East Providence, Rhode Island, junior on Skyhawks cross country and track & field programs is first in Stonehill history to earn appointment
EASTON, Mass. (January 28, 2022) – Stonehill College junior Reilly Johnston, a member of the men's cross country and track & field programs, has been appointed as a representative on the 2022 NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Management Council of Representatives.
Johnston, who is the first Stonehill student-athlete selected as a national SAAC representative and will also represent the Northeast-10 Conference, is one of 28 members named to the NCAA Division II SAAC at the recent NCAA Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The committee includes representatives from each of the 23 Division II multisport voting conferences, one representative of Division II independent institutions, two at-large representatives and two members of the Management Council.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to represent Stonehill and the NE10 on the NCAA DII National Student-Athlete Advisory Committee," said Johnston. "The student-athlete population is an important and irreplaceable group of students on every campus, and it is important for their voices to be heard. I am honored and humbled to be the voice of the NE10, Stonehill, and my fellow student-athletes on the national level."
Johnston is the first Stonehill student-athlete appointed to a position with NCAA II SAAC (PHOTO BY Adrian Kraus) |
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee serves as the primary governance arm representing student-athlete interests in Division II affairs. SAAC members serve as student-athlete liaisons that monitor and discuss happenings on campuses, within conference at the national level. Representatives are responsible for gathering feedback and reporting on behalf of their conference, as well as relaying important events, hot topics and educational information to both the campus and conference levels. In addition to relaying information across campuses and conferences, the committee speaks on behalf of the entire Division II student-athlete body throughout the NCAA governance structure. Division II SAAC members serve as voting members on a number of Division II committees, including the Management Council. SAAC also has voting authority during the Division II Business Session at the annual NCAA Convention.
"We are proud to have Reilly Johnston as the first Stonehill representative to the NCAA Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee," said Dean O'Keefe, '94, Director of Athletics at the College. "Reilly has already served as a valuable advocate for student-athletes here at Stonehill as well as with his recent appointment as Co-Vice Chair of the NE10 SAAC and I have no doubt he will now be a valuable voice for student-athletes across the country in this new role."
Johnston, who has served as the men's cross country representative on the Stonehill Student-Athlete Advisory Committee since his freshman year, is currently Chair of the Stonehill SAAC in addition to his appointment as Co-Vice Chair for the NE10 SAAC during the summer. He will now serve up to a three-year term with the Division II SAAC, or no less than a year until his athletic eligibility is exhausted.
Johnston is a three-year member of the men's cross country and track & field programs, earning All-Region honors this past fall (PHOTO BY Denise Archetto) |
"Reilly is the perfect person to hold this position," said Karen Boen, Hall of Fame head coach of the Stonehill cross country programs. "His dedication to his team, the College and the general well-being of student-athletes has been evident since he entered Stonehill. Reilly is a very actively involved student athlete. When he is not studying and training for cross country/track & field, he volunteers his time to the betterment of the causes he believes in. As a captain, he not only had a voice but challenged others to give back and be involved in the causes they believe in. I have no doubt he will be a great representative with Division II SAAC."
Johnston is a three-year member of the men's cross country and track & field programs at Stonehill, serving as team captain this fall in helping lead the cross country program to its 18th-straight trip to the NCAA Division II Championships and third place team finishes at the NE10 and NCAA Division II East Regional Championships. The 2019 NE10 Rookie of the Year earned U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-East Region honors for the first time with his 13th place finish a the East Regional (31:59.7). He earned All-NE10 honors for the first time with his ninth-place finish at the 2019 NE10 Cross Country Championships (27:38.4) and has three top ten and four top 15 finishes over the course of his cross country career, with two appearances at NCAA Championship meets.
Johnston, a theology and education studies double major, is a member of Stonehill's Anchors Leadership Society and a student facilitator for the College's First Year Experience program. He founded the Backyard 5K in April 2020 during the early days of the COVID-10 pandemic, an event that brought the local community together to raise over $5,000 for charity after now two years of events. Johnston has also been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll for his efforts in the classroom.
Stonehill, an NCAA Division II member that competes in the NE10, offering 23 intercollegiate varsity sports, boasts one of the top athletic and academic programs in the country. Stonehill has won the NE10 Presidents' Cup six times, all coming within the last 15 years. The Skyhawks have received the NCAA Division II Presidents' Award for Academic Achievement each of the first ten years of the program's existence of honoring institutions with an Academic Success Rate (ASR) of 90-percent or better.
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