Tuesday, June 09, 2009

MACON, Ga. - After leading Jacksonville to indoor and outdoor track and field titles this year, Natasha Harvey captured the Atlanic Sun Conference Female Student-Athlete of the Year award, the conference announced on Monday.

"Natasha is unquestionably a very gifted athlete," said A-Sun Commissioner Ted Gumbart. "The reason we are so proud to honor her is that she is also an outstanding individual. She has been an integral part of a JU Track & Field dynasty, but I know her lasting legacy will be based on who she is, not what she did. We are proud to have Natasha represent the A-Sun as our female Student-Athlete of the Year, and we thank her for her part in fulfilling our commitment to Building Winners for Life."

Harvey, the only senior on the Dolphins' roster, polished off a stellar career after leading the Dolphins to their fourth consecutive indoor and outdoor titles. She is the first Jacksonville athlete to win the award and just the third in her sport. Harvey finishes her undergraduate degree with an overall GPA of 3.53 and a 3.73 in her major. The exercise science major earned the 2009 Senior Student-Athlete award, given to the top senior student-athlete at Jacksonville who has excelled at the highest level in the classroom and in her sport, while serving benefit to the community.

The conference's faculty athlete representatives voted Harvey as the A-Sun nominee for NCAA Women of the Year, honoring senior student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership. She also garnered JU's 2009 School of Education Outstanding Exercise Science student honor. Throughout her career, Harvey earned A-Sun All-Academic and made the Dean’s List six consecutive semesters.

On the track, Harvey set conference and school records consistently throughout her career. She owns six A-Sun records and seven school records. She has racked up 18 individual titles and 29 all-conference team honors. With Harvey aboard, the Dolphins went eight for eight in capturing Atlantic Sun indoor and outdoor championships, with Harvey accounting for 302 of the 1,327 points accumulated (22.7 percent) during that streak in six different events.

Conference coaches voted Harvey as Most Valuable Performer and Most Outstanding Field performer at the 2009 indoor and outdoor championships. She also notched Most Outsanding Track performer at the 2009 indoor championship, Most Outstanding Field Performer at the 2008 indoor and outdoor championships. As a freshman she racked up Most Outstanding Freshman Performer in both 2006 championships and earned gold at the U.S. Junior Track Championship.

Harvey has nine Athlete of the Week accolades through the indoor and outdoor seasons, the most in A-Sun track and field history. The West Haven, Conn., native qualified for 13 NCAA regional meets and seven NCAA Championships. She won the long jump competition at the 2008 regional meet and competed in the Olympic trials, becoming the first JU athlete to do so in school history.

When she's not competing, Harvey is an upstanding member of the Jacksonville area. The senior is co-founder of the Into You program at the PACE Center for' Girls. The program is a community-based, gender-responsive prevention, diversion and early intervention program serving girls, ages 12-17. Putting her track skills to use, she coaches a Girls on the Run program, a non-profit prevention program that encourages preteen girls to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running. She also volunteered with Big Brother Big Sisters and from 2007-2009.

The athlete does not stop there. Harvey was as a peer minister for the Jacksonville Campus Ministries and acted as a women's bible study leader. She served as a Jacksonville Student-Athlete Advisory Committee member from 2007-2009 and was president of JU SAAC during her junior year. Harvey also earned 2009 Women's History Month JU Student of the Year.

The Jacksonville standout continues her dedication to her sport as she competes June 10-11 at the NCAA championship in the long jump and with her teammates in the 4x100 relay.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.