RICHMOND, VA -- University of Delaware senior Kevin DuPrey (Lampeter, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) has been selected as the winner of the 2006 John H. Randolph Inspiration Award by the Colonial Athletic Association.

The award recognizes individuals, who through strength of character and human spirit, serve as an inspiration to all to maximize their potential and ability for success. It is named after former William & Mary athletic director John Randolph, who lost a courageous battle with cancer in 1995.

CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager presented the Randolph Award to DuPrey (pronounced"due-pray") during UD’s men’s intercollegiate athletics awards banquet on May 16. DuPrey also received the ECAC Medal of Merit at the banquet and was recognized as the senior male letterwinner with the highest grade point index.

DuPrey (at right) is a four-year letterman in cross country and a two-year letterwinner in outdoor track and field for the Blue Hens. He was one of the Blue Hens’ top runners as a freshman, placing 18th overall at the CAA Cross Country Championship and setting a freshman record in the 10,000 meters in track and field. DuPrey’s career took an unfortunate turn in the spring of 2003, however, when he contracted Lyme Disease. The disease caused numerous complications, including fatigue, a serious hip injury due to swelling in his joints, and severe sunburn that was a side-effect of antibiotics.

DuPrey’s condition has steadily improved and he is currently free from Lyme Disease and no longer on antibiotics. He served as team captain on the cross country squad this year and posted a fifth-place finish at the Delaware Invitational.

“Kevin is such a tremendous person,” said Delaware cross country and track and field head coach Jim Fischer. “He works so hard and never has given up despite his illness. For him to come out and run cross country this past fall says a lot about the kind of person he is. He has always had the ability but it became so hard for him to train. He finally had so much pain he had to stop following the cross country season. I’m disappointed for him that he couldn’t reach the level of competition that he was capable of, but it was never because of a lack of effort or desire. That has always been there.”

While the disease took a toll on DuPrey’s running abilities, he continued to excel as a student. He has achieved a 3.88 grade point average while majoring in biology at UD, and earned the track team’s Sharp Academic Award for academic accomplishments. A Dean’s List student, DuPrey has worked as a biology research assistant and in the Vertebrate Development Lab during the summers. He will earn his degree from Delaware later this month and will attend medical school this fall at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he hopes to study sports medicine or infectious disease to become a Lyme Disease specialist.

DuPrey becomes third University of Delaware student-athlete to earn the award from the CAA in the last five years. Softball standout Mandy Welch, who overcame an 80 percent hearing loss to excel as a record-setting all-conference outfielder, was recognized in 2002 while tennis player Julia Shapiro, who was a four-year member of the squad despite being stricken with Multiple Sclerosis as a freshman, was honored last spring.