PHILADELPHIA—Fifth year collegiate middle distance runner Sean Dolan (Ewing, N.J.) was named the PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Men's Track & Field Performer of the Year in an announcement made on Friday morning. The honor combines academic excellence with athletic accomplishments and is voted on by the media relations offices from more than two dozen colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area. Dolan is one of 11 student-athletes who make up the PhillySIDA Men's Track & Field Academic All-Area Team.
 
Dolan concluded his record-setting collegiate career at the NCAA Championships earlier this month where he earned his fourth career first team All-America honor and second of the year. He was the runner-up in the 800 meters at the indoor NCAA Championships in March and added his second career fifth place outdoor finish two weeks ago. His second place finish indoors matched the best ever by a Villanova athlete in the 800 meters at the indoor national meet. Dolan ends his collegiate carer ranked second in school history in the 800 meters (1:45.83) and the 1000 meters (2:20.89), seventh in the 1500 meters (3:38.60) and eighth in the mile (3:56.39) based on times recorded during the collegiate calendar.
 
In addition to excelling on a national level, Dolan broke several BIG EAST records during his Wildcats career. He is the only athlete in conference history to win BIG EAST titles in the 800 meters four times outdoors, three times indoors and seven times in all. Dolan went undefeated in the preliminary heats and finals of 14 career open 800 meter races at the BIG EAST Championships and he closed out his conference career with a championship record performance of 1:45.83 at the outdoor championships last month. The time is the 12^th-fastest absolute time in Villanova history and ranks second among times recorded during the collegiate season. Dolan also ran 1:45.89 at the NCAA Championships earlier this month.
 
Dolan is the indoor school record holder in the 800 meters with his time of 1:46.90 set at the indoor BIG EAST meet this year. He owns each of the seven fastest indoor times in the 800 meters in school history after surpassing the Wildcats previous indoor mark of 1:47.84 which lasted for more than 40 years until Dolan's career. Dolan is set to compete at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in the coming days for the second time in his career. He reached the semifinal round of the 800 meters at the Trials in 2021, as well as at the USATF Outdoor Championships in each of the last two years (2022, 2023). He was the silver medalist at the NACAC U23 Championships in Costa Rica last Summer.
 
A graduate of Villanova even before his collegiate track & field career ended, Dolan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication in May 2023 and returned to the Wildcats for a fifth year while pursuing his postgraduate degree. He has been a three-time selection to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Team and a four-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, with each of those honors still to be announced for the 2023-24 academic year. Dolan was named one of two Villanova Senior Student-Athletes of the Year in 2022-23 and garnered a spot on last year's PhillySIDA Academic All-Area Men's Track & Field Team.
 
Dolan was the winner of a BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award for indoor track & field in 2021-22 and has been an eight-time member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for having a semester grade point average of 3.2 or higher. He recently earned the chance to continue his track & field career professionally and was signed by Atlanta Track Club and adidas Running.
 
Beginning with the 2005-06 academic year, the media relations directors at the colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area (PhillySIDA) have selected Academic All-Area Teams in 24 different sports during the academic year. A Performer of the Year is also voted on for each of the 24 sports and, at the end of the academic year, an overall male and female Performer of the Year is named. To be eligible for Academic All-Area status, a student-athlete must be a significant contributor to their team and have a minimum grade point average of 3.3 or higher.
 
This is the 19^th year of the Academic All-Area program and the Villanova men's track & field program has earned 23 selections to the Academic All-Area Team over the years. Dolan is the Wildcats first Performer of the Year in men's track & field.