Four Spiders Honored On A-10 Track & Field All-Academic Team

On the heels of the NCAA’s recognition of the University of Richmond men’s indoor and outdoor track & field teams for academic achievement the Atlantic 10 Conference has announced their Academic All-Conference Team as selected by the league office…

Matt Llano, Tim Quinn, Julie Rechel and Megan Ney represented the Spiders.

by Mike DeGeorge
Richmond Sports Information Department

May 26, 2010

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - Four University of Richmond track and field student-athletes have been recognized on the 2010 Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team, which was announced recently by the conference office. Senior Megan Ney joined juniors Matt Llano, Tim Quinn and Julie Rechel on the team.

Matt Llano and Tim Quinn

Llano, who was also honored with a spot on the A-10 Indoor All-Academic Team and was the 2008 A-10 Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year, nearly pulled off double gold at the A-10 Outdoor Championship, winning the 10,000m in a conference record (29:43.12) and finishing a close second in the 5,000m (14:42.20). Llano has a personal best of 14:11.65 in the 5K set this year at the Notre Dame Invitational.

Llano is preparing to run the 10,000m at the NCAA East Region Championship this weekend in Greensboro, N.C. as his season-best time of 28:51.69 has him ranked in the region's Top Five. The Arnold, Md. native is a psychology major with a 3.72 GPA.

Another of the Spiders accomplished distance runners, Quinn was also a 2010 A-10 All-Academic pick during the indoor season. The Pittsford, N.Y. native claimed bronze in the 10,000m (30:23.20) at the A-10 Outdoor Championship. He owns a 3.92 GPA in political science and French.

Megan Ney

Ney took home two medals from the A-10 Outdoor Championship - winning silver in the long jump (5.75m) and bronze in the triple jump (11.92m), while finishing seventh in the high jump (1.55m). A native of McLean, Va., Ney owns a 3.63 GPA in psychology and was also a member of the A-10 Indoor All-Academic squad. She set the school record in the triple jump (12.02m) this season.

Julie Rechel

Rechel became the fourth Spider honored on the Academic All-Conference team as the junior won the silver medal in 10,000m (36:00.17) at A-10 Championship. The Worthington, Ohio native is an interdisciplinary studies major with a 3.97 GPA (and holds a personal best of 35:50.21 in the 10K set this season).

To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have completed one full year at his/her institution and have cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Voting is conducted by the league's track & field sports information directors.