Heneghan rushes for a touchdown in a home game during his senior season at Menlo. Image from John Murphy.

By Baily Deeter

Menlo alumnus Jack Heneghan is thriving as both an athlete and a student at Dartmouth. The senior captain is the quarterback of the 3-0 Dartmouth football team and a nominee for the William V. Campbell Trophy for outstanding academic achievement.

On the field, Heneghan is in his second season as the Dartmouth starting quarterback. Last season, he set a school record for passing yards with 2,725. This season, he’s continued to shine, as he has completed an outstanding 68.1 % of his passes and has not thrown an interception in three games.

The Big Green defeated Stetson handily in their first game, but the last two wins have both come down to the wire. In both games, Heneghan stepped up when his team needed him most. In a 27-26 overtime win over nationally-ranked Holy Cross, Heneghan threw two touchdown passes, including the game-winner in overtime.

This past Friday, Dartmouth opened up Ivy League play with a road matchup against Penn. With the team trailing by three late in the game, Heneghan marched the offense down the field to set up the winning touchdown.

While Heneghan has stood out individually in all three wins, he made sure to emphasize the success of the team as a whole. “In college sports, it takes the full roster working all year to win games in the fall,” Heneghan said. “I think our fast start so far this season is a testament to a productive offseason from the entire team.”

On top of his dominance on the field, Heneghan has also excelled as a student at Dartmouth. He is sporting an impressive 3.79 GPA through his first three years at the school and is a legitimate candidate to win the Campbell Trophy, the most prestigious academic award for collegiate student-athletes. 181 nominees have been announced, and the list will be narrowed down to 12-14 early next month.

Heneghan attributed a lot of his overall success at Dartmouth to his experience at Menlo. “I am extremely grateful that my teachers and coaches at Menlo always encouraged my friends and I to do our best in both school and sports,” he said. “The environment at Dartmouth is very similar, so my experiences at Menlo prepared me extremely well for what I’m doing now.”

Heneghan’s college success certainly isn’t surprising to those who knew him at Menlo. “Jack Heneghan exemplifies, in many ways, the Menlo ideal,” mathematics and computer science teacher Michael Thibodeaux said. “One of Menlo’s finest athletes, Jack is a quiet leader; his teammates will follow him anywhere. Most importantly, in every endeavor Jack conveys kindness, compassion, and graceful humility.”

The Big Green play Yale this upcoming Saturday, October 7, in their fourth game of the season. Look for Heneghan to continue to excel as a student-athlete as he wraps up his collegiate career.