Washington-St. Louis' Ruths, McMurray's Richardson Honored

Contact: Brad Bankston (brad@odaconline.com)
Contact: J.J. Nekoloff (jnekoloff@odaconline.com)  

SALEM, Va. --- Tarra Richardson of McMurry University (Texas) and Troy Ruths of Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) are the recipients of the 2008 Jostens Trophy awards. The annual honors are presented to one male and one female student-athlete, recognizing the most-outstanding student-athletes in NCAA Division III basketball for not only their abilities on the playing court, but excellence in the classroom and within the community.

The winners were chosen by a national selection committee that consists of college coaches, former athletes, college administrators and selected members of the media. The members of the national selection committee cast their votes based on three criteria: basketball ability, academic prowess and community service.

The awards presentation for the Jostens Trophy is set for Thursday, March 20, and held in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Salem's weekly meeting at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia.

Richardson Completes an Outstanding Career
"Tarra is a dynamite young lady!  She represents the best in what we know NCAA Division III athletics should be.  Tarra Richardson is a superb student-athlete...citizen," says McMurry President Dr. John H. Russell.  "She will graduate on time.  She will have studied in a difficult discipline.  Her athletic achievement will be matched by her performance in the classroom and through it all, Tarra will remain most humbled by and appreciative of the gifts with which she has been blessed."

A native of Fort Worth, Texas and a graduate of Brewer High School, Richardson has been a dominant force on the McMurry women's basketball team over the last four years. She averaged 19.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per game over the course of her career.

Richardson finished her extraordinary career with 2,194 points, 1,015 rebounds, 304 blocked shots, and 206 steals. This year she averaged 18.9 points and 8.4 rebounds a game.  She is currently the McMurry all-time leader in the former three categories and the American Southwest Conference (ASC) all-time leader in career points and career rebounds.  She is currently ranked 26^th nationally in points per game and 33^rd in blocked shots per game.

At the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament last weekend in Abilene, Texas, Richardson dropped 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a 71-67 first round win over Trinity (Tex.) and followed with a 24-point and nine-rebound effort in a 79-64 second round loss to the undefeated Howard Payne (Tex.).

A three-time ASC all-division all-conference selection, Richardson was named to the All-ASC West Division First Team and the ASC All-Defensive team this season.

In the classroom, Richardson carries a 3.91 grade point average while majoring in finance. She has been a three-time Academic All-Conference selection and a three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selection while being named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team last year.  In addition, she has been named to the Dean's list for nine semesters and is a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society.

Richardson has been heavily involved in community service work while at McMurry. She has served as a volunteer referee to the White Settlement (Tex.) Youth Association and was a teacher's aide at H.V. Helbing Elementary.  She has also served her time with the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church nursery, the Blue Haze Elementary Carnival and the Children's Miracle Network.


Ruths Excels On and Off the Court
"Troy, an excellent role model, embodies and exemplifies the qualities necessary for excellence and success in life," said Washington University Director of Athletics, John Schael.  "To be able to successfully balance the rigors of engineering with those of basketball takes a special person."

Washington University in St. Louis' Ruths, a native of Sugar Land, Texas, and a graduate of Steven F. Austin High School, has played a pivotal role during his career for the Bears. The team has had an impressive 79-28 record over the past four years, winning the University Athletic Association (UAA) championship and placing third in the NCAA Tournament last year.  Ruths currently ranks second on the Washington University all-time scoring board with 1,697 points.  Ruths has helped lead the Bears to a 21-6 season in which he is averaging a UAA-best 19.6 points per game and 6.7 rebounds per game.

The Bears are in the midst of the 2008 NCAA National Tournament.  Last weekend Ruths helped lead the Bears to first and second round victories by notching 24 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 79-74 win over Wooster and 21 points and seven rebounds in a 70-67 win over Augustana.  The Bears will take on Buena Vista University on March 14 in the sectional round of the tournament.

Ruths has been named to the UAA All-Conference teams three times and was named the UAA Most Valuable Player as well a Third Team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in 2007.

In addition to Ruth's successes on the court, the computer science major boasts a 4.0 grade point average in the classroom.  He is a two-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America of the Year selection as well as a three-time Academic All-District and Academic All-UAA selection.  Additionally, Ruths was named to the USA Today All-USA College Academic Team in 2007 and a two-time Academic All-American.  He also has devoted time to research in the School of Engineering at both Washington University and Rice University and had the opportunity to co-author an academic article in the Journal of Chemical Education.

Ruths has taken on several extra-curricular activities.  He is a member of the Computer Science Student Advisory Board and the Student-Athletic Advisory Committee.  He developed a math program for young children and he is the co-founder of two companies, Tryphon Arts and NonoKids.


Jostens Trophy Celebrates 11^th Anniversary
The Josten's Trophy is a joint creation of Jostens, Inc., of Minneapolis, Minn., and the Rotary Club of Salem, Va.  The purpose of the award is to honor the true Division III student-athlete - the athlete that shows excellence in the classroom, on the playing floor and in the community.  In addition to the Trophy, the Wooldridge Scholarship, a $1,000 donation, will be presented in the name of the winner to his/her institution.  The scholarship was named after Dan Wooldridge, a Salem Rotarian and retired Commissioner of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, as a way of honoring him for his long-time dedication to Division III athletics.

** Minneapolis-based Jostens is a leading provider of products and services that help recognize achievement and affiliation throughout people's lives.  The company specializes in championships rings and awards in addition to yearbooks, class rings, graduation products, school photography and corporate programs.