Two Binghamton University student-athletes were named America East Scholar-Athletes for fall 2010 by the conference yesterday. Graduate student Chris Gaube, a member of the cross country team, and Michelle McDonough, a senior outside hitter for the volleyball team, were two of the six athletes honored by the conference.

A committee composed of athletic administrators and NCAA Faculty Athletics Representatives chose one student-athlete from each of the six fall championship sports. Each honoree was a starter or prominent reserve and carries a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.20. Binghamton was the only school in the conference to have more than one honoree.

Gaube generated a 3.50 GPA for the semester. He has been named to the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll every semester of his career. The three-time member of the All-Academic Cross Country Team has recorded one of the top-10 individual times at each of the last three America East Cross Country Championships and placed sixth at the 2010 championships to help lead his team to a second-place finish. Gaube has served as team captain the last two seasons, including captaining the 2009 America East Championship squad. He is the first-ever America East Scholar-Athlete from the BU men’s cross country team.

“It certainly took me by surprise,” Gaube said regarding the honor. “It wasn’t something I was shooting for … I always strive for excellence in my academics. It’s a pretty cool honor to receive because I take even more pride in my academic pursuits than I do in my athletic pursuits. It’s something that’s pretty humbling to receive, it’s a pretty cool honor.”

McDonough is the third BU volleyball player to receive AE Scholar-Athlete honors — Megan Hoag and Jacki Kane were honored in 2006 and 2007, respectively. McDonough recorded a 3.41 GPA en route to graduating with a degree in mathematics and secondary education in just three years. She’s currently working toward her master’s degree in mathematics adolescence education through Binghamton’s Education Department. She was named to the America East All-Academic Team for the third straight season in 2010; she’s only the second student-athlete to earn that achievement since the team’s inception in 2005.

McDonough rose to No. 1 on Binghamton’s all-time kills list during the 2010 season. She finished her career with 1,469 kills after posting 392 of them in her final season, breaking Michelle Heck’s school record of 1,445, which was set in 2004. McDonough led the conference with 3.88 kills per set in 2010, finishing with a career mark of 3.49 kills per set, which is the third-best mark in school history. Her 4.28 points per set was good for second in the conference in 2010. She ranks fifth in program history with 1,078 digs and is the third Bearcat in program history to record over 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. In 2010, McDonough earned America East All-Conference First Team honors for the third straight season.