Press Release

April 21, 2005

Poptanycz Earns All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year Award

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recently awarded senior Ashely Poptanycz, a Northwest women's basketball player, with its annual All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year award - recognizing her dedication to strength training and athletic conditioning.

This year, the NSCA awarded 251 collegiate athletes from over 100 schools with this esteemed award. Poptanycz was selected by strength coach Brian Gohr, who said, "The only way to describe Ashely's accomplishments is to say Unbelievable! Ashely brings a tremendous amount of hard work and leadership to every workout. She never hesitates to push herself on every lift and every conditioning session. The best thing about Ashely is that she pushes everyone around her to excel. As Ashely's strength and conditioning coach I feel privileged to have worked with her over the years."

Poptanycz led the 2004-05 Bearcats in field-goal percentage (.473), steals (62) and rebounds per game (8.3). She was the only senior on this year's squad and helped the 'Cats to a berth in the MIAA Tournament.

The NSCA All-American Athlete of the Year Award program is in its 22nd year, and is made possible by a grant from Power Systems, Inc., a Knoxville, Tennessee fitness product leader.