LORETTO, Pa. – Olivia Conrad (Carrolltown, Pa./Cambria Heights), Emma Fleck (Pittsburgh, Pa./South Fayette), Monica Gregg (Henrietta, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta), Madeline Murphy (Cresson, Pa./Bishop Carroll) and Caroline Ratchford (Ebensburg, Pa./Bishop Carroll), members of the Saint Francis University women's track and field team, have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team. The quintet will move onto the national ballot for a chance to earn CSC Academic All-America.
Conrad, a senior javelin thrower on the track and field team, won the javelin throw at the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The senior completed the medal trifecta with that win this season after placing third in 2021 and second in 2021. She registered two first-place finishes and a second place standing during the 2023 outdoor season. Majoring in nursing, Conrad has a 3.97 grade point average.
Fleck, a sophomore distance runner on both the cross country and track and field teams, was a member of the silver metal 4x400m relay team and placed sixth in the 800m at the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She also competed in the 4x400m relay and the 500m at the NEC Indoor Track and Field Championships. A Heath and Science PA major, Fleck boasts a 4.0 grade point average.
Gregg, a senior distance runner on both the cross country and track and field teams, was a member of the silver medal 4x800m relay team at the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships and also finished fourth in the 800m at the event. Gregg, who posted the top marks for the season in the 800m and the 1500m for Saint Francis, also registered Top-8 finishes in the distance medley relay (fifth) and 800m (sixth) at the NEC Indoor Track and Field Championships. She also finished seventh at the NEC Cross Country Championships to earn all-conference honors. Gregg is majoring in exercise physiology 3+3 program with a 3.60 grade point average.
Murphy, a senior jumper for the Red Flash track and field team, was named the 2023 NEC Outdoor Track and Field Performer of the Meet for the jumps and the Most Valuable Performer after winning both the long and triple jump. The senior, who broke the program record and a 17-year-old conference record in the triple jump, placed fifth in the triple jump at the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships and 39th at the NCAA East Preliminary Round. Murphy, who owns the school record for long and triple jump for both the indoor and outdoor seasons, also won both events at the indoor championships and was named Track and Field Performer for jumps at that meet. A biology major, she registered a 3.83 grade point average.
Ratchford, a senior jumper on the track and field team, won the high jump at the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships and also registered three wins and five Top-5 finishes in the event in the spring. Ratchford finished sixth in the high jump at the NEC Indoor Track and Field Championships after finishing second at the 2021 outdoor championships and 2022b indoor championships and third at the indoor championships in February. A finance and accounting major, she boasts a 3.68 grade point average.
Saint Francis won its third-straight NEC Outdoor Track and Field title in May.
To be eligible for CSC All-District, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.5 grade-point average and participate in 50 percent of scheduled events. The student-athletes named to the CSC All-District advance to the national ballot for a chance to be named a CSC Academic All-America, which will be released on Thursday, June 29. CSC changed its association name from CoSIDA in 2022.
