Norton to be honored as national finalist
Kami Norton Richey, former Albany High track star and the NCAA Division II National Champion in both the heptathlon and the pentathlon this year while completing her senior year of college at Angelo State University, has been selected as one of only nine finalists from across the nation for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Richey and the other eight finalists, along with all of the semifinalists, will be honored at an awards dinner at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28, at the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. The 2018 Woman of the Year will be announced during the awards banquet.
The nine finalists were chosen because of their excellence in academics, athletics, community service, and leadership throughout their collegiate careers, according to Megan Durham with the NCAA.
Two of the other finalist are from Division II schools, three are from Division I universities, and three are from Division III.
Richey will be accompanied at the banquet by her new husband Tanner, and they will be joined by her parents, Dwayne and Ginger Norton from Albany.
“This is such an honor!” Richey said. “I can’t wait to share one more memory with my parents and Tanner as we wrap up my collegiate athletic career.”
Richey graduated from Angelo State with a 4.0 GPA this past May, earning her BS in kinesiology. She is currently working on a MS in occupational therapy at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, and she intends to pursue a career in occupational therapy.
The local track standout won nine UIL state championships in track before she graduated as valedictorian from Albany High in 2014.
In addition to the two individual NCAA Division II championships she won in 2018, Richey is a 12-time U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-American, 10-time individual Lone Star Conference champion, has been named the Lone Star Conference Female Athlete of the Year, and selected as the Angelo State Kathleen Brasfield Female Athlete of the Year.
Richey has served as captain of her college track team, as a member of the ASU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, led a Bible study group, and has served on a mission trip to South Africa and another to Guatemala.
“The most important lessons I’ve learned and experiences I’ve had cannot be measured in awards or accolades,” said Richey. “Anything good in me is because of Him.”
The NCAA plans to carry the awards ceremony live on their website.
