TIM PEELER: Student-Athletes Recognized for Academic Excellence

BY TIM PEELER

 

RALEIGH, N.C. For Jennifer Boyd, recognition for her academic achievements was an opportunity to honor the professors and teachers who helped her become one of the most decorated NC State student-athletes in recent memory. A finalist for the Rhodes Scholar, the former NC State distance runner from Chesapeake, Va., is on her way to the University of Oxford in England on a three-year Clarendon Award, to work on her doctorate of philosophy in orthopaedic engineering.

For Ty Roach, it was the perfect salve for a rough 24 hours in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the junior wrestler from Morehead City, N.C., found out he had lost his bid to become NC State’s student body president. It was one of the few disappointments during his career, which includes triple majors in Botany, Chemistry and Biology, with a minor in Genetics. Not to mention his back-to-back division championships in the East Coast Surfing Association.

They were two of NC State’s Top 10 Scholar-Athletes, nine of which posted perfect 4.0 grade point averages through their first six semesters with the Wolfpack. All were honored, along with some 300 other athletes who had cumulative GPAs of more than 3.0, at the annual Caterpillar Scholar-Athlete Banquet, held Wednesday night at the Brownstone Hotel and Conference Center in Raleigh, along with executives from Caterpillar Inc., Chancellor James Oblinger, Dr. Thomas Conway, athletics director Lee Fowler and director of NC State’s Academic Support Program for Student-Athletes (ASPSA) Phil Moses.

The evening, hosted by the NC State ASPSA department, was dedicated to honoring academic achievement by Wolfpack athletes, including:

         Men’s cross-country standout Chis Kollar, who was the ACC Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year;

         Kollar, John Crews, Stephen Furst and Tibor Vegh, who were all named NCAA Academic All-Americas.

         The men’s cross country team, which was a 2007 Academic All-America team with distinction for posting a team GPA of more than 3.25;

          the women’s cross country team, which was a 2007 Academic All-America team for posting a team GPA of more than 3.0;

          cross country runner Brittany Tinsley, who was named NCAA Academic All-America;

         Crews, Furst and Vegh, who each received $7,500 NCAA Post-graduate Scholarships;

         Crews, Kollar and football player Luke Lathan, who all received$5,000 ACC Post-graduate Scholarships, as well as an honorary scholarship for football kicker Stephen Hauschka.

For Boyd, who graduates on May 10 with her second undergraduate degree from NC State, Wednesday’s activities also included recognition at the Phi Kappa Phi awards banquet. She will leave May 15 for a summer fellowship in Germany, then head to England in October to begin studies through the Clarendon Award.

The Caldwell Fellow and Goldwater Scholar made it to the final stage of the Rhodes Scholarship last year, but was not selected. She hopes that will be different this time around, since she feels more prepared for the arduous state, district and national interviews that winnow the candidates down to 32 winners.

If she wins, she will relinquish her Clarendon Award a three-year grant that covers all tuition, books and living expenses at Oxford to become NC State’s first Rhodes Scholar, perhaps the world’s most prestigious academic award.

Her goal? A career in biomechanics, researching lower extremity injury prevention and rehabilitation.

The reason for that is simple, Boyd says: “I have had quite a few lower leg injuries, from sprained ankles to tendinitis to stress fractures. If it is not an injury I have had, I knew someone who had it.”

For Roach, who missed his chance at becoming a student politician, can now focus on finishing off his multiple degrees and head back to the beach, where he follows in his father’s footsteps as an award-winning surfer.

His goal? A career in professional surfing, a graduate degree, medical school and a career in cancer research. And, who knows, maybe a Nobel Prize?

“I have to admit, I slacked off and didn’t do well in high school,” Roach said. “When I got to NC State, I took some easy classes my first semester and ended up with a 4.0. I thought, Hey, I can do this.’

“So I set a goal of making all As, and I have just kept doing it. I went through some points in my life where I set low goals and failed to achieve them. So I like setting my goals high.”

Following is a list of NC State’s Top 10 Student-Athletes for academic year 2007-08:

Robert Bedsole, a member of the NC State Cross-Country and Track and Field Teams, is a sophomore from Bessemer, Alabama, majoring in Biomedical Engineering.  He has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA while at NC State.  Robert has also been a member of the NC State Dean’s List and the ACC Honor Roll every semester of his academic career.

Jennifer Boyd, a member of the NC State Cross-Country and Track and Field Teams, is a senior from Chesapeake, Virginia.  During her first four years, Jennifer completed a degree in Biomedical Engineering as a Caldwell Scholar.  She is currently finishing a degree in German Science and Technology Studies as a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar with an overall 4.0 GPA.  She has been named to the ACC Honor Roll four consecutive years and has been a member of the Dean’s List every semester while attending NC State.  Recently, she was named a finalist for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship and has been accepted to Oxford University.

