For Immediate Release
February 17, 2011
Courtesy of the So. New Hampshire Sports Information Department
Manchester, N.H. – Melissa Hurley (Ashaway, R.I.) and Christina Montefusco (Danvers, Mass.) of the Southern New Hampshire University women's cross country team were each named to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II All-Academic team announced Wednesday. It marks the second straight season that each has been named to the squad.
To qualify for All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have completed at least 12 semester/quarter hours through the semester of competition at the institution to be eligible. The student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and have placed in the top 30% of the total number of athletes eligible to compete at the respective regional championships or have placed in the top 50% of the field at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.
Hurley, a senior Creative Writing major with a GPA of 3.787, was consistently SNHU's second-best finisher during the 2010 season. She posted a collegiate-best 19:49 5K effort at the Pop Crowell Invitational in October, good for the 10th-fastest time in program history, and also posted a 20:17 at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational. Hurley finished 52nd overall at the NCAA East Regional.
Montefusco, a sophomore Psychology major with a 3.379 GPA, competed in all eight events for Southern New Hampshire and finished third among SNHU participants five times. Montefusco ran a personal-best 20:03 at the Pop Crowell Invitational, good for the 15th-best time in program history. At the NCAA Regional Montefusco finished 58th.
The Southern New Hampshire University women's cross country enjoyed its finest season in 2010, as it ranked as high as No. 5 in the East Region before finishing with a final regional rank of No. 8. The Penmen finished sixth at the Northeast-10 Championships and eighth at the NCAA East Regional Championships.
