St. Lawrence University senior cross country captain Ariel Beccia has been named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III Athlete of the Week for her performance in winning the Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational at SLU on Saturday.

Beccia becomes the first USTFCCCA national athlete of the week in program history. She is from Rutland, MA and a graduate of Wachusett Regional High School where she was a three-time MVP in cross country and captain of cross country and indoor and outdoor track.

She has won three of four starts this season and is unbeaten in Division III only competition. She has led the Saints in every race and was among the top ten Division III finishers at the primarily Division I Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh, finishing behind runners from number one ranked Johns Hopkins and fifth ranked Williams.

Her win at Plattsburgh in the opening race of the season was the first collegiate championship of her career. She also won the Saratoga Invitational and this past weekend's Hoffmann event.