October 15, 2009

Ray named October Student-Athlete of the Month

The accomplishments keep rolling in for Cowley College sophomore Robin Ray as she was recently named the school’s October Student-Athlete of the Month.

Ray, from McAlester, OK, is a member of the Tiger women’s cross country and track and field teams. She is in the middle of an impressive cross country season as she has been named the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Runner of the Week three times this season.

In Ray’s last meet, she won the 3.1-mile race at Johnson County’s Dave Burgess Invitational. In the meet prior to Johnson County, she placed fourth at the Oklahoma State University Jamboree by running more than two and a half minutes faster than she did on the same course a year ago.

Ray’s time of 18:40.36 at the Missouri Southern Invitational was the fourth fastest in the program’s history.

In the other two meets Ray has competed in this season, she placed second at the Tigers’ home meet and third at the Friends University Invitational. As a freshman at Cowley, she earned all-conference and all-region honors in cross country, and was a national qualifier in both cross country and track and field.

“I look forward to her making a run at winning the region title and being among the top-15 finishers at the national meet,” Cowley head cross country coach Vince DeGrado said.

Along with her athletic accomplishments, Ray is also an active and successful student at the school. She was named the IMPACT Student of the Year in 2008-09 and made the Dean’s Honor Roll as a freshman.
Ray is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, ACES, and is the president of the Math and Science Club. She also serves as a student ambassador and Cowley Tutor.

“Robin exemplifies what a student-athlete at a smaller college is all about,” DeGrado said. “She is involved in so many activities that she is making the most of her college experience.”