University of Oklahoma Athletics
Kelley Among Scholar-Athlete Award Winners
April 10, 2012 | Athletics
By Andrew Gilman | SoonerSports.com
NORMAN, Okla. -- On the day Natasha Kelley got to Oklahoma, she had surgery and then had a titanium rod placed in her leg.
Four months later, she tore the Achilles tendon in her left foot. The next year, she tore the ACL in her right knee. Two years after that, she tore the Achilles in her right foot.
In between those four major injuries, Kelley went from one of the program's highest-rated recruits to becoming the 2010 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, a four-time All-Big 12 performer and a two-time All-American.
And Tuesday, she was one of four honorees at the 14th annual Max Weitzenhoffer Scholar Athlete Breakfast to be given the Athletics Council Achievement Award.
"With all of the injuries that were thrown at me, I think I accomplished everything possible in my four years," said Kelley, who retired from competition at the beginning of the semester. "It wasn't what I hoped for or expected. Things like that happen that you can't control. I think I made a bigger impact through my injuries than if it had been an easier four years. With all the adversity I faced, I gave it my all."
| Complete List of Scholar-Athlete Award Winners |
That's why, along with Jelena Cerina of the women's basketball team, Peta Maree Lancaster of the women's tennis team and Corey Wilson from football, Kelley was honored with the award that goes to the student-athletes who overcome the odds to achieve academic success while participating in sports.
Kelley will graduate in May with a degree in communications and will pursue a master's degree in elementary education in the fall.
"I am definitely proud of my classroom accomplishments," said Kelley who was home-schooled all the way through high school, due to travel and competition with gymnastics. "I didn't know what to expect when I got to college. I have come a long ways since I first got here. I definitely struggled, but I picked it up from there."
Yet, despite all the injuries, Kelley was able to be a force on the gymnastics team, too, competing without an ACL in her right knee for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
"It was shocking to me," Kelley said of her injuries. "It's not like I could have done something to prevent them."
Instead Kelley persevered. A four-time U.S. National Team member, a silver medalist at the 2006 World Championships. A 2006 U.S. Junior National Champion, all her OU accomplishments and all her classroom success.
Next up: Kelley wants to be a teacher.
"It's something I've always wanted since I was young," she said. "Not growing up in a classroom made me want to do something I haven't experienced. I love working with kids and helping people."
