NJAC NEWS ARCHIVE

 2003-04

June 4, 2004


 NJCU'S LAWSON AND ROWAN'S McCULLEN HONORED AS NJAC
 ATHLETES OF THE YEAR AT FIFTH ANNUAL AWARDS BRUNCH


OVER 75 NJAC STUDENT-ATHLETES HONORED AT THE HYATT REGENCY IN PRINCETON


New Jersey City senior sprinter Diana Lawson and Rowan junior pitcher Tom McCullen were honored as the 2003-04 NJAC Athletes of the Year at the Fifth Annual NJAC Awards Brunch on June 6. The awards presented to Lawson and McCullen highlighted the event which was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Princeton in front of a record crowd. In all, over 75 student-athletes were honored for academic and athletic excellence.

Lawson, a nine-time All-American sprinter and a three-time NCAA Division III National Champion in the 55-meter dash, is one of only 11 track & field athletes in the history of NCAA Division III to win a national championship in an event three times in her career. She owns the four fastest times in the 55-meter dash in Division III history including the current record of 6.93 seconds. In fact, Lawson is the only Division III competitor to ever break the seven second mark in the event. She was honored as the 2004 United States Track Coaches Atlantic Region Indoor Female Athlete of the Year after being named the NJAC Indoor Track & Field Most Outstanding Female Athlete at the 2003-04 conference championships. Lawson is scheduled to receive her bachelor of science degree in criminal justice in fall of 2004.

McCullen, earned All-American honors as a left-handed pitcher for a Rowan baseball squad which captured its second consecutive NJAC Championship in 2004. The Profs  advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they posted four consecutive victories in the Boyertown Regional to advance to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. On the season, McCullen posted an 11-2 record with a 1.71 earned run average with 86 strikeouts in 105.1 innings. His 11 wins tied him for the fifth most among all Division III pitchers nationally. He also played an integral part in the Profs’ national best team ERA of 2.29. An elementary education major with a 3.80 grade point average, McCullen was recently selected as a CoSIDA Academic All-American.