HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University track & field student-athletes Christine Rickert and Paul O’Donoghue have been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team for the second-straight year, the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Thursday.
Rickert is the first two-time academic all-district selection in HPU women’s track & field history, while O’Donoghue joins Tamas Kovacs (2007, 2008) as the only two-time all-district picks on the men’s side. Both student-athletes now enter the national Academic All-America ballot. The first-, second- and third-team All-America selections will be announced in late June.
To be eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 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.
Rickert is the only four-time NCAA preliminary qualifier in HPU women’s track & field history and her javelin season has been another spectacular one in 2016. She broke her own Big South record with a monster throw of 52.47m (172-2) at the VertKlasse Meeting in April. The mark garnered her the No. 7 seed in the NCAA East Preliminary and the No. 15 mark overall in the nation this season. She then proceeded to win her third-straight Big South javelin title in May (50.18m, 164-7) and earned her first ever Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor for her career achievements in the classroom and on the field. She won three javelin titles in six appearances during the outdoor season.
Rickert graduated in May with a triple major in international relations, political science and Spanish while maintaining an impressive 3.94 GPA.
O’Donoghue recently wrapped up a stellar HPU career with an all-conference finish in the 800-meter run at the Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championship. An impressive 12-time Big South all-conference selection, O’Donoghue set a pair of new school records during the 2016 indoor season. He became the new 1000m record holder (2:26.81) and also was a part of the DMR team at Penn State that broke the program best time (10:01.35). He captured the Big South 800m title during the 2015 Big South Outdoor Track & Field Championship and has finished runner-up on two occasions. He is a 10-time individual event champion during his career.
A three-time Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year and three-time Big South Presidential Honor Roll selection, O’Donoghue graduated in May with a 3.9 cumulative GPA and a degree in mathematics.
Women’s Track & Field District 3 Selections (Division I)
Barbara Lee Ball, Lipscomb
Korie Bennett, Western Carolina
Chelsea Blaase, Tennessee
Laney Browder, Western Carolina
Emily Godwin, North Carolina State
Sarah Howard, North Carolina
Breigh Jones, Austin Peay
Christine Rickert, High Point University
Kaitlyn Kramer, North Carolina State
Maddison Melchionna, Tennessee-Chattanooga
Jennifer Nakamura, George Mason
Kathleen Stewart, James Madison
Hannah Wittman, Belmont
Men’s Track & Field District 3 Selections (Division I)
Jonathan Addison, North Carolina State
Jeremie Bourget, Liberty
Cameron Brown, Tennessee
Zach Greth, Charlotte
Luis Hanssler, Memphis
Paul O’Donoghue, High Point University
David Scouten, Liberty
Paul Stuart, Tennessee-Chattanooga
Houston Summers, North Carolina
Brian Waterfield, William & Mary