The Spiders' women's head Coach Lori Taylor was named Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year for her team's performances at the indoor and cross country championships. Her husband Steve, an a alternate for the United States Olympic marathon team in 1992, assists the women's team and is the head coach of Richmond's men's team.
"We want to continue building our momentum. We have been very pleased with the interest in our university and program. The strong academic programs, beautiful campus, excellent facilities, and location provide everything the top student-athletes are looking for", said Coach Taylor. "Our staff and department are committed to generating a track & field program that is recognized on the national scene. That starts with our staff coaching our current athletes to the highest level and carries over to recruiting top prospects to our program. We are on the front end of our universities 10 year strategic plan that outlines were we will be. We are pleased with the addition of these young women to our university, especially this early in the recruiting process."
The Spiders inked 4 student-athletes during the early signing period: Caitlin Chock (Granite Bay High School-Granite Bay, CA) who defended her California Cross Country title on November 29th and is a 2002 Foot Locker National Finalist, Kate Merrill (Jordan High School-Durham, NC) who defended her state championship title in North Carolina this fall and is also a 2002 Foot Locker National Finalist, Johanna McKnight (John Curtis High School, LA) the 2003 Louisiana State 200M Champion and Patricia Graves (Jamestown High School-Jamestown, NY) who is a shot put and discus specialist.
Here is information on each:
Caitlin Chock (Granite Bay High School-Roseville, CA)- Chock announced that
she has committed to attend the University of Richmond (VA) on a
cross-country scholarship next fall. The distance ace is highly touted as
one of the top prospects in the nation and proved as much by defending her
California Cross Country title on November 29th with the fastest time of the
day (5K-17:20.4) for all divisions and placing her 15th on the All-Time
Performance List for the state meet course in Fresno, CA.
"After visiting the University of Richmond campus with my mother, I quickly realized my choice would be easy", said Chock. "I got to hang out with the team. And they were really fun and we clicked right away. The school also has a really outstanding academic program, which was something else I was looking at. When I told them I was coming, the Taylor's were both really excited. Hopefully it will be like a second family."
Chock selected Richmond over Colorado, Stanford, Duke and Columbia.
Caitlin Chock's personal bests:
3200M - 10:38
5000M - 17:20.4
10,000M- 36:01
1500M - 4:46
1600 - 5:04
Caitlin Chock's accomplishments:
2003--1st place finish DII California State Meet X-Country
(5K-17:20.4-Fastest time of the day)
2002--1st place finish DII California State Meet X-Country 2002--4th place finish Foot Locker West Finals
2002--26th place finish Foot Locker National Finals
2001--2nd place finish California State Meet X-Country
2000--4th place finish California State Meet X-Country
2000--1st place finish National Junior Olympics X-Country Champion
2000-2003--Four time X-Country League winner 2000-2003--Four time X-Country Sub-Section winner
2000-2003--Four time X-Country Section winner
Chock Winning Her Second California DII XC Title with the fastest time of the day for all divisions (5K-17:20.4)
Complete Results:
http://www.dyestatcal.com/statemeet/3xc/STATEMEET/ResOvAllG.htm
Kate Merrill (Jordan High School-Durham, NC)- 2002 Foot Locker National Finalist... She defended her North Carolina State High School Cross Country Title this fall (2003) with the fastest time of the day for the girl's races (http://home.carolina.rr.com/run/03cc4ag.html). Last fall she earned a spot at the 2002 Foot Locker National XC Finals by placing 6th in the Foot Locker Southern Region in North Carolina with a time of 18:07.2 (3 seconds out of 2nd place). She is the 2002 and 2003 North Carolina Cross Country Champion and 2003 State Champion at 3200M. She chose Richmond over Boston College and NC State.
Johanna McKnight (John Curtis High School, Louisiana)-A sprinter/jumper that won the 2003 Louisiana 200M State Championship and earned All-State honors in the Long Jump. She also has a personal best of 11.8 in the 100M. Recruited jointly by the Spiders track & field staff and women's basketball staff, she will attend the University of Richmond on a basketball scholarship and compete on the outdoor track & field team. She chose the Spiders over the University of Michigan. According Ginny Doyle of the women's basketball staff, "she is incredibly talented and has the most speed on the court I've ever seen".
Patricia Graves (Jamestown High School-Jamestown, New York)- Adding to an already loaded freshman class of throwers will be Patricia "Trish" Graves. She is a specialist in the throws. Graves has a personal best of 42' 05" in the shot put and 133' 06.5" in the Discus. She placed 5th in the 2002 New York State Championships in the shot put.