McGovern & Traynor at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships

Meaghan McGovern (Hammer Throw) and Nicol Traynor (3K Steeplechase)
will compete in the first round of the NCAA Championships this weekend. 

Track & Field Tandem Set for Final NCAA Prelims

Courtesy:Richmond Athletics 

Release:05/23/2012

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Seniors Meaghan McGovern and Nicol Traynor have arrived with the Richmond Track & Field coaching staff in sunny Jacksonville, Fla., where they will make the final NCAA East Preliminary Round appearances of their decorated careers this weekend. The meet is scheduled to run from Thursday through Saturday at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium.

Richmond Spiders at the 2012 Virginia Outdoor Classic

Senior Meaghan McGovern

Spiders Conclude Saturday's Virginia Classic

Courtesy:Richmond Athletics
Release:05/12/2012

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Senior Meaghan McGovern's third-place performance highlighted Spider Track & Field's finishes at Saturday's Virginia Classic in Charlottesville.

Richmond's McGovern Places 2nd in 2012 Penn Relays Hammer...Recognized by A-10

Spider Senior Meaghan McGovern set a personal best
in the hammer throw at the 2012 Penn Relays.

McGovern Caps Regular Season with Conference Nod

Courtesy:Richmond Athletics
Release:04/30/2012

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Following a near school-record performance at last week's Penn Relays, senior Meaghan McGovern was selected as Women's Outdoor Track & Field Performer of the Week for the first time on Monday.

McGovern (North Kingston, R.I./North Kingston) saved her best hurl for last in Thursday's College section of the hammer, posting a personal-best toss of 56.24 meters (184-6) on her sixth and final toss to finish second in the event. Her PR, which was just .18 meters off Beth Crocus' 2006 school-record of 56.42 meters, was two full meters further than her winning throw at last year's Penn Relays.

The senior standout's toss currently ranks 31st in the NCAA East Region, with it thus likely to land her a spot in May's NCAA East Region Championship for a third-consecutive season.

Spiders Busy Weekend at 2012 Mt SAC Relays, Princeton and CNU

VIDEO PLAYLIST from 2012 Mt SAC Relays


Our teams were split this past weekend between the Mt SAC Relays in Walnut, CA...the Princeton Invitational in Princeton, NJ and the CNU Invitational in Newport News, VA...Here are our results:

Jason Skipper (JR) and Liz Schinski (SO) were victorious this weekend
for the Spiders.

Underclassmen Strong as Spiders Wrap up Weekend

Richmond's Gibson Sets New School Mark at 2012 George Mason Invite

VIDEO PLAYLIST
Courtesy:Richmond Athletics 
Release:04/14/2012

FAIRFAX, Va. - The Richmond track & field squads turned in a number of strong showings, including a school-record performance by sophomore Grace Gibson, at Saturday's Mason Invitational in Fairfax, Va.

After equaling her own program mark in the pole vault at the Fred Hardy Invitational two weeks ago, Gibson (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne) completed the feat with a new school-record jump of 3.45 meters to tie for seventh in the event.

Senior Meaghan McGovern (North Kingston, R.I./North Kingston) had another fine finish in the hammer throw, turning in a season-best toss of 55.70 meters to conclude the event as the top collegian and in second overall.

Richmond's McGovern, Mannon Make Away with Wins at 2012 Colonial Relays

VIDEO PLAYLIST
Courtesy:Richmond Athletics

Release:04/07/2012

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Senior Meaghan McGovern and sophomore Alli Mannon each came away with wins to highlight action for the Spiders at William and Mary's Colonial Relays this weekend.

McGovern (North Kingston, R.I./North Kingston) opened the meet with a top finish in the women's hammer throw on Thursday. The senior, who is just one week removed from setting a new meet and facility record at the Fred Hardy Invitational, turned in a toss of 51.82 meters (170') to win the event by more than two meters over Delaware's second-place finisher.

Mannon (Litiz, Pa./Warwick) followed McGovern's lead in the 3,000 meters, which she won with a time of 9:57.84 as one of two runners to record sub-10 minute times. Classmate Elizabeth Schinski (Geneseo, N.Y./Geneseo) crossed the line in 10:14.80 to secure a seventh-place finish.

Also earning a top-three finish this weekend was senior Nicol Traynor (Basking Ridge, N.J./Basking Ridge), who captured third in the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase with a time of 10:17.88. Newcomer Alli Stapleton (Commack, N.Y./Commack) finished 17th in 11:25.00.

Richmond's 2012 Fred Hardy Invitational (March 29-30)

Both days of the 2012 Fred Hardy Invitational were streamed live on SpiderTV. Links to both day's video streams along with a complete timeline detailing each event's and interview's start time in relation to the video stream can be found below

Friday's Full-Length Video Stream

Spiders Wrap Up Rainy Day in Williamsburg

Spiders Wrap Up Rainy Day in Williamsburg

Courtesy:Richmond Athletics
Release:03/24/2012

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The Richmond men's and women's track & field squads completed their second meet of the outdoor season on Saturday with what was a consistently rainy affair at William and Mary's Tribe Invite in Williamsburg.

