The Tigers have sent three student-athletes to the NCAA Division-I Track & Field National Championships, including javelin thrower Kelly Robinson (2004, 2005, 2008) high jumper Laura Passalacqua (2007) and hurdler Ashley Adams (2010).
Robinson finished her javelin-throwing career with the Tigers in 2008, competing three times at the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championship Meet. Her 2004 appearance at the NCAA Division I Championship Meet marked the first time a Tiger had qualified for the event. In 2008, she set Towson's school record in the javelin with a throw of 159'4" (48.58m).
While at Towson, Robinson was also a member of the women's basketball team. In her career on the hardwood, Robinson finished her career ranked sixth on the Tigers' all-time scoring list (1,171 points) and set a school record by playing in 115 career games, starting 110 times.
Passalacqua followed in Robinson's footsteps, qualifying for the 2007 NCAA national meet in the high jump after setting Towson's outdoor school record. The jump of her career, Passalacqua cleared 5'11.25" in the 2007 East Regional to finish fifth and qualify for the NCAA Division I Championship Meet. Set in 2006, Passalacqua also holds Towson's indoor school record in the high jump with a leap of 5'10".
Adams (above) graduated in 2011 and currently holds each of Towson's school records in the 55 meter hurdles (8.07), 60 meter hurdles (8.43), 60 meter dash (7.69), 100 meter hurdles (13.05) and 400 meter hurdles (59.60). Additionally, Adams set indoor school records in 2011 with a leap of 18'11.50" (5.78m) in the long jump and scoring 3,858 points in the pentathlon.
Both Ogden (2010, 2011) and Gilmartin-Donohue (2011) were named All-CAA performers during their career, joining Megan Lerch (2004) as the only three cross country runners in Towson history to earn that distinction.
Towson Cross Country success on the individual level also traces back to the early years of Roger Erricker's tenure as head coach. In 1987, Maureen Shaneman Hall finished the regular season undefeated, ultimately finishing third at the East Coach Conference (ECC) Championships. Four years later, Vikki Benhardt Epps won the ECC title. Both Shaneman Hall and Benhardt Epps have since been inducted into the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame.
Towson's track and field and cross country rosters are filled with student-athletes who distinguish themselves both in competition and in the classroom.
The Tiger Cross Country team has had a perfect NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) for the last seven years.
In 2010, the cross country team ranked 14th nationally out of 151 schools in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s Division-I All-Academic Scholar list.
Spearheading that impressive academic effort for the Tigers was Brandi Gervais (right), the CAA's 2010-11 Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A Biology major now attending dental school, Gervais graduated in 2011 with a perfect 4.0 GPA. On the cross country course, Gervais had three top-ten finishes for the Tigers, while also setting Towson's school record in the indoor 5K with a time of 17:45.33.
Additionally, three recipients of Towson's prestigious Doc Minnegan Scholarship have come from the cross country and track and field squads, including Alea Murphy (2008), Gervais (2010) and Erika Griffith (2011).
