Ewing, NJ…The College of New Jersey men’s cross country and track and field star, Senior Brian Donovan (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) was named to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Cross Country and Track and Field Second Team All-District as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Donovan, who earned three All-America citations during his career in track and field, has excelled in the classroom having earned a 3.33 GPA as a biology major at TCNJ.
As a senior, Donovan excelled at the 2006 NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championship Meets. A the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships, he picked up his first career All-America citation after finishing in sixth place in the 5,000 meter run in 14:44.45. He was also part of the Lions’ ninth place distance medley relay team, which just missed All-America honors.
At the 2006 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships, held just last week, he earned a runner-up finish in the 10,000 meter run and a seventh place finish in the 5,000 meter run. He entered as TCNJ’s school record in both the 5,000 meter and 10,000 meter runs. He earned his invitation to the championships after posting NCAA automatic qualifying times in both events this spring to break the school records. Donovan posted a time of 14:10.69 in the 5,000 meter run this spring, which had been the fastest time in 2006 in the event in Division III entering the championships. He also has a time of 30:00.99, which he ran at the 2006 Penn Relays and was seeded fourth entering the 10,000 meter event.
The 2003 and 2004 NJAC Cross Country Runner of the Year, as well as the NJAC Indoor Track and Field Champion in the 3,000 meter run and on the 4 x 800 relay, Donovan is a four-time TCNJ Scholar-Athlete.
The Academic All-America Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA (the College Sports Information Directors of America), a 2,000 member organization consisting of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
To be eligible, a student-athletes must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the programs inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
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The District II College Division consists of all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA colleges in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.