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EDINBORO, PA – The NCAA announced today
that Edinboro University senior Kelly Richards (Edinboro,
PA/General McLane) has been awarded one of 58 NCAA
Postgraduate Scholarships for spring sports. A total of 29 men and
29 women who participated in spring sports were awarded
scholarships in the amount of $7,500 each.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate
scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point
average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) and must have performed with
distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which
the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have
behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that brought
credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate
athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue
academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or
part-time graduate student.
In addition to Richards, teammate Julie
Nemergut (Youngstown, OH/South Range) was the recipient of an
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for fall sports. The two Edinboro
student-athletes were the only members of the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference to receive the postgraduate scholarships in
2005-06. Of the 58 given out in the spring, Richards was one of
only nine Division II recipients. In the fall, out of 58 total
recipients, only 12, including Nemergut, were from Division II
institutions.
Richards and Nemergut were recently named to
the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Women’s
Track & Field/Cross Country First Team. It marks the second
straight year both were named to the Academic All-America team by
members of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of
America). A year ago Richards was named to the second team, while
Nemergut was accorded a spot on the third team.
The duo also recently accounted for one-fifth
of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference 2006 Spring Top 10
Ten Award winners. It marked the fourth time Nemergut had earned
PSAC Top Ten honors, while Richards is now a three-time honoree.
Richards graduated with a 3.98 GPA while
majoring in Health and Physical Education, with a minor in
Coaching/Health & Wellness Management. In late May 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) at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field
National Championships in Emporia, KS. She was the top female
finisher among PSAC qualifiers. 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. She was also a
standout on the cross country team, 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.
A year ago Richards started the Fast Foot
Frenzy, a local 10K run, to raise money for the Leukemia and
Lymphona Society. Her father was diagnosed with leukemia in July
2004. Her story will be told on Saturday, July 1 as part of CBS’
show on spring sports championships in Division II and III. The
show will air from 3-4 p.m.
Richards will continue her studies at
Springfield College in Massachuestts, working on her master’s
degree in Sports Management.
In late April Nemergut was recognized as
Edinboro’s Nancy Acker Award winner, presented to the top
senior female athlete. She capped the year with her second
All-American performance in track & field, thanks to a seventh
place finish in the 10,000 meter run (37:23.05). She also reached
the finals in the 5,000 meter run, but was unable to complete the
difficult double, placing 11th in the finals.
Nemergut earned All-PSAC honors in track thanks
to a first place finish in the 5,000 meter run at the PSAC
Championships. She had earlier finished ninth in the 10,000 meter
run at the Penn Relays.
Nemergut previously earned All-American honors
in track in 2004 with an eighth place finish in the 10,000 meters.
She was a national qualifier a year ago, but missed almost all of
the outdoor track season in 2005 due to injury.
In cross country, Nemergut enjoyed a
distinguished career, earning All-PSAC accolades three times and
All-East Region recognition four times. She won the PSAC
individual championship in 2004 and 2005, and was also the East
Regional champion in 2004. She finished third in the regional this
past fall. Nemergut was named the 2004 PSAC Runner of the Year and
East Region Athlete of the Year after winning the PSAC and East
Region titles, and went on to earn All-American in 2004 in cross
country with 10th place finish. Edinboro finished second at the
2004 National Championships, the highest finish in school history.
Nemergut is a Special Education/Elementary
Education major with a 3.91 GPA. Her plans in regards to her
studies this coming year are still up in the air, but she has one
season’s eligibility remaining in track & field, and
intends to compete at Edinboro next spring.
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