Aug. 31, 2006

Academic All-Conference Team

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Eric Contreras of Dayton and Emily Anderson of Rhode Island have been named Student-Athletes of the Year in men's and women's cross country, respectively, in voting conducted among the Conference's sports information directors.

Contreras finished 52nd overall at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Championship with a time of 26:30 as Dayton placed eighth in the 14-team field. The junior from Centerville, OH, posted a season-best time of 26:05 on Sept. 24 at the Greater Louisville Classic as he placed 67th in a field of 306 runners.

In the classroom, Contreras boasts a 3.98 grade point average while majoring in economics, marketing and Spanish. He has been named to the Dean's List the past four semesters and is a two-time member of the Commissioner's Honor Roll. Contreras serves as vice president of the Dayton Student-Advisory Board and as a student ambassador to incoming students. He returned to Dayton in the fall after studying abroad over the summer.

Contreras is joined on the men's cross country Academic All-Conference team by Charlotte teammates Ryan Jank and Russell Slade, Kevin Borrelli of Duquesne, Richmond's John Ciccarelli, Matthew Clark of Massachusetts, and Matt Stuber of Saint Louis.

Anderson crossed the finish line at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Championship in a time of 19:00.9, good for 22nd overall, as Rhode Island placed fourth in the team standings. A resident of Westerly, RI, Anderson finished 10th at the Boston University Invitational on Sept, 9 and was the Rams' top runner on Sept. 17 at the Ted Owens Invitational at Central Connecticut with a third-place showing (18:28).

The senior owns a 3.96 grade point average while majoring in economics and political science. She has been named to the Dean's List six times, is one of five recipients out of approximately 4,000 student nominees to be awarded the Mark and Donna Ross Endowed Scholarship, earned Academic All-Conference honors in 2004, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa and Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society in 2005.

Joining Anderson on the women's cross country Academic All-Conference team are teammates Katherine Guilfoyle and Cindy Smith, Amanda Brown of Xavier, Charlotte's Cassie Ficken, and Rachel Papin of La Salle.