CANTON — The transition from high school to college is an arduous one for many incoming freshmen, but St. Lawrence University sophomore Alyssa Pirinelli has impressed with both her ability from the throwing circle as a member of the Saints' track and field team and her youthful leadership.

"A lot of our first-year kids go through that normal adjustment period," SLU head coach Mike Howard said. "And because of being away from home for the first time, their performances tend to be a little less consistent. Alyssa was one of the rarer ones who came in and made big improvements right away. And beyond that, and probably more importantly, she's been a consistent force for us for two years now."

Pirinelli embraced the new beginnings that campus life offered, and began her transition by doing something she had never done before.

"I actually never went by the nickname 'Aly' in high school or before that," Pirinelli said. "Coming here was like I could start over. I didn't change my name, I just changed how people called me, and it was like I was starting over as a new person."

With her fresh start, she was able to hold onto at least one thing from high school. Mainly, this former state champion in the shot put was able to remain at the top of her game.

Pirinelli's advanced comfort level has also allowed her coach to depend on her leadership — a rarity for an athlete so young.

"This year at indoors for the women we had three All-Americans, the most All-Americans we've ever had in one year," Howard said.

The Saints sent Pirinelli, along with freshmen Wendy Pavlus and Jessica Venezia, to the NCAA indoor championships, making Pirinelli the veteran of the group.

"On that trip Aly was really the leader; had she been a little uptight herself and a bucket of nerves herself, certainly that would have rubbed off on the other two. But (her) confidence and the calmness of it, she was really positive with the other two girls and she really made it a great experience for them."

Pirinelli garnered an astounding 13 nods as the Liberty League Field Performer of the Week during the recent indoor and outdoor seasons, closing out league play by receiving the award in five straight weeks.

Her sights, however, remain set upon one thing: placing in national competition.

"I might be winning — I don't want to say they're little meets because they obviously matter — but I'm winning Liberty Leagues," Pirinelli said. "But just look how much I'm winning them by. It's not like I have a lot of competition at Liberty Leagues and even at states I won shot by nearly a meter."

Though already qualified for the NCAA championships for shot put as the third-ranked Division III thrower, she uses the pair of names ahead of hers as motivation.

"I haven't hit my potential yet, is what people have been telling me," Pirinelli said. "So I want to see if I can hit my potential by the time I'm done here."

Pirinelli is the youngest of four children. She has three brothers, the youngest of which is 15 years her senior.

"I never actually saw them when I was growing up," Pirinelli said. "I remember when I was 2 or 3, right after we moved into the house (in North Tonawanda) all four of us were in one same spot. That was the first time it happened since I was born and it hasn't happened since."

Pirinelli would like to get the family back together in two years when she's due to graduate with a degree in chemistry. For now though, she'd be happy enough to live through finals week and turn her attention to the ECAC meet on Thursday and Friday at Springfield, Mass.