|
EDINBORO, PA – Edinboro University’s
Kelly Richards (Edinboro, PA/General McLane) has been
named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference 2006 Women’s
Track Athlete of the Year. Voting was conducted by the conference’s
track and field coaches.
Mansfield swept the men’s awards with
Chris Cummings named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Year and
Jeremy Confer recognized as the Men’s Field Athlete of the
Year. Kutztown’s Alison Maurer was named the Women’s
Field Athlete of the Year.
Richards posted the top finish of any PSAC
female athlete at the recent NCAA Division II Track & Field
National Championships in Emporia, KS. The senior earned
All-American honors in track & field for the second time with
a third place finish in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (11:03.00). A
three-time national qualifier in the event, she had previously
earned All-American honors with a seventh place finish in 2003,
and narrowly missed in 2005, placing ninth. Earlier in the track
season she placed 11th in the steeplechase at the prestigious Penn
Relays. She was the only non-Division I competitor in the
18-person field.
Richards also won the steeplechase at the 2006
PSAC Championships with a time of 10:59.16, seven seconds better
than her closest competition. She was a standout on the cross
country team, as well, finishing as a four-time All-PSAC and
All-East Region performer. She placed fifth at the 2006 PSAC Cross
Country Championships after a fourth place finish the year before,
and was ninth at the 2005 East Regional. Richards helped Edinboro
to a second place finish at the 2004 Division II National
Championships, the highest finish in school history.
Also a standout in the classroom, Richards was
recently named to the ESPN The Magazine District 2 College
Division Academic All-America Track & Field/Cross Country
Team. She has a 3.98 GPA while majoring in Health and Physical
Education, with a minor in Coaching/Health & Wellness
Management. She earned second team Academic All-American honors a
year ago, and is currently on the national ballot. In addition,
she is currently a finalist for an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
A year ago Richards started the Fast Foot
Frenzy, a local 10K run, to raise money for the Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society. Her father was diagnosed with leukemia in July
2004. |
