Kelly Schnee Cozmanciuc, the daughter of Roger Schnee and Sandra Coffman, was born in Norwalk, Ohio and grew up in nearby Milan. A competitive runner early in life, Cozmanciuc took pride in beating most of the boys in the Presidential Mile. She earned varsity cross country and track honors during middle school and at Edison High School in Milan while consistently making top five finishes in conference competition and state championship and setting records along the way. Cozmanciuc and twin sister, Shelly Schnee Scheithauer, were regionally know for athletics and sportsmanship.
Recruited by Coaches B.J. Temple and Floyd Stroud, Cozmanciuc competed collegiately on the cross country and track teams at University of the Cumberlands all four years. Cozmanciuc made varsity as a freshman and ran number two for the team, was named Most Valuable Freshman, received All-Conference honors, and competed at Nationals. Thereafter, she would earn MVP and All-Conference Honors, made appearances at Nationals each year and won the Regional Meet as a junior.
Cozmanciuc qualified for and competed in the Indoor National Championships 800 meter run all four years with one provisional and three automatic bids. She earned All-American Honors in the 4x800 meter relay with a sixth place finish as a junior and in the 800 meter as a senior, she finished third. As an indoor national qualifier she competed in the Distance Medley Relay, 1000 meter run, 4x400 meter relay and 1600 meter run. As an Outdoor National Championships qualifier, Cozmanciuc participated all four years in several events while competing in the 800 meters each time and finalist twice. She was named Mid-South Conference Runner of the Year for track and field as a senior.
Her college career amassed at least nine school records in track and field including the indoor 800 meter, 1600 meter, 1000 meter, 4x800 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay and distance medley relay. Outdoor records included the 800 meter, 4x800, 4x400 meter and 4x100 meter relay. Add to her credits being named a two-time All-American, NAIA Scholar Athlete, MSC Academic All-Conference, All- Region National Scholar Team and 2005 MSC Runner of the Year.
Cozmanciuc was graduated from UC in 2007 with a B.S. in Mathematics and Physics. She went on to earn her M. A. in Teaching from UC in 2009 and taught high school for two years. She has since spent her time at home with her daughter and has continued her collegiate studies in preparation for the Certified Public Accounting Exam. She resides in Williamsburg, Kentucky with her husband, Marius Cozmanciuc, '09 B.S., '11 MBA, and daughter, Jasmine.
