FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Robinson Named MU Male Spring Athlete of the Year, Edwards and Pratt Selected Co-Female Spring Athletes of the Year
MANSFIELD – Track and field standout
Mike Robinson has been named Mansfield University Spring Male Athlete of the Year while National Champion
Brenae Edwards and All-American
Kate Pratt have been selected Co-Female Spring Athletes of the Year.
At last year's PSAC Championships, Robinson limped across the finish line for a seventh place finish in the 800m run just two weeks after suffering a devastating injury at the Princeton Invite. Following the conference meet, Robinson was placed in a cast for six months missing the summer and entire cross country season. Robinson was determined to run again in a Mansfield uniform, maintaining a cross training regimen and core workout.
Robinson skipped the 2012-13 indoor track season and his first race in nearly nine months was in the blustery winds at Coastal Carolina where the senior finished 11
th in the 3,000m amongst Division I competition. In his first 800m race in over a year, Robinson broke Chris Cumming's seven-year-old record and won in convincing fashion with a time of 1:53.02 at Lock Haven's Elliston Invite.
At the PSAC Outdoor Championships, Robinson rebroke his record in the 800m prelims with his time of 1:52.70. The following day Robinson finished second and earned All-PSAC honors in the 1,500m finals at 3:55.11, just .30 of a second behind the race winner. In the 800m finals, Robinson moved from ninth to second over the final 300 meters, but two hard races took their toll as he came away with an eighth place finish in the event.
Edwards broke new ground in 2013 when she became the first National Champion in Mansfield University history by winning the 10K race at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Pueblo, Colo. Seeded with the second-fastest time in the nation, Edwards took the lead 18 minutes into the race and never looked back as she won by just under a minute. She earned All-American status for the second time at the championships by finishing as the runner-up in the 5K two days later.
Edwards became the first female athlete in school history to be named PSAC Track Athlete of the Year and earned a spot on the prestigious PSAC Top Ten award for her outstanding dedication in competition and in the classroom. She earned 1st Team Capital One Academic All-District Women's Track and Field/Cross Country accolades and was a Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award recipient.
It marks the seventh time in her career that Edwards has been selected as an MU Fall, Winter or Spring Athlete of the Year.
Pratt was one of the most feared softball players in the conference this season leading the Mountaineers to a share of their first PSAC division title and a conference playoff berth in 2013. The junior became the first player in program history to be named All-American by being selected to 2
nd Team NFCA All-American honors at shortstop. Pratt's postseason honors also include ECAC Division II Player of the Year, NFCA 1
st Team All-Atlantic Region shortstop, PSAC Central Player of the Year and All-PSAC Central shortstop.
Pratt led the Mountaineers and ranked eighth in the PSAC in batting average at .396. She was 15
th in the nation in home runs with an MU school record 17 round-trippers while her .43 home runs per game average was the best amongst all NCAA Division II players this year. Pratt led the conference and ranked seventh in the nation in slugging percentage at .888. Her 50 RBIs were the second most in the PSAC and set an MU single-season record. As a pitcher, Pratt posted an 8-7 record with a 2.33 ERA. She tossed seven complete games with one shutout and totaled 68 strikeouts on the season.
Pratt has been selected MU Spring Athlete of the Year in each of her three seasons at Mansfield.
In addition to the naming of the Spring Athletes of the Year, the head coaches of each spring sport announced their team Most Improved Player and Most Valuable Player.
Baseball
Joey Andrews - MVP
Danny Brown - MIP
Men's Track and Field
Mike Robinson - MVP
Latimere Campbell - MIP
Softball
Kate Pratt - MVP
Caitlin Klobosits - MIP
Women's Track and Field
Brenae Edwards - MVP
Jess Scordino - MIP
