Christensen, Flahive & Richardson Named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District

Three members of the Harvard women's track and field team were named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District I team as voted on by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Senior Becky Christensen was named to the first team, while classmate Shannon Flahive and sophomore Claire Richardson were selected to the second team.

Christensen, who will compete in her fourth outdoor NCAA Championships next week, is a second-time first-team recipient. She is a three-time All-American and a six-time Ivy League champion. Christensen, whonow moves on to the national ballet, won the indoor and outdoor high jump conference titles in 2008 and 2009. Most recently, she finished third at the NCAA East regional to earn a spot at the national championships. She was a first-team academic all-district honoree last year and was on the USTFCCCA All-Academic team as well. She is a three-time Academic All-Ivy League honoree.

The Celina, Texas native and team captain received the Paul Turner Most Outstanding Performer Award and the Francis J. Haggerty Award for Excellence in Women's Track and Field at this year's track and field banquet. In 2008-09, Christensen improved upon her personal best by seven centimeters and moved into second on the all-time top-10 list. She graduated Thursday afternoon with a degree in psychology.

Richardson's outstanding sophomore campaign started this fall with her fourth place finish at the Heptagonal Cross Country championships. She finished seventh at the NCAA Cross Country Regional and qualified for the NCAA Championships. During the indoor season, she won the 3,000 meters at Heps and provisionally qualified for NCAAs in that event. At the outdoor conference meet, she won the 3,000 meters and finished second in the 5,000 meters.

Richardson's 5,000 meter time was the seventh-fastest in the Harvard annals and also a regional qualifying mark. This season she was a four-time All-Ivy League recipient, with three first-team nods. She earned Academic All-Ivy League honors for the spring season and was also named to the USTFCCCA All- Academic team for cross country. She received the Women's Most Valuable Performer Award at the team banquet last month. The St. Paul, Minn., native is a neurobiology concentrator.  

Flahive capped off an exciting track and field career by winning the pentathlon at the indoor Heptagonal Championships and the heptathlon at outdoor Heps. She is the school record holder in both events and also ranks third in the Harvard annals in the 100-meter hurdles. She was given the Women's Beyond the Call of Duty Award at the team banquet last month. The Littleton, Colo., native graduated from Harvard on Thursday with a degree in economics.