Colby-Sawyer Athletics

AT COLBY-SAWYER
2022: In her senior year, O'Connell competed in all six races for the Chargers. At the 4th Annual Charger Invitational, she raced her way to 1st place after clocking in at 20:04.41. On October 15th, Shannon had an impressive performance at the Connecticut College Invitational where she finished 6th overall, out of 113 runners, with a time of 23:39.2. O'Connell lead the Chargers to their second GNAC title on October 29th after capturing 1st place with a time of 24:11.8. As the top finisher, she earned the 2022 GNAC Women's Runner of the Year award as well as a selection to the All-GNAC First Team. At the NCAA Division III East Regionals, she finished 49th overall, out of 243 runners, with a time of 23:52.5. O'Connell would later be named to the 2022 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) and was named the 2022 Outstanding Senior Athlete of the Year. 

2021: O'Connell competed in four races for the Chargers in 2021. Shannon had her best 6K time of the season in the NCAA East Regionals on November 13th finishing in 88th place with a time of 26:24.7. O'Connell also placed third in the 2021 Charger Invitational 5K on September 4th with a time of 20:46.7.

2020: The team did not compete due to COVID-19. 

2019: O'Connell was very impressive in her first season with the Chargers. O'Connell was second overall, out of 94 runners, and the top first-year runner as she helped the Chargers to win their first GNAC Championship. She was named GNAC Rookie of the Year and All-GNAC First Team. O'Connell covered the 6k course in a time of 23:58. In addition, O'Connell earned three GNAC Rookies of the Week and one Runner of the Week. She also posted a pair of record-setting runs. O'Connell now holds the record in the 5k with a time of 18:55.4 and the 6k at 22:45.58. The 6k record came at the NCAA Regionals where she placed 50th, which is the highest second-highest finish in program history. O'Connell also garnered USTFCCCA All-Academic honors. She finished second in the opening race to guide the team to win the 2nd Annual Charger Invitational. 

PRIOR TO COLBY-SAWYER: Graduate of Peabody High School, where O'Connell was a cross country all-star, indoor track & field league champion and outdoor track & field league champion. O'Connell is also a member of the National Honor Society.