Miami University RedHawks
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March 21, 2002
Miami University Strength and Conditioning Coach Dan Dalrymple recently announced that four Miami student athletes have been honored as National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) all-Americans.
Among those honored were Miami football linemen Paul Thaler (Cleves, Ohio/Cincinnati LaSalle) and Frank Smith (Cedarburg, Wis./Cedarburg) and volleyball standouts Kelly McCullough (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and Lee Ann Karr (Kirkwood, Mo./Kirkwood).
Student athletes selected as NSCA all-Americans earn the honor based on their dedication to and performance in their respective strength and conditioning programs. Further attention is given to how the dedication of the individual carries over into success in their respective sports. Strength coaches nationwide nominate student athletes from their programs and submit them to the NCSA, which reviews the applicants and makes the final selections. This year marks the 10th consecutive year that Miami has placed an athlete on the all-America team. During that span, no university has had more student-athletes honored than Miami.
In his first full season as the starting center for the RedHawks, Thaler quickly became the anchor of Miami's offensive line. In an offense which featured a shotgun snap, Thaler only made two bad snaps in 839 plays. Thaler is the first first-team all-conference offensive lineman for Miami since Mike Bird (OG) in 1998, and he is the first center to earn first-team accolades since Matt Cravens in 1997.
Joining Thaler from the football team was fellow offensive lineman Smith, who started the final nine games for the RedHawks after taking over for Jacob Bell in the third game of the year versus Cincinnati. The pair of linemen helped the Red and White rack up 4,794 yards of total offense, the third-highest single-season total in school history.
McCullough is a two-time all-MAC volleyball honoree, earning first-team distinction in 2001. She was the league's top outside hitter in 2001, ranking higher in more categories than any other outside hitter in the Mid-American Conference.
Karr was a three-year starter and captain for the 2001 season. She and McCullough were the only two RedHawks to start all 27 games this season. Karr averaged 2.41 kills and 2.58 digs per game.
"In terms of our program, these athletes are the role models for their teammates," Dalrymple says. "They are perfect examples of what dedication to strength and conditioning can do for a student athlete's performance in his/her chosen sport."
Since 1993, over 30 Miamians have garnered the honor. This year's class joins such former Miami greats as basketball all-American Wally Szczerbiak, college football's all-time leading touchdown scorer Travis Prentice and two-time track and field all-American Becca Williams.