Feb. 9, 2017

By Megan Golden

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Atlantic Coast Conference released its Cross Country All-ACC Academic Team, featuring seven Fighting Irish cross country student-athletes, on Thursday. The University of Notre Dame received the third-most selections in the conference.

The Irish were led by its women’s squad, which had five runners named to the team. Graduate student Danielle Aragon, senior Lexi Pelletier and sophomores Rachel DaDamio, Annie Heffernan and Anna Rohrer each were chosen to the team.

On the men’s side, senior Christopher Marco and sophomore Anthony Williams also were tabbed All-ACC Academic Team members.

The academic honor is the second of DaDamio’s career and the first for all other Irish runners.

Notre Dame’s seven selections trail only North Carolina State (10) selections and Virginia Tech (eight).

“We are all very proud of the men and women who earn Academic All-ACC,” Irish associate head coach Matt Sparks said. “To be a scholar-athlete at the University of Notre Dame takes a tremendous amount of dedication. With most of these athletes being underclassmen, we are excited to see them collect more awards in the years to come.”

Rohrer finished won the 2016 ACC Cross Country Championship and finished third in the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championship. Most recently, she was tabbed ACC Female Performer of the Year and a 2016 Honda Sport Award Nominee.

Aragon, a co-captain, finished ninth in the ACC Championship and 52nd in the national championship, while Heffernan earned a sixth-place finish in the conference championship and 41st place in the NCAA Championship. Aragon and Heffernan each were named to the All-ACC Cross Country Team.

DaDamio recorded a 29th-place finish in the Great Lakes Regional Championship, while Pelletier raced to 37th.

Marco, who co-captained the men’s squad, finished in 47th at the ACC Championships and 54th at regionals. Williams finished 28th at the conference meet and 77th overall at regionals.

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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track and field programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.