University of Richmond Athletics
Benford, Traynor, Spiders Garner USTFCCA Academic Awards
07/16/2009 | Women's Track & Field
July 16, 2009
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond runners Andrew Benford and Nicol Traynor were each named Scholar-Athletes for the 2009 season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA), which was announced this week. The Spider men's and women's teams each garnered Academic Team awards.
To qualify for the Scholar-Athlete Team, a student-athlete must have compiled at least a 3.25 GPA and meet the NCAA automatic, provisional or regional standard for their event(s).
Benford, a native of Ravenswood, W.Va., became the first-ever Spider to win the Most Outstanding Male Track Athlete Award at the A-10 Championships after winning both the 3,000m steeplechase and the 5,000m event, helping Richmond to a program-best fourth-place finish. His steeple time of 8:52.41 ranks in the top-25 in the NCAA this season, while his winning 5,000m time of 14:34.23 stands as the fourth-fastest winning time in A-10 Championship history.
The rising senior, who competed in the NCAA East Regional in the 3,000m steeplechase, owns a 3.22 cumulative GPA in psychology. He was also an Academic All-Atlantic 10 selection.
Traynor, a rising junior from Basking Ridge, who was also an A-10 All-Academic and Scholar-Athlete selection in cross country, won silver in the 5,000m (16:58.58) and won the bronze in the 1,5000m (4:28.79) at the A-10 Championship. Earlier in the season, she broke the school's 5,000m record at the Mt. SAC Relays with her NCAA-qualifying time of 16:17.64, which ranked among the 25 fastest in the NCAA.
The mathematics major qualified for the NCAA National Championships in the 5,000m and boasts a 3.33 cumulative GPA.
Both the men's and women's track & field team were honored with the USTFCCA's Team Academic Award by having a team GPA of 3.0 or better. The men boast a team GPA of 3.17, while the women's team GPA stands at 3.12.
