Chestnut Hill College Men's Cross country runner Cole Stanchina was named to the 2023 PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Men's Cross Country Team.   Stanchina is one of just seven area athletes selected. The team is voted on by the sports information offices of 30 institutions from the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

In order to be eligible for Academic All-Area, an athlete must have reached his or her second year at the institution and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or better. A student in graduate school must have at least a 3.30 grade point average in both undergraduate and graduate school (if not in first semester of graduate program).  

Stanchina is the first men's cross country runner to be selected for the academic all-area team since Zigmund Fisher in 2019. He is also just the third runner in program history to earn area all-academic honors, joining Fisher and Mike Cavanaugh (2009).  Stanchina is also the only NCAA Division II runner selected to the team this year from the five area division II schools.

A media and Communications major, Stanchina earned All-Conference honors for the second consecutive year with his seventh place finish at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship meet. in late October.  He was also named to the CSC Division II Cross Country/Track and Field Academic All-District for the 2022-23 season and USTFCCCA  All-Academic Team in 2022. Stanchina has also earned Dean's List and  CHC Athletic Academic Honor Roll accolades in each of his first four semesters at Chestnut Hill.

Stanchina followed his performance at the CACC championship meet with a 25^th place finish at the NCAA Division II East Region Championships, becoming the first Griffins runner to earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors since Giancarlo Martines in 2015.  He also won two regular season meets, the Philadelphia Metro and the Cairn Cup Challenge, becoming the first runner since Fisher in 2019 to win two regular season meets.  His win at the Philadelphia Metro is the first time a Griffins runner has ever captured the individual title at the prestigious meet.

Joining Stanchina on the PhillySIDA Academic all-Area Men's Cross Country Team are six other high-achieving student-athletes: Haverford College runners Peter LaRochelle, Matthew Denton, and Seamus Fraser; Tom Flear from Widener University; Rowan University's Jacob Riley and University of Pennsylvania runner Dylan Throop. LaRochelle was named the PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Performer of the Year.