Senior Emily Anderson was among five Skyhawks to earn USTFCCCA individual All-Academic honors for the 2014 cross country season. |
Five Skyhawks collect individual All-Academic accolades
EASTON, Mass. (February 26, 2015) – The Stonehill College women's cross country team has earned All-Academic honors for the 2014 season from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), while five Skyhawks collected individual All-Academic accolades.
Seniors Emily Anderson (Manchester, Connecticut/Manchester) and Erin Rielly (Burlington, Massachusetts/Burlington), sophomores Alexandra Buonfiglio (Lynnfield, Massachusetts/Lynnfield) and Aisha McAdams (North Kingstown, Rhode Island/North Kingstown), and freshman Emily Knox (Worcester, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) were recognized for posting a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher while also finishing among the top-30 percent of total eligible runners at the regional championship or in the top half of the field at the NCAA Championships.
Stonehill was among 128 women's NCAA Division II teams to earn All-Academic honors from the USTFCCCA. To qualify for this award, programs must have compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and scored at their NCAA regional meet. The Skyhawks captured their sixth consecutive Northeast-10 Conference Championship in early November, before posting a runner-up finish at the East Region Championships and capping the 2014 season with their 15th consecutive appearance at the NCAA DII Championships. Academically, Stonehill registered a 3.24 cumulative GPA through the fall semester.
Anderson and Rielly, who served as two of Stonehill's three captains this season, were also recognized as NE-10 Academic All-Conference performers for the fall semester. Anderson turned in the second All-NE-10 third team performance of her career at the conference championship race on November 9th, placing 18th and clocking in at 26:14.6. She followed that up by posting the second All-Region effort of her career at the East Region Championships, crossing the finish line in sixth place (second among Skyhawks) and earning a career-best six-kilometer time of 22:08.1. She capped her collegiate cross country career by competing at the NCAA Championships for the third time, placing 114th and second among Skyhawks with a time of 22:59.8.
Anderson, who posted a 3.68 GPA during the fall semester and has earned a 3.59 cumulative GPA as an early childhood education major, has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll all seven of her semesters at Stonehill and to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll six times. She also earned Capital One Academic All-District recognition as a junior in 2013 and a Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award as a sophomore in 2012.
Rielly made six appearances for Stonehill during her senior campaign, including the East Region and NCAA Championships. The Burlington, Massachusetts native set a six-kilometer personal best on September 13th at the Kutztown University DII/DIII Challenge, placing 12th overall in 23:38.0, before topping that mark at the Paul Short Invitational on October 4th with a time of 22:23.0. Rielly finished 43rd at the East Region race, turning in a time of 23:24.3, before capping her collegiate cross country career with her first NCAA Championship appearance, where she placed 182nd and clocked in at 23:47.5.
Rielly posted a team-best 3.82 grade point average during the fall semester, and she has earned a 3.78 cumulative GPA through seven semesters as an education/psychology double major. Rielly has been named to the NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll all seven semesters, and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll six times in addition to receiving a Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award as a sophomore in 2012.
Anderson |
Buonfiglio |
Knox |
McAdams |
Rielly |
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Buonfiglio and McAdams both earn their first career USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for cross country after the sophomore duo posted All-Conference and All-Region performances leading up to Stonehill's NCAA Championship appearance in December. McAdams, who was an All-NE-10 first team performer as a freshman in 2013, earned second team honors last fall with her tenth place finish in 25:40.7. She then posted the first All-East Region effort of her career the following weekend, as she placed 16th overall in 22:26.7, before turning in a mark of 23:27.7, good for 154th overall, at the NCAA Championships.
McAdams, who earned a 3.66 GPA during the fall semester and has a 3.47 cumulative GPA as a communications major, has been named to both the NE-10 and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls all three semesters at Stonehill.
Buonfiglio, who just missed earning All-NE-10 honors as a freshman in 2013 with her 24th-place finish, joined McAdams on the All-Conference second team last fall, as she placed 12th and clocked in at 25:55.8 at the NE-10 Championships. The Lynnfield, Massachusetts native then rounded out Stonehill's six All-Region performers at the East Region Championships, finishing 25th overall out of 185 entries and earning a time of 22:51.5. Buonfiglio capped her sophomore campaign by competing at her first NCAA Championship race, where she placed 138th in 23:18.0.
A psychology major with a 3.46 cumulative GPA, Buonfiglio posted a 3.68 GPA for the fall semester, earning NE-10 Honor Roll status for the third time and Athletic Director's Honor Roll recognition for the second time.
Rounding out Stonehill's five USTFCCCA All-Academic performers for the 2014 cross country season is Knox, who made an immediate in her first year as a Skyhawk. The Worcester, Massachusetts native opened her collegiate career with an 11th place effort in 19:42.9 at the five-kilometer Shacklette Invitational on September 6th, before breaking into the top-10 the following week with a ninth place performance in 23:32 at the DII/DIII Challenge.
An All-Conference second team performer with her 13th-place finish in 25:56.7 at the NE-10 Championships, Knox also collected All-Region honors after placing tenth overall at the East Region Championships and clocking in at 22:18. The freshman was the third Skyhawk to cross the finish line at the NCAA Championships with a time of 23:06.7, despite losing the spikes on her left foot a mile into the race and completing the remaining 2-plus miles in just a sock in the wet and muddy course.
Knox, a biology major, earned a 3.34 GPA during her first semester at Stonehill to land on both the NE-10 and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls.
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