May 18, 2005
Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno today announced the league's annual recipients of postgraduate scholarships.
"The Atlantic 10 is proud to be able to provide opportunities for its student-athletes to continue their educations," says Bruno. "These young women and men are perfect examples of what college athletics is all about - attaining academic and athletic excellence. We wish them all the best in their future endeavors."
The Atlantic 10 annually awards four postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes who express an interest in continuing their education. This year's recipients are Rob Altenau of Dayton, Ryan Bender and Colleen McCroskey of Duquesne, and Jenna Darcy of La Salle. This is the ninth season that a total of four recipients have been selected.
Bender is a two-time Student-Athlete of the Year in cross country - the first cross country performer to accomplish that feat. This season, Bender garnered All-Conference honors with his fourth-place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championship, posting a time of 25:44 - tops among Dukes' runners. Bender was the first Duquesne runner across the finish line in five of six cross country races in 2004, including a victory at the Duquesne Invitational. During the outdoor season, Bender was named A-10 Student-Athlete of the Year. He earned a silver medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship with a time of 31:05.28, while placing fifth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:55.93 to become the only runner to finish in top five in both events this season. The senior from Indiana, PA, set a Duquesne record and qualified for the IC4A Championship in the 10,000m with a time of 30:29.37 at the Raleigh Relays. He ran a personal-best time and qualified for IC4A's in the 5,000m with a 14:28.99 at the Penn Relays. The pharmacy major was named the 2004-05 Duquesne University Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He was a second-team Academic All-America last season after garnering third-team honors in 2003. He was named the 2003 and 2004 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Student-Athlete of the Year and has earned outdoor track & field Academic All-Conference honors in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Bender is also a three-time Atlantic 10 cross country Academic All-Conference honoree and a member of the Dean's List. He will enroll in Duquesne's Doctoral Pharmacy Program in the fall.
McCroskey helped lead Duquesne's Lightweight 8 to a second-place finish at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Rowing Championship. Her Lightweight 8 boat placed second at the Occoquan Chase and fourth in the Lightweight 8 at the 2004 Head of the Ohio. She was also member of the Lightweight 4 which took first at the Fall Head of the Speakmon. The senior from Solon, OH, is an occupational therapy major. She was the 2004 Atlantic 10 Women's Rowing Student-Athlete of the Year and a member of the 2004 and 2005 Academic All-Conference teams. She has been on the Dean's List each semester at Duquesne and was the 2005 recipient of the Jon Short Award in Anatomy at Duquesne. She is a volunteer for the St. Vincent DePaul Society and Whales Tail. She will pursue her master's in occupational therapy a Duquesne this summer.
