July 13, 2010

PHILADELPHIA - Four La Salle track student-athletes were named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area teams, as announced by the Inquirer on Tuesday. Trevon Rainford, Andrew Wagoner and Terence McPeak were honored on the men's side, while Stephanie Bearish picked up her first All-Area honor on the women's team.

Rainford earned a repeat selection to the Academic All-Area team after being named all-area for the cross country season. He helped the Explorers' 4x800 relay squad to a record-breaking performance at the outdoor Atlantic 10 Championship. He was the second leg of the squad, which posted a conference-, school- and facility record (7:23.95) in capturing the conference title. During the indoor season, Rainford helped the 4x800 team to its second straight indoor title while earning the silver medal in the mile. The USTFCCCA Academic All-American graduated in May with a degree in Marketing.

Wagoner also earned a repeat selection to the Academic All-Area team. Wagoner was a two-time pick for the cross country all-area team and was a 2008 Cross Country Academic All-Conference honoree. This past season, he ran to a top 10 finish in the 10,000 meter run at the outdoor Atlantic 10 Championship. Wagoner graduated in May with a degree in American Studies.

Picking up his first Academic All-Area honor is McPeak, who was also a member of that record-breaking 4x800 relay squad. He also captured the conference 800 meter title at the outdoor Atlantic 10 Championship this season. McPeak earned Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference honors for the 2009-10 indoor season after capturing silver in the 800m and helping the indoor 4x800 to its second straight title. McPeak is an Integrated Science, Business & Technology major.

On the women's side, Bearish earned her first Academic All-Area honor. The education major ran two ECAC-qualifying 5,000 meter races, including a season-best 17:04.44 and fourth place finish at the Stanford Invitational. She also finished in the top half of a power-packed 5K race at the Penn Relays, clocking an ECAC time of 17:08.67.

With four picks across the men's and women's teams, La Salle led all Philadelphia area schools. Haverford College also had four honorees, followed by Gwynedd-Mercy and Rutgers-Camden with three apiece. The Explorer men led with three honorees on the men's all-area team.