Promising young Bermuda athlete Akeila Richardson has been recruited by Kennesaw State University (KSU) on an athletic scholarship.Richardson, who attends CedarBridge Academy, signed a letter of intent at the Department of Youth and Sport on Church Street yesterday.The 17-year-old’s mother Aleila Richardson and her coach Gerry Swan both attended the press conference.Several universities were chasing Richardson’s signature but a conversation with former Lithuanian track star Agne Eggerth persuaded her to head to KSUEggerth is KSU’s assistant coach and attended this year’s Carifta Games in Bermuda where Richardson finished fourth in the girls’ Under-20 triple jump.“If you would have asked me about a month ago, this school wouldn’t have come out of my mouth,” said Richardson. “I was given full and partial scholarship offers to a number of schools but it wasn’t about the financial part but more about the academics as well.“They have a solid academic programme and the coach was actually at the Carifta Games and spoke to me about going there.“The set-up is individualised to me not the whole jumping programme, I will have my regimen and I am pleased with this decision.“After speaking to the coach and listening to what they have to offer, it was something different I was offered and in the end this is the school I chose.”Kennesaw’s athletics programme is in a rebuilding phase with the majority of their current teams moving on.And Richardson has backed herself and her new team-mates to carry on the rich tradition of success at the university, with the Owls coming second place in the Atlantic Sun Conference last season.In 2009, the Owls completed a reclassification from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I, competing in the Atlantic Sun Conference.During the transition from 2005-2009, KSU teams won six Atlantic Sun Conference crowns in five sports, including men’s indoor and outdoor track, women’s soccer, softball and cross-country.Richardson’s athletic achievements include two third places in the triple jump at the 2009 and 2010 Carifta Games, as well as a third place in the New England Indoor Championships in 2011.She added: “I believe that along with my new team members we will help strengthen the team and hopefully get the school to the top of the ladder.Her mother Aleila is also thrilled to see her daughter receive the scholarship.“I’m proud of her with this accolade and just seeing her progression in her jumps and hard work and dedication she puts in makes me very happy,” she said.Swan added: “She is more than an athlete, she is a tough competitor; she is tough on herself and she can only get better.”The Owls will be getting more than just an athlete.Salvation Army volunteer, honours student and Carifta Games competitor, Richardson made history when she was named the overall winner at the 29th Outstanding Teen Awards earlier this year, the first public school student to do so.“I only realised it was me when they started to read my biography,” she said. “I was completely surprised.“I think this shows that good students are in both public and private schools, and the high standard that public schools are bringing us to.”