N. ATTLEBORO, MASS. – Senior Dillon Labonte (Lee, N.H.) of the Southern New Hampshire University men's cross country team has been selected as the 2025-26 Northeast 10 Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award was announced Monday evening at the Northeast 10 Awards Banquet at Saint Michael's College.

Eligibility requirements for nomination are that a student-athlete must be in their final year of athletic eligibility, graduating with a degree in May (unless in a master's program), must be enrolled in a full-time course load and must have a minimum final cumulative grade point average of 3.30. A committee made up of faculty members and athletic administrators conducts voting for the awards.

Labonte, one of three finalists for the honor, earned a 4.00 GPA as an undergraduate double major in electrical engineering and mathematics. A two-time NCAA Elite 90 Award winner, Labonte has established himself as one of the Northeast 10's premier distance runners, earning multiple All-Conference honors during his career.  

Labonte becomes the fourth Northeast 10 Scholar-Athlete of the Year from SNHU, joining track & field's Kelsey Seamans (2024), field hockey's Hélène Servais (2021) and men's soccer's Jonathan Lupinelli (2016).

The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field, and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.

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