Patriot runner named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team

Francis Marion University senior cross country runner Amanda Doyle has been named to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine® Academic All-District III (College Division) Team for women's track & field/cross country.

This awards program is conducted by the College Sports Information Directors of America, and District III includes Florida, Georgia, Virginia, and North and South Carolina.

Doyle will now be placed on the national Academic All-American ballot.

The Laurens, S.C., native earned a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting (magna cum laude) at last month’s commencement exercises.  She concluded her college work with a 3.81 grade point average. 

She was the Patriots’ top finisher in all seven meets this past fall, including a 37th-place showing at the Peach Belt Conference Championship Meet and a 69th-place finish at the NCAA Southeast Regional Meet.  Her best 6,000-meter time of the 2009 campaign (26:05) was registered at the PBC meet. She was named the most valuable player for both the cross country and track and field squads during the 2009-10 year.

Following the cross country season, she was named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA)  All-Academic Team.

She is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies, Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society, and Delta Sigma Pi professional fraternity.  She served for two years as the president of FMU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).  She was named to the PBC’s All-Academic Team in both 2008 and 2009, and is a past honoree on both the PBC Presidential and FMU Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic honor rolls.

Doyle was an All-Region performer at Laurens District 55 High School.

She is the fourth Patriot student-athlete (in different sports) to earn Academic All-District recognition during the 2009-10 year.

       Amanda Doyle