Ndhlovu, Clancy Named To CoSIDA Academic All-District Team

ITHACA, N.Y. – NCAA All-American junior Pardon Ndhlovu and rookie assistant cross country coach Kevin Clancy, were the two distance runners from the UNCP men's track and field and cross country teams to be named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) academic all-district first team in district three – college division, the organization announced Thursday morning.

Ndhlovu, a Zimbabwe native, is the most recent all-American in track and field athlete after clinching a fourth place finish in the 10000m run at the 2012 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships with a time of 31:26.45 in the event. This season he collected 10 top-5 finishes including five first place finishes with two at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships. He led the Braves in four different events including the 800m, 1500m, 5000m and 10000m runs which grabbed him USTFCCCA all-region honors.

During the cross country season, he was named to the USTFCCCA All-Region Team, USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, Peach Belt Conference All-Conference Team, PBC All-Academic Team, USTFCCCA Male Athlete of the Year for the Southeast Region and PBC Runner of the Week for three-consecutive weeks (Sept. 6, Sept. 12, Oct. 3). The business administration major garnered PBC Runner of the Year with his first PBC Individual Champion honor at the PBC Championships with a time of 25:11.93 to post the 10th fastest 8K time in school history and lead the Braves to a second place finish in the league.
 He also set the school record in the 8K by four seconds at the Charlotte Invitational with a time of 24:24.20 for an overall third place finish out of 260 athletes and first among all NCAA Division II athletes. While maintaining a 3.31 grade point average, he finished the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championship as region champion (marking his fourth first-place finish this season) for the first time in his career with the second fastest 10K time in school history (30:55.5) to lead UNCP to a fifth place finish in the region.

Clancy, a South Hill, Wash., native, ran for four years as a part of the cross country and track and field teams at UNC Pembroke while obtaining his degree. He wrapped up his education in exercise and sport science in December of 2011. He maintained a 3.89 grade point average and was one of the top-5 runners for the Braves. The senior ran a season best in the 8K at the Charlotte Invitational with a time of 27:00.08 to help UNCP collect an 11th place finish. He was a member of the Peach Belt Conference All-Academic Team and was named to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team this season.

As a result of Ndhlovu's and Clancy's nomination to the CoSIDA first team, their statistics will advance to the national ballot where they will have an opportunity to be nominated for Capital One Academic All-American team. Only paying members of CoSIDA were able to vote at the district level and determine the first-team all-district selections. At the national level, only members of the Academic All-America committee and the CoSIDA board of directors will be able to vote to determine the Academic All-America teams.

The voting period for the national ballot begins Tuesday and will end on June 12. The academic All-America Team for men's cross country/track and field will be released on June 19.

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