Lakeland alum is CAA Scholar-Athlete of Year

Published 9:19 pm Tuesday, June 22, 2010

James Madison senior goalkeeper Kelsey Cutchins was honored Tuesday as the Colonial Athletic Association Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Cutchins, a Lakeland ’06 graduate, is the first student-athlete, male or female, to be a repeat winner of this CAA honor.

In addition to being the first multiple honoree in the award’s history, dating back to 2002-03, Cutchins is the only JMU student-athlete to be named CAA Female or Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She was eligible for the award after earning her third straight CAA Field Hockey Scholar-Athlete Award in 2009.

Last week, Cutchins became the first athlete in JMU’s NCAA Div. I history to be a three-time Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

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Cutchins was a first team selection this year after being a second team Academic All-American as a junior and on the third team as a sophomore.

Earlier this year, Cutchins was named JMU’s Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second time. The psychology major and geography minor was named to the President’s List all eight semesters with a career grade point average above 3.9. She was selected to receive the JMU Psychology Department’s Senior Award for Distinguished Service.

On the field, Cutchins is a two-time All-American, three-time All-Region selection, three-time All-State, two-time State Player of the Year, three-time First Team All-CAA, two-time CAA Player of the Year, three-time ECAC All-Star, and was named a Senior All-Star by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association. She was also named to the CAA Silver Anniversary Team last fall, making her one of the top 25 field hockey players in the CAA’s history.

Cutchins graduated as JMU’s all-time record-holder in goals against average (1.10) and minutes in goal (5,581:22). As a senior, she led the Colonial in save percentage (.796), saves (121) and goals against average (1.05) while ranking fifth in the nation in save percentage. Her career goals against average ranks 35th in NCAA history.