Utica College senior Joe Pruckno earns All-American honors at the NCAA DIII Indoor Track Championships.

Senior hurdler Joe Pruckno (Rome,NY/Rome Free Academy) of the Utica College track & field team earned his second career All-American honor after taking home sixth place in the finals of the men's 60 meter high hurdles at the 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships on Saturday.  Pruckno registered a time of 8.23 in the eight man race hosted by Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. 

"We're all extremely proud of Joe's accomplishments over the course of the last two years and I can't think of anyone more deserving of All-American recognition," said Head Coach Jason Rose. "He's (Pruckno) taken a professional approach since day one and all of his hard work is really paying off.  As a young program, this is the type of accomplishment that we can really build off of."

Pruckno advanced to the Division III indoor finals for the first time in his career after taking home third place (8.21) in the first preliminary race on Friday night.   

Washington University senior Tyler Jackson won the national championship after clocking a time of 7.93.

Pruckno, who is the young program's first and only All-American, was making his second straight appearance at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships.  He missed out on advancing to the finals by just .002 last season, making Saturday's race all the more special. 

The Pioneers open up their outdoor campaign on March 24 when they travel to RPI.