American Pride Drives YCP Wonder Woman
Posted October 21, 2002FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By Randy Gray
York, Pennsylvania -- She's got more pride and energy than you can shake a hockey stick at, and she's the closest thing to a real life Wonder Woman that you'll ever meet. Dr. Mary Van Dyke is not only an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at York College of Pennsylvania, but also a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves. Van Dyke is what's known as an adventure racer. She's rappelled down frozen mountains in Canada, fought raging white-water rapids in Alaska and rode a mountain bike over some of the roughest terrain in the U.S. All of this is done under the banner of patriotism, as Van Dyke is leader of "Team American Legion," an adventure racing unit that competes in Armed Forces events as well as many others.
We caught up to this busy lady at her office at York College. The small room is filled with both patriotic and sports-related memorabilia. Mary has her Ph.D. and teaches a number of sport management courses at YCP. By the way, she literally wheeled her mountain bike to the interview, made a quick change of clothes, and energetically spilled out her life story. She grew up in Virginia. "My parents were really into athletics and they wanted me and my sister to try all kinds of sports. We got into swimming, gymnastics, and tennis at an early age. I was the only girl on my Little League baseball team one year. We won the championship," Mary reminisced. She says she wasn't a "Tom Boy," just a girl who loved sports. In junior high she became interested in cross-country and track. She broke several school and regional records and did the same thing in high school. Incidentally, she was high school valedictorian. Mary went to the University of Virginia on an Army ROTC Scholarship. "I was very much into the pride of country thing," she says. During college, in addition to running track, she also attended Airborne School where she learned to jump from airplanes.
After graduating from UVA Van Dyke joined the Army's Medical Service Corps for a three-year hitch, worked part-time for Nordic Trac, and started on a master's degree at the University of Texas. While all that was going on she also participated in her first triathlon... running, biking, and swimming. Mary came in second place. In San Antonio, she joined the "Crowd Boosting" squad of the Spurs professional basketball team. The group goes into the stands to pump up the fans. She was like the Energizer Bunny, with her career and education; she just kept going and going. Mary went to the University of Miami to pursue her doctorate in sport management and higher education. She continued crowd boosting, this time for the Marlins baseball team and Panthers hockey team.
In 1999 she had "One of the best days of my life. I competed in my first Ironman triathlon, and placed second." Also that year Van Dyke was introduced to adventure racing, which consists of mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking, mountain climbing, and more. Mary says, "Adventure racing is a lot different than all other sports. It's really fun and very much team oriented. You travel all over the country." She has competed in Florida, Indiana, Alaska, and Canada. This November, on Veterans' Day weekend, Van Dyke and "Team American Legion" will be in North Carolina for the 2002 adventure racing championships. "We love the Legion for its dedication to veterans and their families. We are grateful to the Legion for believing in our team," Mary says. She adds, "I am very patriotic, you should see my home, it's decorated throughout in red, white, and blue."
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