BATON ROUGE — LSU gymnast Ashleigh Clare-Kearney will represent the University at the 2007 NCAA Leadership Conference at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., from May 27 through May 31.
A four-event standout for the Tigers, Clare-Kearney was named a 2007 first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection after finishing third in the all-around and second on the vault at the SEC Championships last month. She finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country in the all-around, just the second LSU gymnast to achieve the No. 1 ranking in the all-around, and also No. 1 on the vault, where she has not scored below a 9.850 this season.
The Manchester, Conn., native, heads to this weekend’s NCAA Southeast Regional Championships in Morgantown, W. Va., having won a team leading six all-around and 26 individual event titles. Against Centenary on March 23, the three-time SEC Gymnast of the Week recorded the highest all-around score in the nation this season with a 39.775 effort.
In addition to her athletic accomplishments, Clare-Kearney has participated in many community service projects. She has volunteered as part of the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon, the MDA Strides and Rides event and the Race for the Cure. Clare-Kearney also helped with the Gumbo Games, the Louisiana state track meet for handicapped children, and took time out of practice to visit with a 14-year-old orphan that came to watch the team and visit with the girls. She has also gone to Our Lady of the Lake’s Children’s Ward to visit the sick children and volunteered at the Zeta Tau Alpha’s Pancake Breakfast for Breast Cancer Awareness.
A total of 356 student-athletes were selected from over 1300 nominations from 330 institutions to participate in the NCAA Leadership Conference. Participants were chosen from a pool of representatives from Division I, Division II and Division II institutions and the national Student-Athlete Advisory Committees.
The NCAA Leadership Conference provides NCAA student-athletes with a forum to openly discuss issues that may affect them on their campuses and in their communities, while also providing them with the opportunity to enhance their leadership, communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills. The leadership conference also promotes better communication among student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty and communities. The five-day leadership conference consists of daily exercises and activities to help the student-athletes develop as individuals and as contributing members to a group.