Richey honored as NCAA finalist

Kami Norton Richey, originally from Albany, was honored as a finalist for the NCAA Woman of the Year at the organization’s annual awards banquet held Oct. 28 in Indianapolis.

The top 30 national honorees and nine finalists were picked by an NCAA committee from a pool of 154 conference honorees.

Ultimately the top honor was presented to Division I athlete Keturah Orji from the University of Georgia. Orji not only dominated both indoor and outdoor triple jump events, holding American and collegiate records in the indoor and the collegiate all-time triple jump record in the outdoor, she also placed fourth at the 2016 Olympics.

Richey is a former Albany High track star and won many accolades including the 2018 NCAA Division II National Championship in both the heptathlon and the pentathlon as a member of the Angelo State University Rambelles, where she was coached by Tom Dibbern, also from Albany. 

Attending the awards banquet with Richey were her parents, Ginger and Dwayne Norton of Albany, and her husband Tanner.