Jessica Knapp turned into one of the greatest distance runners in school history for both cross country and track & field. The two-sport athlete began her freshman year with the AMCC Runner of the Year award, an honor she would get two more times in her career. Knapp was also selected Team MVP twice and named to the All-Conference Team three times. On the track, she holds seven of the eight top times in the 5000m including the program record with a time of 17:50.14. Knapp also still holds the outdoor records in the 3000m and 10,000m. In over a decade, nobody has come within 10 seconds to those records.

From the start, Knapp set a pace that few could match while leading both programs in one of their most successful eras in school history. In cross country, her first-place finish at the AMCC Championships helped the Lions captured their first-ever conference title in 2001. It also earned her the AMCC Runner of Year Award.

After a close second at the AMCC Meet her sophomore year, Knapp went on to place in the Top 40 at NCAA Regionals with a time of 22:34.30. She also earned second straight First-Team All-AMCC honors.

Knapp raised the bar the next two seasons with the cross country team. In 2003, she led team all year taking first for the team in five out of six meets. Knapp also set a new course record at the Thiel Invitational, winning in 24:26.90. The junior captain won back the individual AMCC Champion title and earned her second AMCC Runner of the Year Award.  Knapp continued to collect the accolades, being named to the All-Mideast Team with a 15^th place finish (23:25) at the regional meet and capping the year with the prestigious Behrend Athlete of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards.

Her final year with the blue and white began as the 2004 AMCC Preseason Runner of the Year. Knapp set a new course record at the Behrend Invitational with a time of 19:24. All the hard work during the regular season led to a feat no other AMCC athlete has accomplished to date. Knapp led the Lions at the AMCC Meet to win her third championship making her a unanimous choice for Runner of the Year for the third time in her career. She also earned All-AMCC First-Team, All-ECAC and Academic All-American accolades.

In track & field, Jessica’s work ethic and unselfish devotion to the team were described as a coach’s dream and it showed. Her junior and senior year, she qualified for the ECAC Meet. IN 2004, she earned All-ECAC for her fourth-place finish in the 5000m. Knapp held eight track & field records at the time of graduation. At that same time, she was presented with her second Behrend Athlete of the Year plaque.

To this day, Knapp is the only female athlete to receive Behrend Athlete of the Year twice in her four-year career.