University of Mary Athletics

A three-time national champion and one of the most decorated scholar-athletes in University of Mary history, Melissa (Agnew) Blanchard was a major key in the Marauders ascension as one of the nation’s top NCAA Division II track & field and cross country programs.
 
A native of Onamia, MN, and a product of the town’s high school, Blanchard and her twin sister Jennifer arrived at the University of Mary in the fall of 2009 and hit the trail running with the cross country team before competing in track & field. By her sophomore season Blanchard was one of the top runners in the Northern Sun and the nation.
 
The 2012 NSIC cross country champion, Blanchard was a three-time NCAA Division II All-American, a three-time all-region runner and a three-time 1^st team All-NSIC performer while earning four NSIC athlete of the week honors in cross country.
 
Blanchard shined even more on the track, winning three NCAA Division II national titles (2013 indoor mile and distance medley relay, 2013 outdoor 1500 meters) as a senior. Nine times she earned All-American honors, won eight NSIC indoor and outdoor individual championships and led UMary to six combined indoor and outdoor team championships. For her incredible efforts, coaches named Blanchard the NSIC Track Athlete of the Year three times (indoor 2012, 2013, outdoor 2013) and the USTFCCCA Central Region Track Athlete of the Year three times (indoor 2013, outdoor 2012, 2013). Blanchard wrapped up her career at the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Female College Athlete of the Year.
 
In both cross country and track & field, Blanchard won three national titles, 12 All-American citations, nine NSIC individual titles, 13 All-NSIC awards and was selected an NSIC Athlete of the Week nine times. As part of the Northern Sun’s 25 year anniversary in 2017, both Blanchard and her sister Jennifer were selected as one of the NSIC’s top 25 female athletes in league history.
 
The daughter of Marge and Scott Agnew, the 9-time member of the NSIC all-academic team and a Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction honoree graduated from the University of Mary in 2013 with a degree in Exercise Science. She later earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University. The owner of Imperial Family Chiropractic in Farmington, MN, Melissa and her husband Cory are the parents of Danielle and Julie.