TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State Athletics opens up its year-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Title IX today by recognizing the life and impact of Sycamore Hall of Famer Cheryl Pedlow Bridges-Flanagan Treworgy.
 
ISU Athletics will be spotlighting a different pioneer or trailblazer every month starting in August 2022 and carrying through June 2023. The ISU Title IX series is brought to you in partnership with the Hamilton Center.
 
August – Cheryl Pedlow Bridges-Flanagan Treworgy (Hall of Fame Bio/Title IX Celebration)
 
Cheryl Pedlow Bridges-Flanagan Treworgy was a trailblazer in the running world after starting her career as a sophomore at North Central High School in Indianapolis. Twice a member of America's international cross-country team, Cheryl placed in the top ten 13 consecutive years in the AAU National Championships starting her senior year of high school.
 
In 1966, she became the first female athlete in the U.S. to receive an athletic scholarship with Sycamore Hall of Famer Dr. Eleanor St. John arranging for the offer. There was no Indiana State women's team and the NCAA had not sanctioned women's sports throughout her collegiate career, so Treworgy was mostly limited to competing on the AAU circuit while practicing with the ISU men's team.
 
The governing body for ladies' collegiate sports activities in the late 1960s was the Division of Ladies and Girls' Sports activities (DGWS). Treworgy joined three other Indiana State athletes to a tie for second in the team standings at the DGWS nationwide meet held at Southwest Texas State. Each of the four athletes competed in three events with Treworgy posting a 2:19.4 in the 880-yard run and 5:15.1 in the mile.
 
Treworgy competed on the international circuit during her collegiate career. She made her international debut finishing fourth at the 1969 World Cross Country Championships in Scotland, while setting U.S. records in both the 3-mile and 5,000-meter distances. Her impact led the U.S. to the team trophy over second-place New Zealand.
 
Two years later, she became a world record-holder on December 7, 1971. She finished the Culver City Marathon in a then-world record time of 2:49.40, becoming the first woman to break 2:50:00 in the marathon. 
 
Competitively, Treworgy was a five-time competitor at the International Cross Country Championships (1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, and 1976) before wrapping up her competition career.
 
Cheryl worked as an instructor at the University of New Mexico and Hamline University. In 1976 she was named the Women's Athletic Director at Oklahoma State University and later held a similar post as well as coaching track at Michigan State. She also served as the National Sports Festival Midwest Team Coach in 1978

Treworgy's post-running profession included designing and promoting sports activities bras, and 20 years as a photographer for operating occasions throughout the nation. She was inducted into the Indiana Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame in 1983, the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame in 1987.
 
She is the mother of Shalane Flanagan, the 2002 NCAA Cross Country champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000-meters. Flanagan recorded four Olympic appearances, 18 U.S. Championships, and was the 2017 New York Metropolis Marathon winner.
 
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