April 15, 2013

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Graduate student Kevin McDonnell has been named the Atlantic 10 Men's Track and Field Performer of the Week, the league office announced today. McDonnell has been selected for meets competed April 8-14.

McDonnell earned the honor after demolishing Saint Joseph's 31-year-old school record in the 10,000m with a time of 29:16.01 at Bucknell's Bison Outdoor Classic this past Saturday. McDonnell improved upon the original school-record time (29:43.50), set by John Crooke in 1982, by 27.49 seconds. The time earned McDonnell a second-place finish out of 56 total competitors.

McDonnell qualified for the 2012 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round last season with a 29:48.80 at the 2012 Bison Outdoor Classic before posting a 30:50.19 at NCAAs. McDonnell improves on his previous personal record, the NCAA-qualifying time, by 32.79 seconds. McDonnell also qualifies for the IC4A Outdoor Championships in the event as he ranks seventh of all IC4A-qualifiers and eighth in the entire NCAA Eastern Region. The graduate student standout leads the Atlantic 10 in the 10,000m by an incredible 30.41 seconds.

McDonnell and the Hawks return to action this weekend at the Larry Ellis Invitational, hosted by Princeton University in Princeton, N.J. The meet is scheduled to be held Friday, April 19 through Saturday, April 20. The Hawks' first event is tentatively scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at Weaver Stadium. Additionally, SJU will be in action on Saturday, April 20 at the Widener Invitational in Chester, Pa.