June 5
Ewing, NJ… Two runners from The College of New Jersey were cited for their academic and athletic prowess as senior Jessica Bonelli (Sewell, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) and junior Stephanie Herrick (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) each earned a spot on CoSIDA’s ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country College Division First Team.
By earning a spot on the first team, both student-athletes will move on to the national ballot and are candidates for the National College Division Academic All-America Team, which will be announced on June 25.
Bonelli, a marketing major with a grade-point-average of 3.48, capped her standout career with the Lions as a 10-time All-American. She garnered two of those citations last month at the 2008 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships placing third in the 400 meters with a season-best time of 55.61 seconds and was part of the fourth-place 4×400 relay team. She is a three-time All-American in the 400.
At the 2008 New Jersey Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Bonelli won the 400 meters and was part of the winning 4×100 relay.
In 2007, she was cited as the NJAC Indoor Most Outstanding Track Athlete winning 200, 400 and 4×200 relay team and then added that same honor during the outdoor season winning 200, 400 and being part of the 4×100 relay. Bonelli captured that same award in the 2006 NJAC Outdoor Championship and was previously a member of TCNJ’s 2005 National Champion 4×100 and 4×400 (outdoor) and 4×400 (indoor) relay teams. The senior is a four-time TCNJ Scholar-Athlete and three-time NJAC All-Academic Honorable Mention selection.
Herrick, who boasts a 3.50 GPA in communications, started her season running cross country and placed second overall at the 2007 NJAC Championships as the Lions garnered the team title. She was also an All-NJAC First Team honoree and then competed at the NCAA Atlantic Region Championships and helped the Lions earn an at-large bid to the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
In track, she was selected as the 2008 United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association Division III Track Athlete of the Year and the Atlantic Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year. She was tabbed as the 2008 NJAC Indoor Most Outstanding Female Athlete after winning the 800 meters and the mile, while setting a new conference record in the latter event. Herrick then went on to place seventh at the NCAA indoor championships in the 800.
In the spring, Herrick brought her All-American totals to seven picking up two more at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She finished second in the 800 with a school-record time of 2:08.42 and was also part of the 4×400 relay team that placed fourth overall. At the NJAC Outdoor Championships, she won the 800 meters and the 1,500 for the second straight year. She is a three-time TCNJ Scholar-Athlete and two-time NJAC All-Academic Honorable Mention selection.
Both runners helped the Lions place 13th at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships as well as winning both the indoor and outdoor NJAC Championships.
To be nominated, the student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for his/her career. No athlete is eligible until he/she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution (thus, true freshmen, red-shirt freshmen and ineligible transfers are not eligible). In the cases of transfers, graduate students and junior college graduates, the athlete must have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution to be eligible.
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