BOSTON – Twenty-two of America East’s top track & field student-athletes were named to the conference's 2017 Indoor Track & Field men's and women's All-Academic teams on Thursday. The teams consist of student-athletes who excel both academically and athletically.
All-American Elinor Purrier highlighted the women's team. The New Hampshire junior earned All-American status after finishing second in the mile at the NCAA Championships earlier this month.
Joining Purrier was Albany's Mary Adeyeye and Tara Belinsky, Binghamton's Alana MacDonald, Maine's Lucia Guarnieri, New Hampshire's Alyson Messina, UMass Lowell's Jaclyn Solimine and Alli Wood, Stony Brook's Megan Cooney and Christina Melian, and Vermont's Anna Kaplan.
Highlighting the men's All-Academic team was Albany sophomore Matthew LeLiever, who set an America East Championship record in the 500-meter run this season. He was joined by teammate Kyle Gronostaj, Maine's Joshua Horne, Jesse Orach and Jake Osborne, UMBC's Erick Soetje, UMass Lowell's Paul Hogan, New Hampshire's Eric Brogioli, Brett Hoerner and Nicholas Ritzo, and Vermont's Paul Moore.
To be eligible for All-Academic, student-athletes must have sophomore athletic eligibility, attain a 3.30 minimum grade-point average and a contributor on their team. The squad is voted on by a committee made up of America East student-athlete support and athletic communications administrators as well as faculty athletic representatives.
America East is proud to have one of most comprehensive academic awards programs in the country. In addition to the All-Academic program, Elite 17 Awards are bestowed in each of the conference’s sponsored sports. Additionally, a Scholar-Athlete, someone who distinguishes himself/herself as the top student-athlete in his/her sport, is awarded. From that group, one male and one female is selected the America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The conference also recognizes all student-athletes who achieve at least a 3.0 GPA on its Academic Honor Roll, with those achieving a 3.50 average or better receiving Commissioner’s Honor Roll status. The Presidential Scholar-Athlete award recognizes graduating student-athletes who compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher as an undergraduate student. Finally, the Academic Cup is presented to the institution whose student-athletes post the highest grade-point average during that academic year.