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 Lamont Reid and Keevy Harris (soccer) have been named to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-American team, recognizing their dedication to strength and conditioning. |
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March 29, 2006
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina's Keevy Harris and Lamont Reid (football) have been named to the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-American team, recognizing their dedication to strength and conditioning.
Harris, a junior from Sophia, N.C., is a standout midfielder whose ability to create scoring opportunities proved to be vital in the Catamount's 2005 Southern Conference Tournament Championship. She led the team in assists with eight this past season, assisting in one-fourth of the cumulative goals scored, while scoring two. Her performance this year placed her fourth on WCU's single-season assist list and seventh in all-time career assists with 10. Her contributions on the field can be attributed to her dedication in the weight room as well. In the all-time ranking for women's sports she ranks ninth in the bench press, fourth in the back squat, ninth in the clean and third in the broad jump. Not only does she work hard in athletics but she is also a stellar student. Harris has been on the Dean's List every semester of her career at Western, and had maintained an impressive 3.8 grade point average. In 2004, and 2005 she was named to the SoCon TIAFF-CREF Fall Academic All-Conference team and helped the Catamount soccer team become ranked among the nation's top 10-percent in Academic Progress Rate (APR) as released by the NCAA.
"Keevy's commitment to training is remarkable," said Tobias Jacobi, Western's head strength and conditioning coordinator. "Her work ethic is an inspiration to all of her teammates and she does a tremendous job of leading by example. She is a joy to train and played a major role in the success of the women's soccer team this past season."
Joining Harris on the team is Reid, a senior fullback from Maiden , N.C., who led the team in touchdowns with eight, ranked second on the team in rushing averaging 4.4 yards per rush and ranked fourth on the team with 12 catches, averaging 11.4 yards per reception. He is a respected blocker and a key contributor on all of the special teams. This season he completed his first career pass attempt, a 36-yarder to J.C. Brown, which led to Western's final score in the Cats' 41-21 upset over second-ranked Furman. Reid had a career night against Chattanooga when he rushed 18 times for his career-high of 108 yards. His athletic ability allowed him to letter in track and field as well as football. In 2004, he helped the Indoor Track and Field team win the SoCon Championship as well as being named All-Southern Conference in the long jump in 2005. He owns the all-time school record in the strength index at 6.43 and the all-time running backs record in the back squat, clean, broad jump, vertical jump, and pro shuttle. In addition, Reid is ranked second all-time for all positions in the back squat, clean and broad jump.
"Lamont is an exciting athlete who has taken advantage of his athletic gifts to help him be successful on the football field," said Jacobi. "He has done a remarkable job of developing himself not only physically, but also developing into a quality person. With his level of commitment and work ethic he will be successful in what ever he decided to do."
This marks the third consecutive year that Western had had two athletes named to the NSCA All-American team as Lamar Barnes (football) and Stephanie Svoboda (soccer) were honored last season and Michale Spicer (football) and Sara Komosinski (volleyball) in 2004.
The NSCA All-American team is an annual compilation of the nation's top athletes whose successes on the field echo their efforts in the weight room. The NSCA also considers academic and personal accomplishments when evaluating collegiate athletes.
