Five Hounds Selected to College Sports Communicators Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-District
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian University senior Vicky Donovan, juniors Abby Giamoni, Rachael Goodman and Amber Poniktera and sophomore Tara Smurla have been selected to the 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Women’s Track & Field and Cross Country Team for NCAA Division III schools.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian University senior Vicky Donovan, juniors Abby Giamoni, Rachael Goodman and Amber Poniktera and sophomore Tara Smurla have been selected to the 2024 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Women's Track & Field and Cross Country Team for NCAA Division III schools.
To be eligible for CSC Academic All-America® honors, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.50 grade-point average, be a sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student and be ranked in the top 50 in the school's region in a track event or have finished in the top 50 at the NCAA Division III cross country regional for the program.
By making the All-District Team, the group is now forwarded onto the national ballot to try for CSC Academic All-America® accolades, which will be announced Tuesday, July 9. Moravian has had 56 Greyhounds named CSC Academic All-Americans®.
Donovan, who finished her degree in biology with minors in chemistry and Spanish and a 3.87 GPA, was third in the NCAA Division III Metro Region in the javelin this spring with a mark of 37.72 meters (123-9). Donovan was on the 2024 Landmark All-Conference Honorable Mention Team in the javelin this spring. Donovan was a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List eight times, Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society and a six-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll.
Giamoni, a health sciences major with a a 3.69 grade-point average, was fourth in the Metro Region in the 400-meter dash outdoors in 57.15 seconds, seventh in the 200-meter dash outdoors in 25.21 seconds, 27th in the 100-meter dash outdoors in 12.85 seconds, sixth in the 4x100-meter relay outdoors in 48.81 seconds, 14th in the 4x400-meter relay outdoors in 4:11.57, 12th in the 60-meter dash indoors in 8.01 seconds, tenth in the 200-meter dash indoors in 25.75 seconds, ninth in the 400-meter dash indoors in 58.77 seconds and 11th in the 4x400-meter dash indoors in 4:13.25. Giamoni was named the Most Outstanding Track Performer at the 2024 Landmark Conference Outdoor Championships, and she is an 11-time Landmark All-Conference Honoree with sixth Landmark Conference titles and First Team selections, three Second Team honors and a pair of Honorable Mention selections. Giamoni has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List five times, Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society and a four-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll.
Goodman, an environmental science major with a 3.81 grade-point average, was 24th in the Metro Region Cross Country Championships in a time of 23:13.8 to earn All-Region honors, and she was 14th in the 3,000-meter run indoors in 10:46.72, 37th in the mile indoors in 5:35.00, 32nd in the 5,000-meter run indoors in 19:50.63, 34th in the 1,500-meter run outdoors in 5:02.57, 28th in the 5,000-meter run outdoors in 18:49.02 and sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:42.06. Goodman earned a spot on the 2023 Landmark All-Conference Women's Cross Country First Team, and she made the 2024 Landmark All-Conference First Team in the distance medley relay during the winter and the 2024 Honorable Mention Team in the steeplechase this spring. Goodman has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List six times, Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society, a four-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll and two-time member of the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll.
Poniktera, a health science/pre-physical therapy major with a 4.00 grade-point average, was 17th in the Metro Region Cross Country Championships in a time of 22:58.4 to earn All-Region honors, and she was 32nd in the 3,000-meter run indoors in 11:08.34, eighth in the 4,000-meter distance medley relay indoors at 12:52.44, 41st in the 1,500-meter run outdoors in 5:05.86 and fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:40.41. Poniktera earned a spot on the 2024 Landmark All-Conference First Team in the distance medley relay during the winter. Poniktera has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List six times, Moravian's Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society, a four-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll and two-time member of the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll.
Smurla, a psychology and sociology major with a 3.54 grade-point average, was fifth in the Metro Region Cross Country Championships in a time of 22:10.6 to earn All-Region honors and a spot in the 2023 NCAA Division III National Championships, and she was first in the region in the 10,000-meter run outdoors in a Moravian and Landmark Conference record time of 36:08.51, third in the 5,000-meter run outdoors in 17:43.97, 21st in the 1,500-meter run outdoors at 4:53.88, ninth in the mile indoors in 5:18.14, third in the 3,000-meter run indoors in 10:17.91 and second in the 5,000-meter run indoors in 17:44.39. Smurla earned a spot on the 2023 Landmark All-Conference Women's Cross Country First Team, and she made the 2024 Landmark All-Conference First Team 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runs this spring as the conference champion. Indoors, Smurla make the All-Conference Second Team in the 5,000-meter run and the Honorable Mention squad in the 3,000-meter run. Smurla has been a member of the Moravian Dean's Honors List once, a two-time member of the Landmark Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll and a member of the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll once.
To view the entire 2024 Women's Track & Field/Cross Country Academic All-District Teams, visit https://academicallamerica.com/documents/2024/6/17//Acad_WTRACK_2024.pdf?id=5492.
