Richmond track and field star and junior Amanda Corbosiero received her second consecutive Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week Award last week, rebounding after missing the fall cross-country season with an injury.
Corbosiero finished the 1,000-meter race on Feb. 3 at the NYC Armory Invitational with a time of 2:44.52, the second fastest time in school history and fourth in the race overall.
“That was surprising to me because I haven't run the 1,000 much before,” Corbosiero said. “I really shocked myself by running that time. My goal was to run a 2:47 and that really excited me.”
She continued her hot streak the next weekend at the David Hemery Invitational at Boston University with a 4:41.56 mile time, a personal record and 12th in the race.
“Amanda has a great combination of speed, strength and endurance, which makes her a great middle-distance to distance runner,” head coach Lori Taylor said. “These two performances set her in the top 10 or 15 in the NCAA.
“Some people from the outside looking in may think, 'Wow where did that come from' or 'Man, how all of a sudden did she get so good,' but as her coaches, it has not just been out of nowhere.”
When the Richmond coaching staff recruited her in high school, they understood that Corbosiero had a high athletic ceiling, but her mental toughness sets her apart from her competition, Taylor said.
“Amanda has continued to develop into a position where she is one of the elite athletes in the NCAA,” Taylor said. “You get to that level because you have the ability and the talent but not everybody who has the ability and the talent gets there. You get there because you have talent with the drive and a vision of what you want to accomplish.”
Corbosiero missed the entirety of the fall cross-country season with a stress fracture in her left foot. Despite being sidelined and unable to even practice until late December, she did her best to stay positive and used her disappointment as motivation, she said.
“It was really disappointing after getting that stress fracture in her foot in the fall because we expected her to be a significant member of the cross-country team,” Taylor said. “The fact that she came off that injury back in January and to be as fit as she was is pretty amazing.”
Corbosiero began the season with the goals of running better than 2:50 in the 1,000-meter and 4:40 in the mile, she said. While she has already accomplished one goal and has come extremely close to the other, she is constantly striving to improve, she said.
“I am always hungry for more,” Corbosiero said. “While I’m really happy, I know that I definitely have a lot more left in me.”
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Corbosiero and the rest of the Richmond women’s track and field team currently have their sights set on the USA Track and Field Championship in New Mexico, and are waiting to hear if they will qualify, she said.
“We have a lot of talent on this team,” Corbosiero said. “If we are all healthy and all on at the right time, we are capable of being near the top of the country.”
Contact sports writer Andrew Wilson at andrew.wilson@richmond.edu
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