McGehearty Brothers, Sarah Egnaczyk Named BC's "Eagles of the Year"

Twin brothers Mark and Sean McGehearty, the nation's top-ranked collegiate weight throwers, and All-America field hockey goalkeeper Sarah Egnaczyk have been named winners of the 1997 Nathaniel J. Hasenfus "Eagle of the Year" awards as the outstanding senior student-athletes at Boston College.

The McGehearty brothers, from Providence, R.I. (Classical High School), and Eznaczyk, of Woodbridge, Conn. (Amity High School) were presented the awards - bronze eagles on inscribed mahogany bases - at Boston College's All-Sports Banquet held at Conte Forum Thursday night. The honor - which is Boston College's highest athletic award - is given in the memory of Dr. Nathaniel Hasenfus `22, beloved historian of Eagle athletics, who died in 1975.

The McGehearty brothers have earned All-America honors nine times (six for Mark, three for Sean) in their varsity careers. In March, they finished 1-2 (with Sean winning with a toss of 72-3) in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship weight throw - the first time in more than 50 years that brothers have finished in the top two places of national collegiate track and field competition. Earlier in the indoor season, Sean set an American collegiate record in the weight throwing event with a distance of 72-10.

This past weekend, the twins finished 1-2 in the collegiate hammer throw at the Penn Relays. In that event, Sean set a school record with a toss of 224-6, eclipsing Mark's previous BC standard of 223-8.

Both brothers qualified for the hammer throw competition at last summer's U.S. Olympic Trials, and finished in the top 12 - a rare accomplishment for collegiate athleties in this event.

The McGeheartys have qualified to compete in the upcoming NCAA Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw event.

In addition to their numerous athletic achievements, both Mark (sociology major) and Sean (history) are Dean's List students. They each plan on attending graduate school at Boston College next year.

Not only has Egnaczyk enjoyed an outsdtanding collegiate field hockey career, she is a two-time member of the U.S. National 21-and-Under Team that trained with the U.S. Olympic squad in Atlanta. She was an alternate for the 1997 U.S. National Team.

Sarah has established BC records for wins (41), shutouts (19) and saves (659). She twice won All-BIG EAST Conference honors and was a Regional All-America selection as a senior. The field hockey team advanced to the BIG EAST semifinals in each of her four varsity seasons, and won the conference championship in 1994, when Sarah was named the tounament's Most Valuable Player. BC's 1994 BIG EAST champions later advanced to the "Final Eight" of the NCAA Field Hockey Championship Tournament.

As a junior, the two-time captain was ranked first among BIG EAST goalies in both save percentage (.895) and wins (12).

Also an outstanding student, Sarah will graduate magna cum laude with a degree in finance at Boston College's commencement ceremonies later this month.