University of Richmond Athletics
2006-07 Track & Field/Cross Country Team Awards Announced
06/28/2007 | Women's Track & Field
June 28, 2007
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond track & field program announced it's Year-End-Award honorees this afternoon. At the conclusion of each school year, Athletes of the Year and Rookies of the Year honors are awarded for the men's and women's cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field teams. The following are the awards for the 2006-07 academic year:
Sophomore Jessica Young was named the women's indoor track & field Athlete of the Year and the Co-Athlete of the Year for outdoor track, along with senior Beth Crocus.
Young was an NCAA All-American indoors in the 60-meter dash and was the Atlantic 10 Champion in the 55 dash with the fourth fastest time (6.81) in the nation for the 2007 indoor season. She also reached the USATF National Championship final in the 60 and the 400 dashes. She was the only collegiate athlete to do so. She was an NCAA All-American outdoors in the 400 dash, reaching the semifinals of that event at both the NCAA Championships and the USA Track & Field National Championships. At the USATF Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., she broke her school record by recording a time of 52.47 to advance to the semifinals. During the season she was part of eight school records during the indoor (55M-6.81, 60M-7.32, 200M-24.10, 4x400M-3:54.74) and outdoor seasons (100M-11.70, 400M-52.47, 4x100M-46.14, 4x400M-3:49.90).
Crocus defended her conference titles in the hammer and javelin at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships and qualified for post season competition by advancing to the NCAA East Region Championships in Gainesville, Fla. Her efforts at the Atlantic 10 Championships helped lead the Spiders to the runner-up position as a team. In the hammer throw she recorded a best of 185-feet-1 and in the javelin 137-6. She holds school records in the 20 pound weight 56-10 1/4) and the hammer throws (185-1).
Freshman Amy Van Alstine was the women's cross country Rookie of the Year and team's Athlete of the Year, along with Rookie of the Year for indoor track & field. Van Alstine finished fourth at the Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships to earn A-10 Rookie of the Year honors and led the Spiders team to an undefeated regular season. She also earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year for indoor track & field after finishing second in the mile (4:54.44) and third in the 3,000 (10:04.35) at the conference championships. Her season best in the 3,000 (9:54.24) was nearly a 20 second improvement over her high school mark and was achieved at the New Balance Games in New York City where she placed ninth overall.
Freshmen Heather Roush and Kristen Crawford were the co-Rookies of the Year for outdoor track & field. Roush was named the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Rookie of the Year after finishing second in both the discus and the javelin. Roush set the school record in the discus of 144-6 and improved her best in the javelin to 128-9. This was her first year of throwing the javelin. Crawford won the Atlantic 10 shot put title on her last throw in finals. Her season best of 46-7 1/2 was nearly a four foot improvement over her high school performance and her A-10 title secured her a spot at the NCAA East Region Championships.
"This was a good year, the team performed well throughout," Richmond women's coach Lori Taylor said. "We're proud of the 12 school records (5-indoor and 7 outdoor) they set and the fact that they were consistent throughout the year. They were second at the Atlantic 10 Conference cross country, indoor and outdoor championships. We hate being second, but it does indicate they are continuing to improve and that the team is close to greatness. We graduate only two athletes from our team that competed in these championships and we have a strong freshman class coming in.
 Freshman Amy Van Alstine was named the Rookie of the Year for cross country and indoor track & field.  |
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"We want to win championships and qualify athletes to the NCAA Championships, Taylor continued. "Our underclassmen need to follow the lead of these athletes and put themselves in the position to compete for titles and qualify for the NCAA Championships. That will continue to be our focus."
Junior Jonathan Molz was the Athlete of the Year for men's indoor track & field and junior Hunter Willis was the Athlete of the Year for men's outdoor track & field. Molz ran the anchor leg on the Atlantic 10 Champion distance medley relay team at the indoor conference meet, along with finishing fourth in the 1,000. He moved to the 1,500 run during the outdoor season and recorded a best of 3:52.02 at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. Willis was the runner-up in the 10,000 at the A-10 Outdoor Championships. His season best in the 10,000 race also came from the Sea Ray Relays where he placed eighth in 30:38.63. He also placed second in the 5,000 at the Fred Hardy Invitational and at the Georgia Tech Invitational he placed third.
Willis was also named the men's cross country team's Athlete of the Year. He finished 13th at the Atlantic 10 Championships to earn a spot on the all-conference team and help the Spiders to a fourth-place team finish just one point out of third. He finished second at the Winthrop Fall Classic leading the Spiders to the team title.
Freshmen Andrew Benford and Matt Llano were named the Co-Rookies of Year for men's cross country. Benford was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year after finishing eighth at the conference championships, which also earned him All-Atlantic 10 honors. He also represented the United States at the World Mountain Running Championships in Bursa, Turkey and placed 12th overall which is the highest ever placing for a US Junior (under 20). Llano was the second Spider to finish, and the second freshman overall, at the A-10 Championships as he took 10th to join Benford and Willis on the all-conference team. Llano most recently took his talents to the track and placed third (31:19.03) in the 10,000 at the USATF Junior (under 20) Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. in his first race at that distance.
Benford made a clean sweep of the Rookie of the Year awards, also earning the honor for both indoor and outdoor track & field. He finished third in the 3,000 (8:35.59) at the conference indoor championships and won the 5,000 at the Georgia Tech Invitational and the Legacy Invitational where he lapped the field outdoors. His best marks for the year were 1,500 (4:01.88), 3,000 (8:28.62) and 5,000 (14:46.42).
"We had many goals for our athletes this season and most of them were met," Richmond men's coach Steve Taylor said. "With few sprinters and throwers currently on our team we want to improve in that area by attracting more men to cover those events. Our middle distance and distance runners made a lot of improvement, especially Benford, Llano, Molz, Willis and Wilson. I was happy for the middle distance crew and their effort of 7:37.09 in the 4x800-meter relay at the conference championships and the fact these men won the distance medley relay title at the A-10 Conference Indoor Championships.
"The men and women continue to achieve while maintaining the highest level of academic success," Steve Taylor continued. "They are truly student-athletes. They must have a great summer of training for us to be in position to compete for the Atlantic 10 Championship title next fall."
Each year the Department of Athletics recognizes the student-athletes with the highest overall GPA within their class. The track & field team took three of those four awards this year. Freshman Matt Llano, sophomore Dan Petty and junior Garrett Graham were each honored for their excellence in the classroom for the highest GPA among their peers.
"Our entire staff is proud of these men and their hard work," Matt Llano just finished his season with a third-place finish in the 10K at the USATF junior championships and it's late June. I believe that example shows how committed they are to their sport and to their school work."
