Kate (Spade) Flynn
Spade broke 13 records during her four years as a three-sport athlete at Behrend from 2010-14. In track & field, she was a four-time All-ECAC selection, 19-time ECAC Qualifier, 11-time All-Mason Dixon choice and two-time Mason Dixon Champion. Spade was the 2013 Mason Dixon Track Athlete of the Year and 2014 Behrend Female Athlete of the Year. A former track MVP and Scholarship/ Leadership Award winner, she still holds the record in five events. In cross country, she was a three-time All-Conference honoree and AMCC Rookie of the Year.
The range of talent for Spade seemed to have no boundaries, stretching from the 200 to 1000 meters. But the sweet spot was certainly the 800m – the distance at which she still holds the program record and qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships her senior season.
She first demonstrated her competitive excellence and ability to perform at the highest level during her freshman season of cross country. Spade was named Team MVP, First Team All-Conference and ran to a third-place finish at the AMCC Championships. She earned All-AMCC honors two more times and helped Behrend claim a pair of conference titles.
She continued to push boundaries in her first year with the track & field program, earning Co-Rookie of the Year along with teammate Catie Bertges. Spade set five records, four in relays and the one in the indoor 600m.
The story of Spade over the next three years consisted of her doing better than her best. She was the Mason Dixon Track Athlete of the Year in 2013 and the Conference Champion in the 800m and 1500m in 2013. A year later, Spade became the first-ever track participant at the NCAA Championships in the history of the women’s track and field program. She entered the Division III Championships ranked 17th in the nation by the USTFCCA and TFRRS.
Currently, Spade still holds the 800m and 1000m indoor records and the 800m outdoor record. She also has six of the eight all-time outdoor 800m times and is still the third fastest in the 400m dash.