonora and her family to the Five Towns College community.” said Athletic Director, Matt Guercio. “Her vision for student-athlete development, recruitment and all other areas for programmatic success completely aligns with the values of the College. We look forward to how that will translate within our conference and throughout our region.”
Petrina, a native of New Zealand, ran cross country at Stony Brook University. While competing for the Seawolves, she was a 13x All-Conference Team member, 5x All-Regional Team member, and the 2006 Stony Brook Athlete of the Year. Petrina represented New Zealand at the Oceania Cup (2001), World Cross Country Championships (2002-Ireland & 2011-Spain), and the Ekiden Road Relay (2011-Japan). She was a 2016 United States Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and participant, and qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
"It is an honor to be named the Men’s and Women’s Cross Country coach at Five Towns College. The Five Towns athletic department and the whole community have a great passion and excitement to create a competitive and supportive athletic program." stated Petrina. "It is an exciting and unique opportunity to be part of this developing athletic program. I believe with my passion and involvement in the sport of cross country, we can create a strong team. I look forward to the challenge of starting the men’s and women’s cross country program and recruiting athletes that have the passion to succeed in sports and in the classroom."
Petrina earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Stony Brook University. She is currently the varsity girls track coach at Half Hollow Hills West, as well as the varsity assistant field hockey coach.
Five Towns College recently announced the addition of the Men's & Women's Cross Country program for the 2021-22 school year. If you are interested in joining the cross country team, please fill out the Prospective Student-Athlete Form.
