WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University senior John Drago (Avon, Conn./Avon HS) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference Sport Excellence Award winner for men's cross country.

One student-athlete is selected in each conference sport for excellence in both athletics and academics by a committee of athletic administrators and Faculty Athletic Representatives.

Drago was also selected for the Academic All-Conference team in men's cross country, along with classmate Sean Maguire (Essex, Vt./Essex HS). Bentley was the only team that had multiple representatives on the five-man team.

Drago was Bentley's number one finisher at the NCAA Division II Championships, placing 97th overall.  One of the team's captains, he was also ninth in the NCAA East Regional, 17th in the Northeast-10 Championships and 52nd in the New Englands.

A 2012 Capital One Academic All-America third-team selection, Drago was named to the USTFCCCA Division II All-East Region team for the second time and garnered third-team All-Northeast-10 recognition.

A corporate finance and accounting major with a GPA exceeding 3.8, he's made six appearances on the President's List in seven semesters, and this is the fourth time he's received Academic All-Northeast-10 recognition, including the third straight year in cross country.

Maguire, also a CFA major and a Bentley team captain, was 11th in the NCAA East Regional and 15th in the Northeast-10 Championships. Those performances earned him spots on both the All-Northeast-10 third team and the All-East Region squad.

Maguire, whose GPA is over 3.7, earned Capital One Academic All-District honors in 2011.

Both athletes were previously named to the 2012 USTFCCCA All-Academic team, Drago for the third time and Maguire for the second.