YORK, Pa. - The University of Mary Washington and Salisbury University each placed nine former standouts on the Capital Athletic Conference's Silver Anniversary Women's Track & Field Team. Mary Washington's Myra Simpson and Salisbury's Chelsea Tavik, both NCAA Champions and three-time Women's Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year award winners, lead the list of Silver Anniversary Award winners. Entering its 25th year of varsity competition, the CAC selected a Silver Anniversary Team in 19 championship sports, primarily based on season-ending conference awards as voted by the conference coaches. Each Silver Anniversary Team will feature 25 former or current standouts. Men's and women's indoor track & field, which became a CAC championship sport in 2012, was combined with men's and women's outdoor track & field. The Silver Anniversary Golf Team has just eight members because the sport was added to the CAC championships list just seven years ago. The teams will be announced early in the regular-season for its respective sport. Each Silver Anniversary Team honoree will receive a commemorative gift from the conference, and many will be recognized by their institution/alma mater at some time during the academic year.
The University of Mary Washington, a charter member of the CAC, led the conference with 153 current and former student-athletes on the Silver Anniversary Teams, including 40 in men's and women's tennis combined. Salisbury University, which joined the CAC in the 1994-95 athletic season, was second with 122 Silver Anniversary Team honorees. CAC charter members York College of Pa. (60) and St. Mary's College of Md. (35) were next in line for most Silver Anniversary Team honorees.
The CAC was organized as a six-team affiliation in 1989 and began championship competition with the winter sports during the 1990-91 season. Membership changes in the last decade ultimately created a 10-team conference that has become one of the strongest in NCAA Division III.
CAC teams have won 18 national team championships, and dozens of other teams have finished in among the top four in NCAA Division III competition. In 2013-14, the CAC advanced more than 25 teams to post-season competition. Four CAC athletic programs finished among the Top 60 in the final Learfield Cup – the only conference in the Middle Atlantic Region to accomplish that feat. One team won a national championship (Salisbury University women's lacrosse) and three others played in the national championship game. Nineteen CAC teams won at least one game in NCAA Tournament competition and 10 advanced to at least the NCAA Sweet 16. In the last two years, CAC student-athletes have combined to win six individual national championships at NCAA swimming or track & field competitions. The CAC student-athletes collected a record 11 Capital One Academic All-America awards in 2013-14 as well as an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship and the Josten's Award, recognizing a Division III women's basketball player for her achievements on the court, in the classroom and contributions to the community.
In the classroom, the CAC boasts 81 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, including one Academic All-American of the Year award winner, 12 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners, five NCAA Elite 89 award winners, two Honda year-end award winners and a Josten's Award winner in women's basketball. The CAC also features an annual Academic Honor Roll that recently honored nearly 1,200 students for their academic achievements. Thousands of other student-athletes have received Player of the Year, All-America or All-Region recognition in their respective sports.
Simpson was a national champion in the long jump and was the Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year from 1995-97. Tavik was a national champion in the shot put and was selected by the CAC coaches for the top conference award three times during the outdoor season (2011-13) and during the first two years the CAC sponsored an indoor track & field championship (2012-13).
The four other Silver Anniversary honorees who were two-time CAC Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year award winners during their career included Kim Alvis (1998 and '00), Christina Sullivan (2001-02), Carly Hambley (2007-08), all from Mary Washington, along with Goucher College's Natalie Williams (2003-04) Two members of the Women's Track & Field Silver Anniversary Team were also members of the Women's Cross Country Silver Anniversary Team - Salisbury's Becca Stinner and York College's Mandy Parshall.
CAC Women's Track & Field Silver Anniversary Team Honorees
Name Last Year of Competition Institution
Kim Alvis 2000 University of Mary Washington
Jenn Bulger 2009 Salisbury University
Kathleen Edwards 2000 University of Mary Washington
Sherry Esposito 2000 Salisbury University
Stacie Gado 1997 Salisbury University
Carly Hambley 2008 University of Mary Washington
Shelly Hamilton 2001 Gallaudet University
Jen Harrison 1997 Salisbury University
Ruth Hedrick 2005 Salisbury University
Jennifer Houghton 2012 Salisbury University
Nicole Maier 2004 University of Mary Washington
Yurissa Mitchell 2000 University of Mary Washington
Jessica Parrish 2009 Hood College
Mandy Parshall 2010 York College of Pa.
Laura Rowlands 2013 York College of Pa.
Myra Simpson 1997 University of Mary Washington
Kim Stengle 2007 Catholic University of America
Becca Stinner 2012 Salisbury University
Christina Sullivan 2002 University of Mary Washington
Chelsea Tavik 2013 Salisbury University
Jane Thies 2005 University of Mary Washington
Kara Tolson 2014 Salisbury University
Jana White 2005 Goucher College
Natalie Williams 2004 Goucher College
Mae Winchester 2009 University of Mary Washington