Photo courtesy of the NJSIAA
Erin Donohue, who put together one of the greatest track and field and cross-country stars in New Jersey history during a legendary career at Haddonfield High School, was inducted into the NJSIAA/Gallagher Bollinger Hall of Fame on Monday at The Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village in Princeton, N.J.
Donohue was part of a 16-member 2018 induction group.
How great was Donohue?
Well, check out these numbers.
Donohue, who graduated from Haddonfield in 2001, finished her historic high school career with nine Meet of Champions titles (two in cross-country, one indoors and 6 outdoors).
She probably would have won more M of C titles, but she only ran one indoor track season after starring on the basketball court through her junior season. Donohue scored over 1,000 career points in basketball and led Haddonfield to a state Group 2 title.
Donohue's best sport was clearly track and field.
She won three national titles in the mile, including a then state record 4:42.96 when she won the mile in the final high school race of her career at the 2001 National Scholastic Championships at North Carolina State University.
Donohue also finished her career with a state record 15 state outdoor Group Championship titles out of a possible 16!
Donohue won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 four straight years at the outdoor state Group Championships, and also won the javelin three times!
At the 2001 M of C, Donohue, after already winning the 1,600 and 3,200, nearly won the javelin, placing second to Chelsea Salisbury of Buena by just three inches.
In 2000, Donohue was named to the All-Century Team by The Star-Ledger, and she was chosen as the state's Athlete of the Year multiple times.
After graduating from Haddonfield, Donohue starred at the University of North Carolina, earning All-American honors seven times, running on several Championship of America winning relay teams at the Penn Relays, and she captured an ACC title in the javelin.
After graduating from North Carolina in 2005, Donohue accepted an internship with Nike's In-Store Communications department and continued to train around the Nike campus in Beaverton, Oregon.
By the beginning of 2006, Donohue was training full-time and competing as a professional.
In 2007, Donohue made the U.S. World Outdoor Championship team in the 1,500, and a year later accomplished her biggest goal when she finished second in the 1,500 at the U.S. Olympic Trials to earn a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team.
In 2010, Donohue made the U.S. World Indoor Championship team in the 1,500, and in 2015 she qualified for the U.S. National Championships in the 800.
After surgery prevented her from competing at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2012, Donohue qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials in both the 800 and 1600.
Now retired from competitive racing, Donohue finished her career with personal bests of 4:03.49 for 1,500, 1:59.99 for 800, 2:37.42 for 1,000, and 8:55.07 for 3,000.
