Orono, Maine -- The National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) has announced that University of Maine diver Riley Clark is one of five national recipients of its prestigious 2022 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award. Clark will be honored in conjunction with the 2022 N4A Convention in Las Vegas on June 27.

The N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award honors student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. The individuals honored have persevered and made significant personal strides toward success.

Clark joins Austin Blake, Campbell University; Mary Griffin, Virginia Tech; Taylor Robertson, University of Dayton; and Jack Winkley, Michigan State University, as the 2022 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award recipients.

Energetic, lovable, positive, and passionate. Those are just a few words coaches and teammates have used when describing University of Maine diver Riley Clark. Clark's zest for life shines bright, but as a first-year, he faced one of the biggest challenges a student-athlete can face. Clark noticed something was wrong with his body in June 2020. After monitoring the situation for two months, Clark made the decision to go to the doctor to get some answers. The answer Clark received was a cancer diagnosis. Though he battled over the next several months with intense chemotherapy, the treatment did not go as planned. Clark was forced to have life-saving surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes throughout his abdomen. Despite being told he would not be able to dive for at least a year due to the severity of surgery, Clark was determined to get back on the diving boards with his teammates. He returned to the University of Maine a few weeks after the surgery, surprising his teammates and coaches with his return. Riley began training and doing what his body would allow him to do to build strength. Clark had one goal: to compete at the 2021 America East Championships just a couple weeks after his return to UMaine. Against all odds, Clark returned to competition and placed fifth on the 1-meter board and sixth in the 3-meter event. This unimaginable feat has no explanation other than Clark refusing to let cancer define him. Clark, who will enter his senior year at UMaine in the fall of 2022, is pursuing his degree in kinesiology and physical education with a minor in premedical studies. Following graduation, Clark's plan is to apply to physician assistant school with an end goal of becoming a PA in a pediatric oncology ward.
 
"The Wilma Rudolph Award continues to be one of our association's flagship awards because it celebrates how student-athletes have embraced, persevered, and overcome adverse situations within their personal and professional journeys," N4A President Ashton Henderson, executive associate athletics director for championship resources at Michigan State University says. "These young people provide the bandwidth and runway for us to thrive, and we are grateful to be back in person to celebrate the meritorious achievements of these five amazing recipients."

About Wilma Rudolph: Despite being told as a child she would never walk again, Wilma Rudolph relentlessly pursued her dreams of becoming an international track and field star. At the height of her career, "the fastest woman in the world" used her platform to shed light on social issues. Rudolph competed in the 1956 Olympic Games and won a bronze medal in the 4x100 relay. Four years later, she headed to the 1960 Summer Olympics determined to earn gold. Her performance in Rome cemented her as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. She won three gold medals and broke several world records. Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at the same Olympic Games. The indoor track and dormitory at Tennessee State University are named in honor of Rudolph. She died of a brain tumor on November 12, 1994.

About N4A: N4A, which has been in existence since 1975, is a diverse educational service and professional non-profit organization. Membership of N4A includes academic support and student services personnel who are committed to enhancing opportunities for academic, athletics and personal success for student-athletes. For more information on N4A, visit www.nfoura.org. N4A is administered by NACDA, which is in its 57th year. For more information on NACDA and the 18 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.

-UMaine-