Bucknell University Athletics
Three Bucknell Women's Track Athletes Named to Verizon Academic All-District Teams
5/23/2002 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 23, 2002
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell University women's track & field seniors Becki Marshall, Kelly McConnell and Stephanie Bango have been named to the Verizon Academic All-District 2 University Division Women's Track & Field/Cross Country First or Second Team, the Verizon committee announced Thursday.
Marshall and McConnell were each selected to the first team, while Bango earned second team status. Marshall and McConnell are now eligible for National Academic All-America recognition. That team will be voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) over the next several weeks and announced on Thursday, June 20.
Marshall, a civil engineering major with a 3.79 grade-point average, earned Academic All-District Honors for the second year in a row after capturing a spot on the Fall/Winter At-Large Team in 2000-01. An exceptional student, Marshall was honored as the Patriot League Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year three years in a row (1999-2001), and was the Patriot League Women's Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2000-01. She was also a member of the Engineering Honors Fraternity and the ASCE Dean's List.
A distance specialist, Marshall won her third straight Patriot League individual cross country title in the fall of 2001, and led the Bison to their fourth straight Patriot League Cross Country Championship. She was named to the Patriot League All-Decade Cross Country Team, and paced Bucknell to an appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Championship as a sophomore in 1999. Marshall also helped Bucknell win seven out of eight possible Patriot League Indoor or Outdoor Track & Field titles in her four years with the Bison. She owns the school record in the outdoor 5,000-meter run, and won the gold in the same event as a junior at the Patriot League Championship in 2001.
At the Bucknell Senior Athletic Awards Banquet on April 30, Marshall received the Margaret L. Bryan Award for outstanding achievement in more than one varsity sport.
McConnell is a psychology and religion major with a 3.91 cumulative grade point average. She was awarded the 2001 Bucknell President's Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement and inducted into BU's Phi Beta Kappa chapter in 2002.
For more than two years, she served as a teacher's assistant for psychological statistics. She was also a student affiliate of the American Psychological Association and participated in the National Psychological Honor Society (Psi Chi) and the National Senior Honor Society (Mortar Board).
Outside the classroom, McConnell made her presence felt as a dominating middle distance runner and a key contributor on the Bison cross country team. A member of seven different Patriot League indoor or outdoor track & field championship teams, she helped the Bison win their fourth straight outdoor league title this spring by placing fifth in the 1,500-meter run and running a leg on the winning 3,200-meter relay team. Indoors, McConnell contributed to BU's fourth Patriot League Indoor Track & Field team title in the last five years this winter by placing second in the mile, fourth in the 1,000 and running on the winning 3,200-meter relay at the league championship meet. At the ECAC Indoor Championships, McConnell ran the 1,600 leg of BU's record-setting distance medley relay that finished sixth and shattered the team record by more than 15 seconds. In cross country season, McConnell helped Bucknell win its fourth straight Patriot League title by finishing eighth at the league championship meet to earn all-league status.
An elementary education major with a 3.40 grade-point average, Bango was selected to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll on multiple occasions, and served as a student-teacher in the fall of 2001. She is a member of the Pennsylvania State/National Education Association, as well as the National Honor Society for Education. Bango also was an active member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee.
One of the top middle distance runners in Bucknell and Patriot League history, Bango made a profound impact on the Bison track & field program since her freshman season. Over the course of her brilliant four-year career, she led the Bison to three out of four indoor Patriot League Championships and four straight outdoor league titles. Individually, Bango racked up an astounding 22 Patriot League gold medals, including four straight titles in the indoor and outdoor 3,200-meter relay and four straight golds in the indoor open 800-meter run. For her achievements, she was named to the Patriot League Track & Field All-Decade team in 2000. She was also honored as the female recipient of Bucknell's Christy Mathewson Award, presented to one outstanding male and female senior athlete.
The Bucknell track & field teams concluded their 2001-02 season on May 17-18 at the ECAC/IC4A Championships.
