Twelve Named To All-ACC Academic Team

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Twelve Irish have been named to the 2019 Outdoor Track and Field All-ACC Academic Team as announced by the conference Friday. The men’s side is represented by distance runners Andrew Alexander, Peter Monahan, Yared Nuguse and Bradley Wattleworth while eight Irish women make up the women’s team. NCAA East Regional Qualifiers Gabrielle Diederich and Rachel Tanzcos represent the fielders in the mix while six women’s distance runners, including Rachel DaDamio, Maddy Denner, Jackie Gaughan, Jessica Harris, Annasophia Keller and Anna Rohrer round out the team.

To be eligible for All-ACC Academic Team honors, an individual must maintain a grade point average (GPA) above 3.0 and have earned All-American, All-ACC, been recognized as a conference performer of the week during the regular season and/or qualified for the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas this season. 

Alexander qualified for the NCAA regional meet following his personal best run at the ACC Championships. Crossing the 5K finish in 14:01.48, he earned All-ACC First Team honors for his third place finish. In the classroom, he owns a 3.274 GPA with a major in Neuroscience and Behavior.

Monahan recorded a career best time of 29:57.35 in the 10K at the ACC Championships on his way to a sixth place finish and All-ACC Second Team honors. At the conclusion of his junior year, he held a GPA of 3.619 and a major in Science/Business.

A national champion and All-American in the men’s 1,500m, sophomore Yared Nuguse has a 3.801 GPA and was named to the Dean’s List for the spring of 2019 with a major in biochemistry. Aside from his national title, Nuguse was an ACC Champion in the same event and named First Team All-ACC. He recorded a personal best 1,500m time at the Bryan Clay Invitational of 3:38.32 which was third-best in the nation during the regular season.

Named to the All-ACC Second Team following a fifth place finish at the ACC Championships, Wattleworth qualified for the NCAA East Region Prelims in the 10K. He recorded a personal best time of 29:26.32 in the event at the Raleigh Relays while maintaining a GPA of 3.662, attaining his Masters of Management in May.

The women’s team saw five of the All-ACC Academic Team honorees qualify for a spot in the NCAA Championship meet, including DaDamio, Denner, Gaughan, Harris and Rohrer.

DaDamio earned a spot at the regional meet following a personal best 5K performance of 16:07.37 at the ACC Championships where she finished runner-up and was named First Team All-ACC. She went on to clinch the final spot from the East at the NCAA Championships in Austin where she finished 20th overall with a 5K time of 16:43.69. DaDamio graduated in May with a degree in Computational Math and Statistics, holding a 3.971 GPA.

A mid-year enrollee at Notre Dame, freshman Maddy Denner finished second at the ACC Championships in the 10K, qualifying for a spot at the NCAA regional meet later that month. There, she recorded a personal best 10K time of 33:37.65 to secure her spot at the championships in Austin. Part of the nation’s top-ranked women’s 10K squad, Denner completed her rookie season with a 19th place finish at the NCAA Championships, crossing the line in 34:58.38. With her focus on first-year of studies, she posted a 3.628 GPA in the spring semester.

Fellow freshman and 10K teammate Jackie Gaughan received the honor following her continued success on the track which includes a runner-up finish at the NCAA East Region Prelims with a personal best 10K time of 33:09.76 as well as Second Team All-ACC honors in the 5K. Through two semesters at Notre Dame, Gaughan, a first-year of studies major, has a GPA of 3.49.

All-American Jessica Harris concluded her Irish career with a bronze medal in the 1,500m and a season best time of 4:11.96. A two-time All-ACC Second Time honoree in 2019, Harris took fourth in the 800m at the conference championships while recording a personal best 5K time of 16:14.47 and a sixth place finish. Earning her Masters in Management, Harris recorded a final GPA of 3.81.

Keller set a personal best 3K steeplechase time of 10:32.60 at the ACC Championships on her way to fifth overall and All-ACC Second Team honors. She also recorded a career best finish in the 1,500m earlier in the season, at the Louisville Invitational, where she crossed the line in 4:28.23. An Economics and Design major, Keller owns a 3.303 GPA.

The reigning ACC 10K Champion, Rohrer finished sixth at the national championships to earn All-American honors. The senior recorded a season best 10K time at the NCAA East Region Prelims where she crossed the line first overall in 33:07.90. Part of the nation’s top-ranked 10K team, Rohrer owns a 3.342 GPA with a major in Neuroscience.

In the field, Diederich qualified for the NCAA East Region Prelims after her record breaking performance in javelin at the ACC Championships. Throwing for 47.39m, she broke her own Notre Dame school record on her way to fifth overall and All-ACC Second Team recognition. The sophomore is majoring in Accounting with a 3.195 GPA.

Tanczos qualified for three individual events at the NCAA regional meet, including the hammer throw, discus and shot put. At the ACC Championships, she was named to the All-ACC Second Team in both the shot put and hammer throw. Her mark in the shot put was a personal best, reaching 15.53m for fifth overall. During the regular season, she set Notre Dame program records in both the discus (52.71m; Jesse Owens Classic) and the hammer throw (64.28m; Virginia Challenge). A Theology and Psychology double major, Tanczos holds a 3.854 GPA.

Irish Honorees
Andrew Alexander
Rachel DaDamio
Maddy Denner
Gabrielle Diederich
Jacqueline Gaughan
Jessica Harris
AnnaSophia Keller
Peter Monahan
Yared Nuguse
Anna Rohrer
Rachel Tanczos
Bradley Wattleworth