University of New Hampshire Athletics
6/2/2021 10:37:00 AM | Field Hockey, General, Men's Track & Field, Women's Cross Country, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Track & Field, Academics, Men's Cross Country
BOSTON – Nine University of New Hampshire student-athletes were named an America East Presidential Scholar-Athlete on Wednesday in recognition of exemplary academic achievement through their college careers.
This year's distinguished Wildcats are: Conner Allen (Centreville, Md.), Miranda Bacon (Scotia, N.Y.), Cayla Barretto (Woburn, Mass.), Althea Devereux (Jericho, Vt.), Caroline Mahoney (Bedford, N.H.), Erin Malone (Crofton, Md.), Jennika Mannesto (Concord, N.H.), Dylan McLaughlin (Moltonborough, N.H.) and Alexandra Toback (Pompton Plains, N.J.).
The Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award recognizes graduating student-athletes who compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher as an undergraduate, received an undergraduate degree in Spring 2021 and have attended their institution a minimum of two years.
All nine Wildcats are also two-time members of the National College Athlete Honor Society, Chi Alpha Sigma, which is comprised of junior and senior student-athletes who achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher and are of good moral character.
Allen, a midfielder on the field hockey team, earned an English degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA. In the Spring 2021 season, Allen was the only Wildcat to start all 12 games and she led the team in minutes played with 710 of a possible 724 (98.1%). She played the full 60 minutes nine times and also played 60 of 64 minutes in an overtime game. Allen tallied one point on one assist. Allen is a four-time Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Scholar of Distinction.
Bacon earned a 3.81 cumulative GPA and a Communication Sciences & Disorders degree while competing on the swimming & diving team. She was a 12-time All-America East honoree with three accolades every year. In her final meet as a Wildcat, Bacon won the 200-yard individual medley, place second in the 200 breaststroke and third in the 100 breaststroke at the America East championship meet to help UNH win a second consecutive conference title. Bacon was voted to the America East All-Academic Team all three years she was eligible for the award.
Barretto, a letterwinner on the women's cross country and track & field teams, received a Nursing degree with a 3.75 cumulative GPA. In the 2021 outdoor season, Barretto ran personal best times in the 800 meter, 1,500m and mile; she ran the PRs in the 800m and mile two days apart and set the 1,500m mark at the America East championships. She was also part of the winning 4x800m relay team at that conference meet. Barretto helped UNH win the 2019 America East cross country title with an 11th-place finish.
Devereux, another letterwinner on both the women's cross country and track & field teams, recorded a 3.81 GPA while earning a Nursing degree. In the 2021 outdoor season, Devereux established a personal best time in 4 of 6 track meets with a new benchmark in four different events – the 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m. Her third-place finish in the 10,000m helped UNH to a runner-up finish at the America East championship meet.
Mahoney lettered on the women's cross country and track & field teams, and she earned a Human Development & Family Studies degree with a 3.91 GPA. Mahoney did not compete in the abbreviated cross country and indoor track seasons in the 2020-21 season. Her third-place finish in the 3,000m at the UNH Wildcat Invitational II outdoor meet in April 2021 was her first competition since the IC4A indoor championships in March 2020. Mahoney placed sixth in her final race as a Wildcat in the 10,000m at the New England outdoor championships.
Malone earned a Biomedical Science: Med Lab Sciences degree with a 3.81 GPA while competing on the field hockey team. The defender was one of 38 players selected to the 2020 NFHCA Senior Team. Malone starter all 11 games she played in the Spring 2021 season and played 653 of a possible 664 minutes (98.3%); that included 60 minutes each of the last 10 games of the season. Malone was voted to the Spring 2021 America East All-Academic Team and made the NFHCA National Academic Squad all four years.
Mannesto recorded a 3.95 GPA while competing on the women's cross country and track & field teams and completing a degree in Human Development & Family Studies. In the 2021 outdoor track season, Mannesto set a personal best time in the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m. She ran to fifth place in the 10,000m at the conference championship meet to help UNH to a runner-up finish, then capped the season with a personal best effort for second place in that event at New Englands.
McLaughlin competed on the men's cross country and track & field teams while earning a 3.79 GPA and Business Administration: Finance degree. In the 2021 outdoor season, he recorded a personal best in the 800m, 3,000m steeplechase and 1,500m in back-to-back-back weeks. McLaughlin narrowly missed a sub-4 in the 1,500m with a time of 4:00.84. He did run a sub-2 of 1:56.24 in the 800m.
Toback finished with a near-perfect 3.98 GPA and a Communications Sciences & Disorders degree while competing as a thrower -- specializing in the javelin -- for the women's track & field teams. She recorded a personal best mark in the javelin to earn sixth place at the 2019 America East outdoor meet, then duplicated that placement at the 2021 outdoor conference championships.
The Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award was approved by the America East Board of Presidents in June 2013 and implemented in the 2013-14 academic year. Since then, a total of 553 elite student-athletes have been honored as part of the program, including a record-high 121 this year.
This year's distinguished Wildcats are: Conner Allen (Centreville, Md.), Miranda Bacon (Scotia, N.Y.), Cayla Barretto (Woburn, Mass.), Althea Devereux (Jericho, Vt.), Caroline Mahoney (Bedford, N.H.), Erin Malone (Crofton, Md.), Jennika Mannesto (Concord, N.H.), Dylan McLaughlin (Moltonborough, N.H.) and Alexandra Toback (Pompton Plains, N.J.).
The Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award recognizes graduating student-athletes who compiled a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher as an undergraduate, received an undergraduate degree in Spring 2021 and have attended their institution a minimum of two years.
All nine Wildcats are also two-time members of the National College Athlete Honor Society, Chi Alpha Sigma, which is comprised of junior and senior student-athletes who achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher and are of good moral character.
Allen, a midfielder on the field hockey team, earned an English degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA. In the Spring 2021 season, Allen was the only Wildcat to start all 12 games and she led the team in minutes played with 710 of a possible 724 (98.1%). She played the full 60 minutes nine times and also played 60 of 64 minutes in an overtime game. Allen tallied one point on one assist. Allen is a four-time Zag Field Hockey/NFHCA Scholar of Distinction.
Bacon earned a 3.81 cumulative GPA and a Communication Sciences & Disorders degree while competing on the swimming & diving team. She was a 12-time All-America East honoree with three accolades every year. In her final meet as a Wildcat, Bacon won the 200-yard individual medley, place second in the 200 breaststroke and third in the 100 breaststroke at the America East championship meet to help UNH win a second consecutive conference title. Bacon was voted to the America East All-Academic Team all three years she was eligible for the award.
Barretto, a letterwinner on the women's cross country and track & field teams, received a Nursing degree with a 3.75 cumulative GPA. In the 2021 outdoor season, Barretto ran personal best times in the 800 meter, 1,500m and mile; she ran the PRs in the 800m and mile two days apart and set the 1,500m mark at the America East championships. She was also part of the winning 4x800m relay team at that conference meet. Barretto helped UNH win the 2019 America East cross country title with an 11th-place finish.
Devereux, another letterwinner on both the women's cross country and track & field teams, recorded a 3.81 GPA while earning a Nursing degree. In the 2021 outdoor season, Devereux established a personal best time in 4 of 6 track meets with a new benchmark in four different events – the 1,500m, 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m. Her third-place finish in the 10,000m helped UNH to a runner-up finish at the America East championship meet.
Mahoney lettered on the women's cross country and track & field teams, and she earned a Human Development & Family Studies degree with a 3.91 GPA. Mahoney did not compete in the abbreviated cross country and indoor track seasons in the 2020-21 season. Her third-place finish in the 3,000m at the UNH Wildcat Invitational II outdoor meet in April 2021 was her first competition since the IC4A indoor championships in March 2020. Mahoney placed sixth in her final race as a Wildcat in the 10,000m at the New England outdoor championships.
Malone earned a Biomedical Science: Med Lab Sciences degree with a 3.81 GPA while competing on the field hockey team. The defender was one of 38 players selected to the 2020 NFHCA Senior Team. Malone starter all 11 games she played in the Spring 2021 season and played 653 of a possible 664 minutes (98.3%); that included 60 minutes each of the last 10 games of the season. Malone was voted to the Spring 2021 America East All-Academic Team and made the NFHCA National Academic Squad all four years.
Mannesto recorded a 3.95 GPA while competing on the women's cross country and track & field teams and completing a degree in Human Development & Family Studies. In the 2021 outdoor track season, Mannesto set a personal best time in the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m. She ran to fifth place in the 10,000m at the conference championship meet to help UNH to a runner-up finish, then capped the season with a personal best effort for second place in that event at New Englands.
McLaughlin competed on the men's cross country and track & field teams while earning a 3.79 GPA and Business Administration: Finance degree. In the 2021 outdoor season, he recorded a personal best in the 800m, 3,000m steeplechase and 1,500m in back-to-back-back weeks. McLaughlin narrowly missed a sub-4 in the 1,500m with a time of 4:00.84. He did run a sub-2 of 1:56.24 in the 800m.
Toback finished with a near-perfect 3.98 GPA and a Communications Sciences & Disorders degree while competing as a thrower -- specializing in the javelin -- for the women's track & field teams. She recorded a personal best mark in the javelin to earn sixth place at the 2019 America East outdoor meet, then duplicated that placement at the 2021 outdoor conference championships.
The Presidential Scholar-Athlete Award was approved by the America East Board of Presidents in June 2013 and implemented in the 2013-14 academic year. Since then, a total of 553 elite student-athletes have been honored as part of the program, including a record-high 121 this year.
| Name | Sport | Degree | GPA |
| Conner Allen | Field Hockey | English | 4.00 |
| Miranda Bacon | Swimming & Diving | Communication Sciences & Disorders | 3.81 |
| Cayla Barretto | Women's XC / Track & Field | Nursing | 3.75 |
| Althea Devereux | Women's XC / Track & Field | Nursing | 3.81 |
| Caroline Mahoney | Women's XC / Track & Field | Human Development & Family Studies | 3.91 |
| Erin Malone | Field Hockey | Biomedical Science: Med Lab Sciences | 3.81 |
| Jennika Mannesto | Women's XC / Track & Field | Human Development & Family Studies | 3.95 |
| Dylan McLaughlin | Men's XC / Track & Field | Business Administration: Finance | 3.79 |
| Alexandra Toback | Women's Track & Field | Communication Sciences & Disorders | 3.98 |
Players Mentioned
M
/ Field Hockey
Breast
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
B
/ Field Hockey
Distance
/ Women's Cross Country
Distance
/ Men's Cross Country
Throws / Sprints
/ Women's Track & FieldTuesday, November 03
Saturday, October 31
Saturday, October 31
Sunday, October 25