At the annual William Smith Athletics Awards Banquet on April 23, the Heron athletic department honored senior Emily D'Addario and junior Marielle Verni, and announced the renaming of the Cross Country Coach's Award in honor of Head Coach Jack Warner, who retired this fall after 18 years at the helm of the Heron cross country program.

D'Addario was presented with the Sharon Peckham Best '62 Most Valuable Cross Country Award, while Verni received the Jack Warner Cross Country Coach's Award.

A member of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame, Warner's coaching career spanned parts of seven decades. To honor Coach Warner's legacy, the William Smith athletics department led a campaign to raise $10,000 to endow the Cross Country Coach's award in his name.  Through the support of over 75 donors, the award will forever be named the Jack Warner Cross Country Coach's Award. Molly Rider '05, a two-time Cross Country Coach's Award recipient, was inspired by the campaign and ran a half marathon to raise money for the effort.

“Jack was an incredible and caring coach,” Rider said. “He has a huge heart and you felt it every day. He wanted us to be balanced individuals. For that I am eternally grateful. It is the reason I still love to run today.” said Rider.

For the second year in a row, D'Addario received the Sharon Peckham Best '62 Most Valuable Cross Country Award. She ran in 10 races in her senior season, placing in the top three seven times. D'Addario logged a career-best 6-kilometer time of 22:03 at the University of Rochester Yellowjacket Invitational on Sept. 15, finishing 12th out of 360 runners. The very next weekend, she won the Highlander Invitational hosted by Houghton College, and posted a season-best 5k time (18:15). D'Addario led the William Smith cross country team across the finish line in every race she ran.

A two-time All-Liberty League selection and the 2011 Liberty League Cross Country Rookie of the Year, D'Addario recorded a total of nine career victories and set new course records on five different occasions. She earned USTFCCCA All-Atlantic Regional honors in 2011, and became the second Heron to ever run in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship. She was also a three-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree, a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic selection and a member of the 2011 Capital One Academic All-District team.

D'Addario also earned the Winn-Seeley Award for her achievements in service, leadership, athletics and academics.

Verni ran in nine races this fall. She was the second Heron to cross the finish line in every race she ran. She began the year recording a new career-best 5k time of 21:10 to take fifth place at the SUNYIT Invitational, and she only improved from there. At the Oswego Invitational, she lowered her 5k time to 20:12. At the Yellowjacket Invitational the next weekend, she logged a new career-best 6k time of 24:17. She placed sixth at the Cross Country Only Conference Championships with an even better 5k time of 20:02. Verni posted her best finish of the year taking third at the Wells College Invitational. At the Liberty League Championships, she lowered her 6k time to 24:16. In her final meet of the fall, the NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships, Verni posted a new career-best 6k time of 24:11. She has run in 27 meets in her Heron career.

William Smith won the SUNYIT Invitational, the CCOC Championship and the Wells Invitational this year. The Herons also took third at the Oswego Invitational and captured their best finish in 12 years at the ECAC Cross Country Championship, claiming ninth out of 42 teams.