June 30, 2008

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Clarion University senior Erin Richard (Erie/McDowell) was named a second-team ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America in women's cross country/track and field last week.

It is the second consecutive year Richard has been named an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America after earning third-team honors in 2007.

Richard is one of the most storied female cross country and track and field runners in school history having won three NCAA Division II All-America awards (3rd in 2007 outdoor 5,000, 4th in 2007 outdoor 10,000, 7th in 2007 indoor 5,000), seven combined PSAC indoor and outdoor track and field titles including six individual titles while also becoming the first Golden Eagle to win the PSAC women's cross country championship, which she did in 2007. She is also a two-time NCAA Division II East Regional All-Region team member including a career-best fourth-place finish in 2007, and she was named the 2007 PSAC Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and the 2007 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) East Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year .

In addition to her athletic accomplishments, Richard, an Elementary Education major with a 3.85 grade point average, has also excelled in the classroom.

Along with her two ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America awards, she has also earned first-team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA first-team Academic All-District honors in 2007 and 2008. Richard was also a 2007 and 2006 USTFCCCA track and field All-Academic team member in 2006 and 2007 and an USTFCCCA cross country All-Academic team member in 2005, 2006 and 2007 while also earning PSAC Top Ten Academic Award recognition in 2007. She is a Clarion and PSAC "Scholar-Athlete".

NOTES - Richard has applied for a medical red-shirt after missing almost the entire 2008 outdoor track and field season with an injury. Before being injured early in the season, she had already qualified for the 2008 NCAA D-II national championships. Richard did not run the 2008 indoor season and will be eligible to run in the 2009 season regardless of her outdoor status. She is out of eligibility in cross country.