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| Posted 07.11. 07 |
All-American Ellen Davis Leaves Behind Exceptional Track Record
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 All-American
track and cross country runner Ellen Davis graduated in May, but more
honors just caught up to her.
Davis, pictured in the lead at right, was honored by the College Sports
Information Directors Association of America (CoSIDA) in June as she was
named a CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine third-team Academic All-American after
gaining first-team District I laurels in cross-country/track.
The 10 first-team picks from each of the eight districts (80 total athletes
voted upon by all the Sports Information Directors (SIDs) in their
respective district) appeared on the national ballot with three squads of 15
named Academic All-Americans after review by a national committee of SIDs.
Cross Country/Track is one of seven distinct athletic areas that has an
Academic All-America team chosen. Football, men’s and women’s soccer,
volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and men’s and
women’s at-large are the other six areas.
An individual must have a GPA in excess of 3.20 to qualify for an Academic
All-America award as well as be tremendously accomplished in a sport. Davis
was just that with her long list of major athletic accolades.
Davis' running career includes a 2007 NCAA Division III title in the indoor
5k event, a ninth-place showing among 279 runners for 2006 All-America
laurels in cross country, and a New England Open title in the outdoor 10k
with a trip to the NCAAs in the spring of 2007.
She was a three-time indoor track All-American capped by her first-place
finish in 2007 and a two-time cross-country All-American while also
competing in the NCAA outdoor track championships twice during her career.
She had the fastest time in the country in the 5k outdoors this spring but
chose not to compete in the event at the NCAA Championships May 26 in order
to attend her graduation at Wesleyan May 27, where she received her degree
in women’s studies.
Davis placed 10th in the 10k outdoors at Nationals. She set three indoor
track team records in 2006-07 with best-ever times in the 3k, one-mile and
5k, and two outdoor marks with standards in the 5k and 10k this spring.
She leaves Wesleyan as the university's second Academic All-American in the
last two years.
Davis is spending her summer in North Carolina while looking for a position
that will prepare her for a career in archival science and art history.
“Ideally I’d like something for a year or two, like an internship in a
museum library, before going back for a master’s degree in archival science
and art history,” Davis says.
As for her future running career, Davis has no specific long-term plans.
“I’m not planning any marathons,” she says, “but after taking a little time
off from running recently I think I’ll start putting in the miles again just
to stay in shape. But I expect the ‘runner’ in me will come out and I’ll
start putting pressure on myself to perform. I’m sure there will be a road
race or two in my future.”
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By Brian Katten, sports information director.
Photo courtesy of Eliterunning.com. |
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