May 23, 2002

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- It was announced on Thursday, May 23 that junior Adam Sutton (Preston, England), senior Marissa Colburn (Wethersfield, Conn.) and senior Kate Gall (Cumberland, Md.) earned 2002 Track & Field/Cross Country Verizon Academic All-District 1 First Team honors. As part of an overall expansion of the Verizon Academic All-America program, the track & field/cross country teams were selected for the first time in the history of the program. In the past, track & field/cross country athletes were selected as part of the At-Large Teams.

Sutton, who has a 3.67 cumulative GPA and is majoring in management, was one of PC's top runners this year. He scored in all five cross country races he ran in 2001, including the New England Championship and the NCAA Championship. At the New England Championship, he placed second and earned All-New England honors. In his top race of the season, Sutton placed 24th overall and was PC's first finisher at the NCAA Cross Country Championship in Greenville, S.C. For his efforts at the NCAA Championship, he earned All-America accolades. During the outdoor track season, Sutton won the 5,000 meters at the Raleigh Relays and the IC4A Championship. He also placed third in the 5,000 at the BIG EAST Championship. He received United States Cross Country Coaches Association 2001 Men's NCAA Division 1 All-Academic Cross Country Team honors this year.

Colburn, an education major with a 3.99 GPA, helped the Friar cross country team place second at the BIG EAST Championships in 1999 and 2000 and third in 1998 and 2001. During the track season, Colburn finished third in the 3,000 meters at the University of Rhode Island Indoor Invitational. She is a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star.

Gall, a social work major with a 3.92 GPA, helped the women's cross country team capture the New England Championship in the fall. This spring, she placed second in the 800 meters at the UConn Spring Invitational. During the indoor season, she finished fourth in the 800 at the Yale Indoor Track Classic. She has earned BIG EAST Academic All-Star honors the last three years.

Since being named to the Track & Field/Cross Country Verizon Academic All-District 1 First Team, Sutton, Gall and Colburn now will be considered for Verizon Academic All-America Track & Field/Cross Country National Team honors, which will be determined in June.

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