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Melissa Smith

Melissa Smith of Clarks Summit will be inducted into the Rider University Athletics Hall of Fame on Feb. 6 for a career that spanned from 1999 to 2003 and included 20 conference gold medals.

Peter Borg/Rider University

Records and quick times are the benchmarks by which swimmers are judged. And with a collection of both, one Clarks Summit resident earned enshrinement in the Rider University Athletics Hall of Fame.

Melissa Smith, the former Melissa Michalov, who swam for the Rider Broncs from 1999 to 2003, will become the sixth swimmer in school history to be accepted into the hall on Feb. 6.

“I was excited and surprised,” said Smith, who was inducted in her first year of eligibility.

Smith, whose nominator is unknown to her, will be one of four athletes and an administrator honored this year by the Lawrenceville, N.J. institution.

Her first ballot induction is no surprise, looking at her finishing numbers. Smith ended her career with five female Athlete of the Month honors, 20 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference gold medals, three Rider pool records, nine team records and eight MAAC records, as well as being named the Rider University Athlete of the Year her senior year.

Since learning about her induction in August, Smith has been reflecting on her entire swimming career, which started with the Hatboro-Horsham Upper Moreland Aquatic Club and eventually Hatboro-Horsham High School before she enrolled at Rider.

“It made me think back to when I started swimming at eight years old,” said Smith.

Before her time at Rider, Smith only had one coach, Kip Emig, with whom she is still in contact today.

Smith made an impact at Rider beginning her first year.

At the MAAC Championships her first year, she was part of three winning relays. In that meet she also finished second in the 50 free, 100 backstroke and the 100 free.

As a sophomore, Smith won six MAAC gold medals and led the team to the conference championship. That year, she set the conference record in the 50 free and was part of the record-setting 200 free and 200 medley relay teams.

In her third year, she won gold in the 100 and 200 backstroke at the MAACs.

When Smith was a senior, the Broncs won the conference championship. Smith paced the winning effort with a perfect seven for seven in gold medals. In that meet, she set four MAAC and five Rider records.

Occasionally, Smith finds time to swim at the Abington Heights High School pool where her husband Kevin, who also graduated from Rider, is the diving coach.

Smith spent a year assisting Rider swimming coach Steve Fletcher after graduation and admits she misses the sport.

“It makes you miss sharing everything you’ve learned,” Smith said.

The Smiths make the trip to Lawrenceville two to three times a year for meets, including homecoming events and the conference championship, when they can.

“We try to stay involved in the team and the school,” said Smith.

Smith is a first grade teacher in the North Pocono School District and lives in Clarks Summit with her husband Kevin and her 18-month-old daughter Madison.