BOSTON - A pair of America East cross country standouts were among the 80 student-athletes honored as All-Americans after earning top-40 finishes at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships at the University of Louisville last weekend. UMBC’s Hassan Omar and New Hampshire’s Laura Rose Donegan became America East’s latest All-Americans after running strong races Saturday.
Omar, who won the men’s individual title at the America East Championship on Oct. 31, placed 27th out of 252 runners, completing the 10k course in a time of 30:16. The senior is UMBC’s first-ever cross country All-American.
Rose Donegan finished 30th out of 254 women’s competitors, running the 6K race in 20:20.9. The senior, who earned the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award for having the highest GPA among top finishers, is an All-American for the second time this year. She also earned All-America honors in the steeplechase at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The duo is the conference’s first All-Americans in cross country since Stony Brook’s Hayley Green accomplished the feat in 2011. Overall, seven America East cross country standouts have earned the honor in the last 10 years.