LORETTO, PA -- University of Delaware pole vaulter Kelli McDonald (at right) has been selected to the ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) District 2 Women’s Track and Field All-Academic Team.

A junior from Phoenixville, PA (Phoenixville High School), McDonald was among 11 student-athletes honored on the team and is now eligible for the national Academic All-American team. Her 3.94 cumulative grade point average as an accounting major was the highest of all 11 honorees.

The team is selected by sports information directors of member schools. To be eligible, student-athletes must carry a 3.2 or better grade point average, have sophomore or older eligibility, and be a starter or key contributor to their team. District 2 includes all NCAA Division I schools in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

McDonald is the fourth Blue Hen student-athlete to earn a spot on the CoSIDA All-District team, joining football player Mike Byrne, volleyball player Colleen Walsh, and swimmer Adam Blomberg.

A three-year letterwinner for both the UD indoor and outdoor track and field teams, McDonald holds the school record in both the indoor (12-6) and outdoor (12-6 1/4) pole vault events. She placed fourth at the Colonial Athletic Association Outdoor Championships in 2007 and was third this spring. She also placed ninth in the outdoor pole vault at the ECAC Eastern Championships this spring. She has won 15 individual meet titles.

A Dean’s List student and a member of the CAA Academic Honor Roll, McDonald is a student representative on the University of Delaware Athletic Governing Board, participates in the Executive Mentors Scholar Program, and is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

McDonald also volunteers with Special Olympics Delaware, with the Newark Senior Center, with the NSCS Food Drive, and has worked as a tax preparer for inner-city poor in Wilmington. She will study abroad this summer in Beijing, China.

Also named to the All-District team were senior Beverly Rogers and junior Gillian Nordquist of Bucknell, senior Jesse Carlin of Pennsylvania, graduate student Elizabeth Maloy of Georgetown, sophomore Marie-Louise Asselin of West Virginia, senior Lisa Morse and sophomore Anna Hoffman of St. Francis (PA), junior Heidi Nadeau of Penn State, senior Tiffany Hahn of Monmouth, and senior Christina Smith of Maryland.