Hall of Fame
KARYN McCREADY
- Sport: Track and Field
- Graduation Year: 2005
- Highlights: 2004 NCAA Division II national champion in the javelin, placed 13th at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, three-time All-American, three-time PSAC champion, owned SRU and all-time PSAC record in the javelin until it was broken in 2021.
Karyn McCready was nearly unbeatable in the javelin in the early 2000s when she won back-to-back-to-back PSAC titles and set and broke her own school record multiple times. She picked up her first PSAC title in 2002 and went on to place fourth at the national championships to earn her first career All-America honor.
She followed that up with another PSAC title in 2003 and improved one place at the national meet with a third place showing for a second straight All-America award.
McCready saved her best for last, when she won a third straight PSAC title and set the SRU and all-time conference records in the javelin in 2004. She also claimed a title at the historic Penn Relays and went undefeated in every meet of the collegiate season. That included the Division II National Championships, where she won the 2004 title and picked up a third straight All-America honor.
The only meet McCready didn't win in 2004 was the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, where she placed an impressive 13th in a field of the best javelin throwers in America.
McCready helped SRU to back-to-back PSAC team titles in 2003 and 2004 and was named the PSAC Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year in 2004.
In addition to her athletic success, she also stood out in the classroom, graduating in 2005 with a 3.9 GPA in education. She was a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, including a first team honoree in 2004, and a three-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic honoree. McCready was also named the PSAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2003-04 academic year.
McCready left SRU in 2005 and took a position as a health and physical education teacher and athletic director at Freedom Middle School in Fredericksburg, Virginia, a position she still holds today. The 2020 Freedom Teacher of the Year award winner is also involved as a member of the Principle's Leadership Team and is on the Board of Directors at Christ Lutheran Preschool.
In addition to teaching, McCready also coached girls' basketball from 2005-11 and posted a record of 59-11 with four county championships. She also spent 10 years as an assistant track and field coach at the University of Mary Washington from 2005-15, where she coached 28 All-Conference athletes and eight school record holders.
She and her wife, Emily, reside in Fredericksburg, Virginia with their two children, Dehn and Rowan.
