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LaRegina |
Pierson |
Anderson, LaRegina, and Pierson recognized for academic and athletic excellence
EASTON, Mass. (June 3, 2014) – Three members of the Stonehill College women's track & field and cross country teams have earned Capital One Academic All-District honors, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Senior Elizabeth LaRegina (New Fairfield, Connecticut/New Fairfield), junior Emily Anderson (Manchester, Connecticut/Manchester), and sophomore Trisha Pierson (East Hanover, New Jersey/Hanover Park) collected Division II first team accolades for District 1, which is comprised of institutions from the Northeast-10 Conference, East Coast Conference, and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. With their selections to the All-District team, LaRegina, Anderson, and Pierson are now eligible for the Capital One Academic All-America ballot which will be released later this month.
LaRegina, a senior psychology major, wrapped up her collegiate career by helping lead Stonehill to a rare sweep of the Northeast-10 Conference cross country, indoor, and outdoor track & field championships during the 2013-14 academic year. Stonehill captured its fifth consecutive NE-10 Cross Country Championship last October, before claiming the first indoor and outdoor track and field titles in program history in February and May, respectively.
LaRegina opened the 2013 cross country season by winning the Shacklette Invitational, and her 14th place finish in 23:13.8 at the East Region Championship was good enough to earn All-East Region accolades. LaRegina's success carried into the indoor track & field season, as she collected a team-leading three All-East Region awards before competing at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships with Stonehill's 4000-Meter Distance Medley Relay.
LaRegina earns Capital One Academic All-District honors for the second consecutive year. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
LaRegina picked up two more All-East Region honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for posting top-5 regional performances in the 800-Meter Run and the 1500-Meter Run this outdoor season. She turned in a time of 2:15.75 in the 800 at the NE-10 Championships on May 3rd before placing fifth and clocking in at 4:34.38 in the 1500 at the New England Championships on May 10th. LaRegina finishes her career with six All-Region awards for indoor and outdoor track & field after collecting one during the 2012-13 indoor season and three this past indoor campaign.
The New Fairfield, Connecticut native recently graduated with a 3.84 cumulative grade point average and has been named to both the NE-10 and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls in each of her semesters at Stonehill. LaRegina is a five-time NE-10 Academic All-Conference performer, and a two-time Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award winner. The Lambda Epsilon Sigma and Psi Chi National Honor Society member received the St. Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Students, Medal for having the highest cumulative GPA on the women's track & field team in 2013 and the women's cross country team in 2014. LaRegina has now earned Capital One Academic All-District honors for the second consecutive year following her selection in 2013.
Anderson earns Academic All-District honors for the first time. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Anderson joins LaRegina as an All-District honoree after posting one All-East Region performance each for indoor and outdoor track & field this year. The junior was recognized during the indoor season as part of Stonehill's NCAA Championship qualifying distance medley relay team, before registering a time of 4:37.36 in the 1500-Meter Run during the outdoor season, good for the third All-Region effort of her career. Anderson also earned All-NE-10 accolades in the 1500, as she finished second to LaRegina after crossing the finish line in 4:39.32.
Anderson played an important role in Stonehill's fifth consecutive NE-10 and East Region cross country championships last fall. Her best finish of the season came at the Codfish Bowl on September 28th, as she placed sixth with a time of 19:22. Anderson narrowly missed All-NE-10 honors after placing 22nd in 19:17, and she wrapped up her season by finishing 172nd in 23:20.3 at the NCAA Championships in Spokane, Washington.
Anderson, who has earned a 3.58 cumulative grade point average as an early childhood education major, has been named to five NE-10 Commissioner's Honor Rolls and four Athletic Director's Honor Rolls, and she was the recipient of a DII ADA Academic Achievement Award in 2012-13.
Pierson rounds out Stonehill's Capital One Academic All-District selections with the first nod of her career. The sophomore thrower has posted a 3.98 cumulative GPA as a criminology/accounting double major, and she has been named to both the NE-10 and Athletic Director's Honor Rolls in each of her three semesters. Pierson also earned the Saint Thomas Aquinas Medal earlier this spring for posting the highest GPA on the track & field team.
Pierson registered the first All-East Region performance of her career during the outdoor season, as her 131-foot, 11-inch discus throw at the Holy Cross Invitational on April 19th was good enough for top-5 in the region. Pierson set a school record and placed third in the shot put with her toss of 39 feet, 9.75 inches at the NE-10 Indoor Championships, before winning the discus throw at the NE-10 Outdoor Championships with her heave of 130 feet, three inches.
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