John Crews, a member of the NC State Cross-Country and Track and Field Teams, is a senior from Glasgow, Virginia.  John graduated in May of 2007 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a perfect 4.0 GPA.  He is currently enrolled in the masters program working toward a post-graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering.  John, a Parks Scholar, recently received the Jim and Pat Thacker Award and ACC Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient.  He has been an Academic All-American on five separate occasions in Cross-Country and Track and Field.  John has also been  named to the ACC Honor Roll and Dean’s List for every semester while at NC State.  John has been named All ACC five times, three consecutive years in Cross-Country and twice in Track and Field.  He has also been a member of the Southeast All-Region Team in Cross-Country three times.  He was named team MVP for the 2005 Cross Country season and has been a member of multiple ACC and Southeast Regional Cross Country Championship Teams and currently has the sixth fastest 10,000-meter run in school history.

Kent Dickens, a member of the NC State Track and Field Teams, is a junior from Raleigh, North Carolina.  He has excelled in the classroom and currently has a perfect 4.0 GPA in Civil Engineering.  Kent has been on the Dean’s List every semester of his career at NC State and has also been named to the ACC Honor Roll for each of the past three years.  Kent has consistently improved as a thrower for the NC State Track and Field Team and has been ranked in the ACC’s 2008 Indoor Track and Field Top 10 for the entire season in the 35-lb weight throw.

Christopher Gambino, a member of the NC State Wrestling Team, is a junior from Glenside, PA.  Christopher has been on the Dean’s List for every semester.  He is a Biological Science major with a 4.0 GPA.  Christopher has made the NC State Dean’s List the past four semesters.  He also was named to the ACC Honor Roll for the academic years of 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.  Christopher is a member of the Golden Key Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.

 

Tami Krzeszewski, who currently serves as captain of the Women’s Soccer Team, is a junior from Erie, Pennsylvania.  She is pursuing a Social Work degree and has a 3.987 total GPA.  Tami was named to the ACC All-Academic Team for two straight seasons.  She has also been named to the Dean’s List and the ACC Honor Roll every semester that she has attended NC State.

Mackenzie Payne, is a member of the Gymnastics Team from Roanoke, Virginia. Her

major is Biological Sciences, and she will complete her undergraduate degree in three years.  Mackenzie has a 4.0 GPA.  She was recently accepted to University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, University of Pennsylvania School of Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, and University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. Some of her accomplishments include making the ACC Honor Roll, the EAGL Honor Roll, NC State's Dean's List and the National Dean's List each year.  She was named an Academic All-American, and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and Delta Sigma Pre-Dental Honor Society.

Ty Roach, a member of the Wrestling Team, is a senior with triple majors in Botany, Chemistry, and Biology with a minor in Genetics.  Ty has a 4.0 GPA.  He is a back-to-back East Coast Men's Surfing Champion and a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honors Fraternity and the Golden Key International Honor Society.  He is also a recipient of the Buddy Pelletier Surfing Scholarship and the Balanced Man Scholarship.  After pursuing a professional surfing career Ty plans to attend graduate school to work on both a PhD in Phytochemistry as well as a M.D.

Ashley Shepard, a member of the NC State Gymnastics Team, is a junior from Rock Hill, SC. She majors in Microbiology with a minor in Health, Medicine, and Human Values and plans to attend Physical Therapy School after graduation. She has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA.  She is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and has been named to the EAGL All-Academic Team, ACC Honor Roll, and Dean’s List every semester while at NC State.

Tibor Vegh, a member of NC State Cross-Country and Track and Field Teams, is a senior.  Originally from Szekesfehervar, Hungary, Tibor is an Economics Major.  He has been named to the ACC Honor Roll and the Dean’s List at NC State every year since he transferred from Northern Iowa University.  While at NC State, Tibor has maintained a 4.0 GPA.  He has been named an Academic All-American three times, twice in Cross-Country and once in Track and Field.  Tibor earned a spot on three separate All-ACC Teams, once in Cross-Country and twice in Track and Field.  He also won a spot on four All-Region Teams, twice in Cross-Country and twice in Track and Field.  He is an NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship qualifier in the 3000-Meter Steeplechase and is currently sixth on the all time best list for NC State in that same event.  Tibor has provisionally qualified for the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships and set a Hungarian National Record in the 5000-meter run this season.

You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.

North Carolina State University Athletics

TIM PEELER: Student-Athletes Recognized for Academic Excellence

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