Houston's Rhian Clarke Earns NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship
5/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 15, 2002
Houston, Texas - University of Houston senior track and field All-American Rhian Clarke has been awarded a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship by the NCAA. Clarke was one of 58 student-athletes who participated in winter sports, which includes men's and women's basketball, fencing, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's indoor track and field and wrestling.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade point average of 3.200 on a 4.000 scale and must have performed with distinction as a member of the sport in which they were nominated.
Clarke just won her sixth straight Conference USA pole vault championships on May 10 as she tied her own C-USA meet record with mark of 12' 5.50".
She finished fourth at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a vault of 13'9.25" to help UH finish in seventh place as a team. She also finished in seventh place in the pole vault at the 2000 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a mark of 13' 1.50" at the 2000 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Clarke came to UH in 2000 after being named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman Athlete of the Year in 1999 while she attended Rice University. As a student, Clarke has maintained a 3.82 cumulative GPA and been a member of dean's list each of her six semesters at UH. She also received the Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Medal, which goes to student-athletes who maintain a cumulative grade point average in excess of 3.75. She also received the Houston Alumni Organization's Outstanding Athlete Award twice.
Not only has she succeeded as a student-athlete, but Clarke also has spearheaded Houston's track and field team's community service efforts. She raised $9,000 for UH's toy drive to benefit sick and underprivileged children in the Houston area. Clarke also assisted with Houston's play-day track meet for Girl Scouts in the City of Houston and has served as a mentor to elementary schools and been a Habit for Humanity participant.
Clarke graduated from UH this spring and plans to continue training for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and attend law school, where she hopes to specialize in sports and media law.