Nana Apenem (Hanson-Hall) Dagadu 

2019

Nana Apenem Hanson-Hall came to New Rochelle in 1997 as a 7th grader. Knowing nothing about track other than it was about running, she signed up for tryouts because it was on the no-contact sports list her mum allowed. She ran the 1.5 mile without stopping and told Coach Capellan she could keep running if he wanted her to. From then, she ran harder and faster each year, excelling in individual and relay events. As a senior, Nana was named the Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year in 2003 being named All-League, Section, State and County. She won the Con Edison Sports and Scholastic Award. To top it off she was a High School Heisman State Finalist. To this day, Nana Hanson-Hall holds the County and Section records in the 600m and 800m. To this day, Nana Hanson-Hall holds the NRHS record in the 600yd, 600m, 800m, 1000yd, 1000m, 1200m and 3000m events. 

Upon graduation, Nana chose to attend Georgetown University on a full Athletic/Academic scholarship. She contributed to the 4x800 relay team’s second place finish at the Big East Championship as a freshman and helped set a meet and school record in the sprint medley at the Gulden Relays (4:03.8) as a sophomore. She was also a member of the fifth place distance medley at the NCAA Indoor Championships (11:12.40) receiving her first All-American award. 

As a junior, Nana led the Hoyas to a win in the 4x800 relay at the ECAC Indoor Championships (8:57.72) and was the Big East Indoor Champion (2:08.89). She won the Yale Giegengack Invitational 800m (2:07.76) as well as the Penn State National Open 800m run (2:07.37). Nana’s 4x800 relay team was runner up at the Big East Outdoor Championships (8:46.83). Hanson-Hall ended her time at Georgetown with a personal best of 2:06.53 in the 800m. 

Since graduating from Georgetown, she has tutored and mentored young adults and athletes in Baltimore, New Orleans and Washington, DC and continues to run marathons and road races. Off the road, she worked for six years as a researcher and faculty at Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health and has been Advisor for Monitoring & Evaluation/Reproductive Health for Save the Children US since April 2018. Most of her time now is spent in DC, keeping up with her two busy children, serving at her church, and pursuing her Doctorate in public health while traveling around the world for her research. It is indeed an honor to induct this outstanding scholar/athlete into the New Rochelle Sports Hall of Fame.