Hall of Fame
It was almost a forgone conclusion that John Donahue would attend Cabrini College. After all, his mother graduated from Cabrini in 1959 when it was still a two-year school. But it wasn’t until the district championship meet his senior year in high school that the decision was solidified.
Former Cabrini men’s cross country head coach Tom O’Hora was one of the hundreds gathered to watch the meet. O’Hora offered Donahue the chance to be one of the student-athletes to establish the Cavaliers’ cross country program.
Just a few days after moving to campus, Donahue competed in his first collegiate meet at Fairmount Park’s Belmont Plateau. Donahue noticed a big difference between competing at the high school and collegiate levels.
“It was definitely a big adjustment,” Donahue commented. “I felt more comfortable because we had a good, competitive group of runners and we were learning about this new level together.”
Donahue and the Cavaliers made tremendous strides from that first meet at Belmont Plateau. Along with classmates Pete Casazza, Mike Edmundson and Chris Francis, Donahue did just that. Donahue led the Blue and White to seven district and conference titles during his illustrious career.
A four-time all-conference performer, Donahue and the Cavaliers won the 1984, 1985 and 1986 NAIA District Championships, the 1985 and 1986 Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference title and claimed the Eastern States Athletic Conference championship in 1986 and 1987 after finishing second in 1985.
“The District 19 Championships at Allentown College (now DeSales University) were always special,” Donahue said. “It was always a huge meet with a really tough field of over 100 runners.”
While the championship memories will always stand out, it was the team workouts and times on campus that have made the most lasting memories.
“We worked very hard as a team and spent a lot of time together. From the small group runs in the morning to hanging out in the lobby of Xavier Hall to workouts at Eastern or Villanova. Those days created lifelong friendships and are the memories that I really cherish.”
Donahue contributes much of his success to lessons he learned as a Cabrini student-athlete.
“Among the most important things I developed was a strong work ethic. Coach O’Hora always stressed that our meet results were based on the hard work, dedication and commitment we displayed during the week’s practices. As long as we gave it our all, our hard work could overcome other teams’ talent.”
