Three individuals collect individual All-Academic awards
2019 USTFCCCA All-Academic team and individual awards
The 2018-19 men's track & field team finished third at the NE10 Indoor Championship and fourth at the NE10 Outdoor Championship |
EASTON, Mass. (August 8, 2019) – The Stonehill College men's track & field team has been recognized as a 2019 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II All-Academic Team, as announced by the organization. In addition, three 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 3.03 team GPA, was among the 130 women's teams and 79 men's teams in NCAA Division II to earn All-Academic Team status. The highest GPA of 3.53 was represented by Point Loma Nazarene University.
Individually, seniors Alex Demeule and Stephen Vercollone and freshman Nickolas McNamee 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.
Demeule, Vercollone, and McNamee were part of the 4000-meter distance medley relay that bypassed the provisional mark to qualify for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships this year. The quartet set a new school record with their time of 9:47.24 at the BU Last Chance Meet in order to move up their qualifying spot to No. 4 from No. 19, just 0.04 shy of the automatic qualifying standard. Vercollone also qualified for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships and competed in the 800-meter run.
Demeule |
Vercollone |
McNamee |
Demeule, who graduated with a degree in Finance, saw a successful four-year career as a Skyhawk as he was named Stonehill's second Northeast-10 Conference Man of the Year after being a finalist for the Man of the Year and the NE10 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards. The recent graduate received the College's Edward E. Martin Male Senior Scholar-Athlete Award at the Awards Ceremony as a three-sport student-athlete with the Skyhawks' men's cross country and indoor and outdoor track & field programs. He is a five-time NCAA Championships participant over his career, competing in three Cross Country Championships and two NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, where he earned All-America honors as a member of Stonehill's 4000-meter distance medley relay team at 2018 Indoor Championships that finished fifth with a school record time of 9:49.12. He earned four NE10 All-Conference honors, with three of them being cross country awards.
This USTFCCCA All-Academic accolade is the fifth in his career, as the Merrimac, Massachusetts native was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-America second team this year after receiving third team honors last year, while being a three-time Google Cloud Academic All-District 1 first team recipient. He has been named to the NE10 Academic All-Conference team nine times, while sticking out among his peers for two NE10 Sport Excellence Awards. He was inducted into the Lambda Epsilon Sigma and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies, was a member of the Financial Management Association and was named the finance department Student of the Year.
Vercollone, who graduated from Stonehill with a Bachelor's Degree after double majoring in graphic design and marketing, earns USTFCCCA All-Academic honors for the third time in his career. He was voted to the Google Cloud Academic All-District® I first team for the first time this spring and earned NE10 Academic All-Conference honors for the second time with his first outdoor track & field selection. He was also named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll every semester and Athletic Director's Honor Roll multiple semesters. Vercollone was an Athletic Director's Award recipient at Stonehill's end of the year Award's Night.
Vercollone, who is also a four-year member of Stonehill's men's soccer program, is a three-time NCAA Championships participant with the track & field program. He is a two-time All-American after finishing seventh in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Kingsville, Texas, last month, while running the 800-meter leg for the Skyhawks 4000-meter distance medley relay that finished fifth at the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in a then-record 9:49.12. Vercollone is still a member of Stonehill's school-record DMR that posted a time of 9:47.24 at Boston University to qualify for this year's NCAA Championships and holds the indoor (1:51.19) and outdoor (1:52.48) 800-meter school records. Vercollone is a nine-time All-New England performer, a seven-time USTFCCCA All-East Region and six-time All-NE10 honoree over the course of his career. He won the 800-meter run at the 2019 NE10 Indoor Championships and was part of the NE10 Champion 4x800-meter relay at the 2019 NE10 Outdoor Championships. He finished second at the New England Outdoor Championships for the 800-meter run and won New England titles during the winter with the indoor 4x800 and DMR.
This is McNamee's, who is studying history with a minor in Arabic, second USTFCCCA All-Academic honor, after receiving his first during cross country season with the men's program that made its 16th appearance at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships. The freshman made an impact on the team as he finished 21st at the NE10 Cross Country Championships for his first NE10 All-Conference honor, following that up with an impressive seventh-place finish at the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship. Following the track & field seasons, the Plymouth, North native brought his NE10 All-Conference and USTFCCCA All-East Region total to three, and All-New England total to two. He was also named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll with Academic Distinction and Athletic Director's Honor Roll both semesters.
Stonehill wrapped up the cross country season with a second-place finish at the NE10 Championships, captured their fifth NCAA Division II East Regional Championship, and then appeared in their 16th NCAA Division II Championship. The Skyhawks fought hard at the NE10 Indoor and Outdoor Championships, as they finished third and fourth, respectively, sending qualifiers to both the NCAA Division II Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