Sophomore Sean Livesey (Philadelphia, Pa./Devon Preparatory School) locked up his first-ever top finish in the javelin, recording a toss of 45.68 meters (149'10") to capture the event.

Senior Meaghan McGovern (North Kingston, R.I./North Kingston) continued her strong start to the season in the hammer throw, hurling the hammer a distance of 46.90 meters (153'10") to take third in the event.

READ MORE

Richmond Track & Field Announces 2010-11 Year End Awards

The University of Richmond announced its 2010-11 year end awards for men’s and women’s cross country and track & field this past fall.  During the 2010-11 year the Spiders programs continued to make great progress and improvement with 5 All-American honorees, 10 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Qualifiers, a 24th place at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors for the 9th consecutive year in M&W XC and M&W T&F, and the men's T&F team receiving recognition for achieving the highest GPA in the nation.  Here are some of the top awards Richmond student-athletes earned during the 2010-11 cross country and track & field season’s….  

2010 CROSS COUNTRY Awards:   

Richmond's lead pack at the
2010 Atlantic 10 Conference Championships.

All-American 3KSC runner-Andrew Benford

Spiders Preview for 2012 Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships

Ryan Lee and Nicol Traynor look forward to the
2012 A10 Indoor Championships.

Spiders Set for A-10 Indoors This Weekend

Courtesy:Richmond Athletics
Release:02/15/2012

RELATED LINKS

LIVE RESULTS

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

COACH TAYLOR TWITTER

COACH'S BLOG

SpiderTV PREVIEW

Spiders Heading To A-10 Indoor 

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's and women's track & field teams travel northward this weekend for the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships in Kingston, R.I. The two-day meet, hosted by Rhode Island, is set to begin on Friday at 9 a.m. in the Rams' Mackal Field House with day two action also scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

Final Meet Before 2012 A-10 Indoor Championships

Meaghan McGovern won the Weight Throw in a personal best
at CNU while many team members were in
New York City for the New Balance Games.

Spiders Complete Final Conference Tune-Ups

Courtesy:Richmond Athletics
Release:02/05/2012

NEW YORK CITY/NEWPORT NEWS,VA- At the New Balance Collegiate, junior Stephanie Paradiscame out strong to win her Women's 800 Meters heat with a time of 2:16.07. Paradis returned to the track to team up with freshman Taylor Clevinger and sophomores Alyson McGonigle and Alli Mannon in the 4x800 Meter Relay. The foursome would turn in a fourth-place finish with a time of 8:57.30 and break a 30-year old school record of 8:57.44 set in 1982 by Josephine White, Betsy Spillman, Alsyon Hendricks and Melissa Mullet.

Richmond Spiders Nab Ninth-Straight All-Academic Team Honors

Men’s Team Earns Highest Track & Field Team GPA in the Nation!

2011 NCAA Championships Qualifiers for the Spiders
(L-R) Jill Prentice (5K), Jenn Ennis (3KSC), Heather Roush (Jav),
Matt Llano (10K), Meaghan McGovern (Hammer),
Andrew Benford (3KSC and 5K), Nicol Traynor (3KSC and 5K),
Amy Van Alstine (5K)...not in photo Monica Howard (Discus)
and Julie Rechel (10K)

Below is part of an article (and a link to the remainder) regarding our men's and women's track & field teams earning USTFCCCA All-Academic Team honors for the 9th consecutive year and our men's team achieving the highest NCAA DI Track & Field team cumulative GPA in the nation for the 2011 season.

As you recall our men's and women's cross country teams also earned their 9th consecutive honor this past fall.  Along with winning the 2010 Atlantic 10 Conference Cross Country team titles last fall our men finished 24th as a team at the NCAA DI National Championships in Terre Haute, IN.

Lori and I feel this latest honor for our track & field teams compliments their achievements from this past track & field season where 10 athletes qualified to the NCAA Championships (first round).  Additionally, 5 athletes qualified to the NCAA Championships Final where they earned 4 All-America honors and 1 honorable mention All-America.  During the season our women set 11 school records and the men and women combined to establish 5 new Fred Hardy Facility Records (see below):

RICHMOND OUTDOOR RECORDS SET IN 2011

Women:
1500M------4:19.38-----Amy VanAlstine (5/8/11-A-10 Championships)
3000M------9:29.54-----Amy VanAlstine (3/25/11-Fred Hardy Inv.)
3000M SC--10:02.94----Nicol Traynor (6/22/11-NCAA Champs Final)
5,000M-----16:06.15----Amy Van Alstine (6/22/11-NCAA Champs Final)
10,000M----34:50.65----Julie Rechel (5/28/11-NCAA Champs-1st Round)
Discus-------49.86M-----Monica Howard (5/8/11-A-10 Championships)
Javelin-------48.08M-----Heather Roush (3/2511-Fred Hardy Inv.)
Triple Jump--12.08M-----X’auntasia Johnson (5/8/11-A-10 Champs)
Pole Vault----3.40M------Grace Gibson (5/8/11-A-10 Championships)
4x1500M----17:58.21----VanAlstine/Traynor/Ennis/Mannon
 (4x1500M splits-VanAlstine-4:19.7/Traynor-4:23.2/Ennis-4:40.5/Mannon-4:34.9) (4/30/11-Penn Relays)

