Four Wolfpackers Honored Among 2016 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients

RALEIGH, N.C. - Two NC State student-athletes have been named Atlantic Coast Conference postgraduate scholarship recipients, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon. Two additional NC State student-athlete have been named as honorary recipients of the award as well.

Men's track & field All-American Jonathan Addison (Indistrial Engineering) and Kaitlyn Kramer (Chemical Engineering: Textiles) of the women's cross country/track & field squads both will be receiving ACC Postgraduate Scholarships.

The Weaver-James-Corrigan and Jim and Pat Thacker postgraduate scholarships are awarded to selected student-athletes who intend to pursue a graduate degree following completion of their undergraduate requirements. Each recipient will receive $5,000 toward his or her graduate education. Those honored have performed with distinction in both the classroom and their respective sport, while demonstrating exemplary conduct in the community.

Two-time defending national champion Nick Gwiazdowski (Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management) of the wrestling team and football's All-American offensive tackle Joe Thuney (Accounting) will both receive the Weaver-James-Corrigan Honorary Award, as they plan to pursue professional careers in their chosen sport.

The student-athletes will be honored at the annual Cone Health ACC Postgraduate Luncheon hosted by the Nat Greene Kiwanis Club and presented by ESPN on April 13 at the Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel Imperial Ballroom in Greensboro.

Since the beginning of the ACC postgraduate scholarship program, NC State has more award winners than any other league school.

2016 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients

Jonathan Addison; Industrial Engineering; Men's Track & Field
Jonathan Addison has won numerous conference, regional and national honors throughout his time with the Pack. The Raleigh, N.C., native has worked his way up from ACC competitor to a national standout, jumping and sprinting to the top of the leaderboards. Addison is an ACC Champion, USTFCCCA's Southeast Regional Athlete of the Year and a first-team All-American. Addison specializes in the long jump, but is also a conference and regional threat in short sprints and the high jump. Additionally, Addison has preformed valiantly in the classroom, netting CoSida Academic All-District honors and winning the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award in 2015.

Kaitlyn Kramer; Chemical Engineering: Textiles; Women's Cross Country/Track & Field
Kaitlyn Kramer has emerged as one of the Pack's elite cross country runners. Kramer had a standout freshman year in 2012, earning All-ACC Academic awards and finishing 26th at the ACC Championships. After overcoming injuries, Kramer returned to her good form in 2015 to help lead the team to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Kramer earned All-ACC honors at the ACC Championships and finished as the team's tiebreaker at the NCAA Championships, which sealed the Pack's first top-five finish since 2001. Kramer has also excelled in the classroom and holds a perfect 4.0 GPA while double majoring in Chemical engineering and Textile Engineering. Her academic successes helped her earn CoSida Academic all-district honors in 2015.

Honorary Postgraduate Scholar Nominees

Nick Gwiazdowski; Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management; Wrestling
Nick Gwiazdowski, the reigning two-time NCAA Heavyweight champion, will go down as one of the top wrestlers in both ACC and NC State history. He also repeated as ACC Champion at 285 pounds in 2015 and was named the ACC Wrestler of the Year for second straight year. He finished 2015 with a perfect 35-0 record on the season, after a 42-2 campaign in his first season at NC State in 2014. Last year, he was named NC State's H.C. Kennett Award Winner, presented annually to NC State's top student-athlete. Currently pursue a degree in parks, recreation and tourism management, Gwiazdowski was a 2014-15 NWCA All-Academic Team selection and was named to both the 2015 and 2014 All-ACC Academic Teams.

Joe Thuney; Accounting; Football
Joe Thuney started at four different positions on the offensive line during his career while playing significant snap totals at all five spots. The Centerville, Ohio, native was a first-team All-ACC performer and earned first-team All-America honors from USA Today in 2015 while playing left tackle. As a senior, he played every snap (589) during ACC play and did not allow a sack versus league competition. Thuney, who earned his accounting degree prior to his junior campaign, posted a 3.274 career GPA as an undergraduate, then pursued a second undergraduate degree in international studies with a minor in Spanish. A semifinalist for the NFF's Campbell Trophy, He was named the National Consortium for Academics & Sports (NCAS) Playmaker of the Month for November and also competed in the 2016 East-West Shrine game.

Four Wolfpackers Honored Among 2016 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients

Players Mentioned

Jonathan Addison

Kaitlyn Kramer

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