Rebecca Leas

Rebecca Christine Rutt (April 23, 1951– ), later known by her married name Rebecca Rutt Leas, was a competitive swimmer for West Chester University and the women's swim coach for Clarion University from 1979 to 1987 where her teams won six National Team Titles in NCAA Division II Championships. She is the only woman to have won a national championship as a collegiate swimmer and to have coached six national championship teams. By her High School Freshman year in 1966, she held five Lancaster club records and had been voted the "Most Valuable Swimmer" on the team for two consecutive years.

West Chester State College Receiving a scholarship, she swam for West Chester University, then known as West Chester State College, making the Dean's list in the Fall of 1969 and 1971, and graduating with honors in July, 1973. The West Chester Golden Ramettes women's team won the Regional Eastern Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Championships in 1971 with a margin of over 100 points at Southern Connecticut State. That year, in a season when the West Chester women had been undefeated in two years of dual meets, Becky placed ninth in the 100-yard breaststroke, ninth in the Individual Medley, and tenth in the 100-yard backstroke at the National Collegiate Swimming Championships at Arizona State, with the West Chester women having placed second in the previous National meet in 1970. Swimming for West Chester, she was part of the school's historic National Championship team in 1972.

Coaching After graduating with honors from West Chester State in May, 1973, where she completed a Bachelor's and then a Master's in Health Education, she taught for six years at Conestoga High School, from 1973 to 1979.

Clarion University Rutt was appointed an assistant professor at Clarion University in August 1979, responsible for coaching the Women's Swim and Tennis teams, and serving as a Health Instructor. During her time coaching the women's swim team at Clarion she had an overall record of 71–14 in dual meets with most of her losses occurring against NCAA Division I swim teams. Her squads won every Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) dual meet and each PSAC Conference championship from 1980 to 1987, running eight consecutive years. Clarion was at the Division 1 national championships from 1982 to 1986 and attended the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1984. In 1987, Leas coached All American Christine Jenson during her Freshman year and coached Jeanne O'Connor, a Clarion standout in the 100-meter sprint from 1980 to 1984.

As a United States Masters Swimmer in September 1981, Rutt won the National age group title in the 50 and 100 backstroke events. She placed fourth in the 50 breaststroke and sixth in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Leas studied for her Doctorate in Sport Pedagogy at the University of Pittsburgh beginning in August 1987, and completed the degree in 1992. She served on the Olympic International Committee for U.S. Swimming and was instrumental in the selection of the coaching staff for the 1984 Olympics. In 1991, she was elected to NCAA Division II's All-Decade team coaching staff, along with her husband Don who coached Clarion Diving for 24 years. In her honor, she and Milissa Steiner Bauer, a Clarion University swimmer and graduate, created the Dr. Rebecca Rutt Leas Women's Swimming Scholarship at Clarion in January, 2007.