Charity Learn and Chris Cummings Repeat As MU Fall Athlete’s of the Year

Chris Cummings and Charity Learn were named Mansfield University’s Female and Male Fall Athlete’s of the Year in the highlight of the Fall Sports Banquet held this past Tuesday evening.

Repeat describes this dynamic duo who was also named MU’s Fall Athlete’s of the Year last season and have earned Athlete of the Year honors seven different times between them.

Charity Learn finishes her cross country career at Mansfield in the same manner she started by being selected the Women’s Fall Athlete of the Year.

Learn started the season with first place finishes, setting new course records in victories at Mansfield, Oneonta and Tidewater.

Her victory over a strong field at Tidewater earned Charity PSAC Female Runner of the Week honors and she followed that up with a 70^th overall finish at the Penn State National Invitational, a meet dominated by the top NCAA Division I programs in the nation.

Despite a late season injury, Learn become the first female athlete in school history to earn All-PSAC honors while helping her team to a impressive school record fifth place finish at the PSAC Cross Country Championship.

Learn also helped her team to a school record fifth place finish at the NCAA East Regional, earning All-Academic honors by finishing 17^th overall while maintaining a GPA higher than 3.98.

She is the first female athlete in school history to be selected Fall Athlete of the Year thee times.

Chris Cummings continued to establish himself as the top male cross country runner in school history with his outstanding performance during the 2005 season.

Cummings finished first three in three of five regular season meets this Fall, including taking top honors at the prestigious Tidewater and College Track Conference Championships.

He was third at the Oneonta Airport Meet and finished an impressive 32^nd overall at the Penn State National Invitational, the third best time for a Division II runner in a meet that featured some of the top Division I programs from around the country.

Cummings was named PSAC Male Runner of the Week during the course of the season and became the first male runner in school history to earn All-PSAC honors in each of his first three seasons by finishing 14^th overall at the PSAC Cross Country Championship.

He earned All-Academic honors with a 3.56 gpa and 14^th overall finish at the NCAA East Regional Championship.

Other Highlights From 2005 Fall Athletics.

• For the first time in school history, Mansfield had a student-athlete named PSAC Athlete of the Week in all five Fall Sports. Mansfield and IUP were the only two schools in the PSAC to have Athlete of the Week selection in each sport they participated in during the fall.

• The women’s track and field team was by far the most improved team in the PSAC this season, finishing a school record fifth in the PSAC Championship Meet. Rachel Hall and Charity Learn both finished in the top 15 runners as Mansfield was one of just four school in the PSAC to have multiple All-PSAC runners.

• Chris Cummings became the first male runner in school history to earn All-PSAC honors by finishing in the top 15 at the PSAC Championship meet in each of his first three season.

• The women’s soccer team shocked the PSAC by posted a winning season in just its fourth year of existence. The team set new team and individual scoring records while placing three members, Desiree Boris, Lyndi Keiser and Colleen Corcoran on the All-PSAC East team.

• The field hockey team played six of the top 10 team in the country, recording wins over two of them, East Stroudsburg and IUP. Keely Jarrett earned All-PSAC honors.

• Football’s Poohbear McNeal became the school’s all-time leading rusher in just his junior season, while freshman quarterback John Hengehold set a school with 22 touchdown passes including at least one in every game. Rodney Davis broke the school record with 64 receptions. Five players were named to All-PSAC East honors in McNeal, Keith Slezak, Andre’ Turner, Jamar Foulks and Ronnie Montgomery.

Team Honors

Field Hockey                         Most Valuable Player           --          Ashley Meta

                                                Most Improved Player           --          Nicole Dann

Men’s Cross Country            Most Valuable Player           --          Chris Cummings

                                                Most Improved Player           --          Jon Holtz

Women’s Cross Country      Most Valuable Player           --          Charity Learn

                                                Most Improved Player           --          Clarissa Correll

Football                                  Most Valuable Player           --          Keith Slezak

                                                Most Improved Player           --          Jon Mattis

Women’s Soccer                  Most Valuable Player           --          Julie Miller

                                                Most Improved Player           --          Amy Dominick