RICHMOND INDOOR RECORDS SET IN 2011 Women:
Pole Vault----3.30M------Grace Gibson (2/5/11-VMI Relays)

FRED HARDY FACILITY RECORDS SET IN 2011
Men:
3000M-------8:17.34------Matt Llano (Richmond) 2011
3000M SC---8:56.87------Andrew Benford (Richmond (2011)
Women:
1500M-------4:31.17------Nicol Traynor (Richmond) 2011
3000M-------9:29.54------Amy VanAlstine (Richmond) 2011
Javelin--------48.08M------Heather Roush (Richmond) 2011

2011 OUTDOOR T&F ALL-AMERICA HONORS EARNED
5,000M--------Amy VanAlstine (2nd Team)
3,000M SC----Nicol Traynor (2nd Team)
Javelin----------Heather Roush (2nd team)
3,000M SC----Andrew Benford (2nd Team)
10,000M------Matt Llano (Honorable Mention)

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS QUALIFIERS 2011
3,000M SC----Andrew Benford (8:39.71)
5,000M--------Andrew Benford (13:55.88)
10,000M------Matt Llano (28:43.30)
3,000M SC---Jenn Ennis (10:30.27)
Discus---------Monica Howard (49.86M)
Hammer-------Meaghan McGovern (55.85M)
5,000M-------Jill Prentice (16:39.79)
10,000M------Julie Rechel (34:50.65)
Javelin---------Heather Roush (48.08M)
3,000M SC---Nicol Traynor (10:02.94)
5,000M-------Nicol Traynor (16:10.37)
5,000M-------Amy Van Alstine (16:06.15)

Plus, Amy VanAlstine was named "2011 Most Outstanding Track Performer" of the Atlantic 10 Conference. She won both the 1500M (4:19.36) in Meet Record Time and the 5K (16:39.56)...VanAlstine's 4:19.38 also broke Joan Nesbit's 1500M facility record set in 2000 (4:23.14).

Here is the article courtesy: Richmond Athletics

The Richmond Men's Track & Field Team
earned the highest track & field team GPA
among all NCAA DI programs for the 2011 season.
Shown here (R-L): Jon Wilson, Chris York, Ryan Lee and Jason Skipper

Richmond Spiders Nab Ninth-Straight All-Academic Team Honors

Men’s Team Earns Highest Track & Field Team GPA in the Nation!

Courtesy:Richmond Athletics
Release:08/11/2011

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - For the ninth-consecutive season, the University of Richmond men's and women's track & field squads have been named NCAA Division I All-Academic Teams by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Spider men added to their honor by recording the highest cumulative GPA (3.51) in the nation ahead of second-best Harvard and Duke.

"Once again, we are very proud of our athletes and their efforts in the classroom," said men's head coach Steve Taylor. "We place this achievement on our list of goals every year, and our athletes work hard to reach it. As a staff we expect them to work hard and challenge themselves in the classroom, while also expecting them to balance their academic career with their athletic career in order to achieve at the highest level in both. Over the years, we have witnessed that achieving success in the classroom complements success within the sport of track & field, and this award exemplifies how these student-athletes know how to prioritize both academically and athletically at an amazingly high level."

The Spider men join three other Atlantic 10 teams in La Salle, Massachusetts and Temple on the list of programs earning the USTFCCCA's distinction as a result of a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better. On the women's side, Richmond and five other conference squads in Charlotte, Dayton, La Salle, Saint Louis and Temple received academic team honors from the organization.

"We are proud of the tradition our track & field and cross country teams have established over the years," added Director of Track & Field Lori Taylor. "The fact that both our men's and women's programs have earned All-Academic Team honors for nine consecutive years demonstrates that our student-athletes understand balance. As coaches, we are educators first and understand that our student-athletes are here for their degree programs. The University of Richmond is a great school and our student-athletes choose to come here because they know they will have opportunities for a great educational and athletic experience. This is an exceptional achievement."

Read More HERE

Five Spiders Earn USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors

Andrew Benford, Matt Llano, Meaghan McGovern, Jill Prentice and Julie Rechel earn USTFCCCA All-Academic honors...

Courtesy: Richmond Athletics
Release:08/04/2011
 
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - Five Richmond student-athletes have been named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Academic Track and Field Team as announced by the organization this week. Graduated seniors Andrew Benford and Matt Llano were selected to the men's team, while junior Meaghan McGovern, freshman Jill Prentice and graduated senior Julie Rechel represented the Spiders on the women's side...

READ MORE HERE