Add Stephanie Kuhn's name to the list that include Babe Ruth, Chuck Noll and Roger Bannister.

Ruth was the first Major League Baseball player to hit 60 home runs in a season, Noll was the first NFL coach to win four Super Bowls and Bannister was the first to run a mile under four minutes.

Kuhn's accomplishment might not be as noteworthy, but the Ringgold High School product was the first Robert Morris University athlete to qualify for the NCAA Division I women's track and field championships.

And now she is the first to compete in the NCAA track championships, twice.

A senior, Kuhn placed 15th in the javelin at the NCAA meet at Sacramento State University June 7. She had a throw of 156 feet, 11 inches in the preliminary round. Her throw, however, wasn't good enough to reach the final. Only the top 12 from the preliminary advanced. She also qualified for the NCAA Division I meet as a freshman.

"It was a little disappointing that I didn't make the finals," Kuhn said. "But I was pretty happy with the season I had."

Kuhn would have placed higher had she come up with a throw similar to her effort at the NCAA East Regional in Gainesville, Fla. At that meet, Kuhn had a toss of 162-7 and placed third.

Had she thrown the same distance in the preliminaries at the NCAA championships, she would have advanced to the final. And had she thrown the same distance in the finals, she would have placed in the top eight.

"I was pretty consistent during the season, throwing in the high 150s most of the time," Kuhn said. "And I had a throw of 165 [feet] this year, which was one of my goals."

She came up with a toss of 165-6 at the Northeast Conference championships to take first place. Kuhn also had a throw of 160-11 to place first at the Bennie Benson Memorial Invitational at Robert Morris.

Her track resume with the Colonials is impressive. Besides the two trips to the NCAA championship, Kuhn has competed in the NCAA East Regional and the ECAC outdoor championships the past four seasons. She holds the Colonials' record in the javelin.

Perhaps the most remarkable part of Kuhn's success is that, by javelin thrower standards, she's tiny. Kuhn is only 5 feet 5.

Her older sister, Maggie, competed in the event and Kuhn just naturally picked it up.

"I ran track in middle school, mostly the 100 and the jumping events," Kuhn said. "I didn't get into the javelin until I was in high school."

She was good enough to win the WPIAL Class AAA title in the javelin as a junior. As a senior at Ringgold, she was second in the WPIAL and fourth in the PIAA.

Although her college athletic career has ended, Kuhn's track career has not. She has been making the 45-minute drive from her parent's Finleyville home to Robert Morris almost daily for workouts. She will compete in the USA track and field championships that get underway today at IUPUI in Indianapolis.

"There are four different national teams and if I do well, I'm hoping to end up on one of those," she said. "The Pan-Am Games are in Brazil this year, so it would be great to make that team."

Kuhn hasn't been a one-event wonder for the Colonials. She also competed in the hammer throw during track season and was a forward on the soccer team in the fall. She still is involved with soccer, playing in games on Sundays.

"I'd miss it if I didn't still play," Kuhn said. "That was one of the reasons I came to Robert Morris because there was the opportunity to play both sports."

Kuhn would like to keep her track career going past this summer. A long-range goal is to qualify for the Olympic trials next year. A business major, she still has classes to finish at Robert Morris and hopes to help the Colonials next season as a volunteer assistant.

She will continue to work with Robert Morris coach Mike Smith through the USA meet, then maybe find a job for the summer before returning for fall classes.

"I set goals for myself and at the start of the season I wanted to throw 160 feet and I got that," she said. "The next goal was to throw 165 and I did that at the conference meet. Now, it's 170 and once I get that, I'll keep going."