University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Earn Six A-10 All-Academic and All-Rookie Awards
05/15/2019 | Women's Track & Field
Richmond, Va. - Six Spiders earned either Atlantic 10 All-Academic or All-Rookie awards after their performances this season in track and field.Â
Juniors Maria Acosta and Erika Echternach earned All-Academic honors for their performances on the track and in the classroom. Acosta, a theater arts major, had a standout season this year with performances in the 800m that ranked her fifth all-time fastest in the A-10 and also earned her national recognition. She also helped her team win the 4x800 relay as the lead-off runner at the A-10 Championships, setting a new school record in the process. At the Penn Relays, she helped her distance medley relay team break a 37 year old record amid tough competition. She was named to the All-Academic team for the indoor season this year as well. In academics, she has performed in Modlin Center for the Arts productions. Echternach, a leadership studies major, has made appearnaces in the 3,000m steeplechase event, consistenly improving on her time across the season. Her contribution to the team, combined with her strong performance in academics, has earned her the All-Academic team nomination.
The All-Rookie team saw freshmen Tania Matthews, Rachel Helbling, Kendra Smither and Kayla Woods earn the honors. Matthews earned the honors for holding the top rookie mark in the 100m dash, Helbling for the 400m and Smither for the 800m event. Matthews ran the 100m dash in 12.08 for a personal best time while placing 11th in preliminaries at the A-10 Championships. Helbling had a personal best of 54.62 in the 400m while she ran a 54.90 at A-10s for a fourth place finish overall. Smither ran the 800m at A-10s for a time of 2:10.64 and placed eighth overall in the finals; her personal best in the event is a 2:09.52. In the field events, Kayla Woods earned the honors for her second place finish in the long jump at the A-10 Championship behind her teammate Rebekah Greene. Her personal best mark of 5.90m was set at the George Mason Spring Invitational.
The Spiders' regular season may be over, but you can continue to follow them on social media @RichmondXCTF
Juniors Maria Acosta and Erika Echternach earned All-Academic honors for their performances on the track and in the classroom. Acosta, a theater arts major, had a standout season this year with performances in the 800m that ranked her fifth all-time fastest in the A-10 and also earned her national recognition. She also helped her team win the 4x800 relay as the lead-off runner at the A-10 Championships, setting a new school record in the process. At the Penn Relays, she helped her distance medley relay team break a 37 year old record amid tough competition. She was named to the All-Academic team for the indoor season this year as well. In academics, she has performed in Modlin Center for the Arts productions. Echternach, a leadership studies major, has made appearnaces in the 3,000m steeplechase event, consistenly improving on her time across the season. Her contribution to the team, combined with her strong performance in academics, has earned her the All-Academic team nomination.
The All-Rookie team saw freshmen Tania Matthews, Rachel Helbling, Kendra Smither and Kayla Woods earn the honors. Matthews earned the honors for holding the top rookie mark in the 100m dash, Helbling for the 400m and Smither for the 800m event. Matthews ran the 100m dash in 12.08 for a personal best time while placing 11th in preliminaries at the A-10 Championships. Helbling had a personal best of 54.62 in the 400m while she ran a 54.90 at A-10s for a fourth place finish overall. Smither ran the 800m at A-10s for a time of 2:10.64 and placed eighth overall in the finals; her personal best in the event is a 2:09.52. In the field events, Kayla Woods earned the honors for her second place finish in the long jump at the A-10 Championship behind her teammate Rebekah Greene. Her personal best mark of 5.90m was set at the George Mason Spring Invitational.
The Spiders' regular season may be over, but you can continue to follow them on social media @RichmondXCTF
Players Mentioned
Long Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Long Sprints
/ Women's Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Women's Track & Field
Middle Distance
/ Women's Track & Field
Hurdles/Jumps
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