LOUSIVILLE, Ky. – University of New Hampshire’s Laura Rose Donegan was honored with the NCAA Division I Women’s Cross Country Elite 90 award for having the highest grade point average of all participants at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships held at Louisville Saturday.
Donegan, who holds a 4.0 GPA while majoring in political science, is the second America East student-athlete to be honored by the NCAA’s program in the last year. UMBC’s Billy Heavner was the men’s soccer recipient of the Elite 89 Award last year.
The senior was honored during Saturday's awards ceremony following the NCAA Championship meet where Donegan placed 30thout of 254 runners to earn All-American honors for the second time in six months. She was also named an All-American in outdoor track & field in June.
The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.