Two Skyhawks collect individual All-Academic awards
USTFCCCA Announces 2017-18 All-Academic Teams and Individuals
Demeule |
Vercollone |
EASTON, Mass. (August 3, 2018) – The Stonehill College men's track & field team has been recognized as a 2018 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II All-Academic Team, as announced by the organization. In addition, two Stonehill student-athletes earned individual All-Academic awards from the USTFCCCA.
In order to qualify for All-Academic Team awards, a squad must post a cumulative team grade point average of 3.00 or higher. Stonehill, which registered a 3.12 team GPA, was among the 132 women's teams and 84 men's teams in NCAA Division II to earn All-Academic Team status.
Individually, juniors Alex Demeule (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) and Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) collected All-Academic Awards from USTFCCCA. To be eligible for this honor, the student-athlete must have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher and have reached a provisional or automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships in either indoor or outdoor seasons.
Both juniors were part of the 4000-meter distance medley relay team that posted a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships this year, recording a school record time of 9:49.12. This time gave the team its first All-America honor since 2015, and eighth recognition over program history. The squad crossed the finish line with the best mark since 2015 when that quartet posted third place at the NCAA Championships in Birmingham, Alabama.
The relay team ran the event three times during the indoor season posting one first-place finish at the URI Sorlien Memorial Invitational, a second-place mark at the New England Championship, and finally a second-place tally at the NE10 Indoor Championship. The DMR's NE10 honor was the first time since 2013, finishing a second behind American International College.
Over Demeule's three years as a Skyhawk, he has combined for three USTFCCCA All-East Region honors and two NE10 All-Conference accolades. The Merrimac, Massachusetts native has also been tabbed on the USTFCCCA All-Academic team three times and the NE10 Academic All-Conference team four times. The junior earned a spot on the Google Cloud Academic All-District™ First Team in late May and then was selected for the Google Cloud Academic All-America® third team in June. As a sophomore, Demeule received the Division II ADA Achievement Award. He has also been tabbed on the NE10 Commissioner's and Athletic Director's Honor Roll multiple semesters.
A two-sport student-athlete, Vercollone plays midfield for the soccer team and is also a mid-distance runner for the indoor and outdoor track & field teams. The junior earned his first-career All-America honor with the DMR and has totaled four USTFCCCA All-East Region honors. Vercollone has totaled five All-New England honors during his three years at Stonehill, along with three NE10 All-Conference accolades. He has also been named to the NE10 Commissioner's and Athletic Director's Honor Roll multiple times.
The men's cross country team posted a rare year where they won six of their seven meets including the New England Championship, NE10 Championship, NCAA Division II East Regional Championship. The men posted third place at both the indoor and outdoor NE10 Championships this year, while also placing 11th at the indoor New England Championship. Stonehill will open its cross country season with the Shawn M. Nassaney Cross Country Invitational at Bryant University on Saturday, September 8.
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