MANCHESTER, N.H. - Jacquelyn Dussault (Manchester, N.H.), Melissa Hurley (Ashaway, R.I.) and Christina Montefusco (Danvers, Mass.) of the Southern New Hampshire University women's cross country team were each named to the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II All-Academic team announced recently.

To qualify for All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have completed at least 12 semester/quarter hours through the semester of competition at the institution to be eligible.  The student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and have placed in the top 30% of the total number of athletes eligible to compete at the respective regional championships or have placed in the top 50% of the field at the NCAA Division II Cross Country Championships.

Dussault, a sophomore Elementary Education major with a 3.705 grade point average, finished 82^nd out of 178 runners at the NCAA East Regional with a 6K time of 26:10.7.  She competed in all seven events for Southern New Hampshire and posted a season-best 5K time of 20:45 at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational in September.  She finished 123^rd out of 301 runners in that event.

Hurley, a junior Creative Writing major with a GPA of 3.707, was consistently SNHU's second-best finisher during the 2009 season.  She posted a season-best 5K mark of 20:00.7 at the Northeast-10 Championships to place 39^th out of 158 runners.  That time marked the seventh-fastest 5K time in program history.  She finished 50^th at the NCAA East Regional with a 6K time of 25:07.9.

Montefusco, a freshman Justice Studies major with a 3.266 GPA, steadily improved as her freshman season went along, as she improved upon her time in each of her first five events, culminating in a season-best 20:51 5K effort at the New England Championshps.  Montefusco placed 41^st at the NCAA East Regional with a 24:49.8 6K effort.