FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WINTHROP, Mass. – Suffolk University senior Emily Manfra has been selected as the 2020 GNAC Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, while Emmanuel College, which captured the inaugural team title in February, collected the other three major awards.
All individual honors are voted upon by the league's head coaches.
From the Saints, junior Amanda Jordan was named the Women's Field Athlete of the Year, sophomore Kennedy Davignon took home Rookie of the Year accolades, while Emmanuel head coach Reava Potter was voted Coach of the Year.
Colby-Sawyer College has received the GNAC Women's Institutional Sportsmanship Award, and for our 2020 All-Sportsmanship selections, please see below.
Each event winner from the first-ever GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships nearly two months ago automatically receives 2020 GNAC All-Conference honors.
Manfra, a Stoneham, Mass. native, qualified for Nationals in the mile for the second straight season and second time in as many years after ranking fourth in the nation and second in New England in the event. She appeared in the top 25 in New England in the 3K (15th) and 5K (11th) and was 32nd regionally in the 800. She qualified for New Englands in four events: 800, mile, 3K, and 5K. A USTFCCCA All-New England honoree in the mile – the first in program history and only GNAC student-athlete to accomplish the feat this season – she also collected All-New England honors from the New England Coaches Association. At New Englands, she was runner-up in the mile with her first sub-5:00.0 mile (4:57.46). The five-time GNAC Track Athlete of the Week and now a two-time GNAC Champion and All-GNAC honoree in both the 800 and mile.
Jordan, who also hails from Stoneham, Mass., finished the indoor track season with a school record-breaking triple-jump attempts at the GNAC Indoor Championship, finishing with a best jump of 35'1", winning the event for EC. She also won the long jump with a personal best attempt of 16'3.75".
As for Davignon, the sophomore rookie finished the season with a 26-point showing at the GNAC Indoor Championship. The Woodstock, Conn. native won the 200 meter dash with a time of 27.25 seconds, helped to win the 4x400 and placed third in the 400 meter race with a time of 1:02.68.
Information Courtesy of Emmanuel & Suffolk Athletics Communications.
WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Emily Manfra, Suffolk
WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR – Amanda Jordan, Emmanuel
WOMEN'S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – Kennedy Davignon, Emmanuel
WOMEN'S COACH OF THE YEAR – Reava Potter, Emmanuel
WOMEN'S INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD – Colby-Sawyer
M/W ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Nina Hills & Michael Bullen, Colby-Sawyer
Cara Martin & Joey Reed, Emmanuel
Matt Holden & Allie Clancy, Lasell
Emily Fagundo & JJ Pedersen, Regis
Ricky Reyes & Kaylee Todisco, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Cassandra Kuechler & Tristan Smith, Suffolk
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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