Kent State Boasts 18 MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athletes for Spring Season
7/9/2018 3:50:00 PM | Baseball, General, Men's Golf, Softball, Women's Golf, Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
CLEVELAND - Kent State's continued success both in competition and in the classroom was noted by a conference-best 18 student-athletes being named Mid-American Conference Distinguished Scholar Athletes for the spring season. Faculty athletic representatives at MAC institutions voted in 138 student-athletes among eight spring sports (baseball, men's & women's golf, softball, men's & women's tennis, men's & women's outdoor track & field).
Three Kent State teams — baseball, men's golf and women's golf — led the MAC or shared the conference lead for their respective sport. Each of the Golden Flashes' six teams that compete during the spring featured multiple student-athletes who were recognized as the 'best of the best' in their sport.
Baseball led the way with four honorees, as redshirt seniors Mason Mamarella and Jared Skolnicki each collected their third honor. Redshirt junior Chris Martin and sophomore Zach Schultz were also recognized.
Sam Tollerud (women's track & field) collected her sixth career MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete accolade. In June, Tollerud was named a 2018 Google Cloud Second Team Academic All-American. TJ Lawson (men's track & field) and Walter Petzel (men's track & field) each received their fourth career honor.
Chase Johnson (men's golf) is now three-time selection, while Trevor Detillion (men's track & field), Michaela Finn (women's golf), Ian Holt (men's golf) are each two-time selections.
The Distinguished Scholar-Athlete is a fourth-year award given to students who have excelled in athletics and academics. Following each season, any student with a 3.20 cumulative GPA and participation in at least 50 percent of the contests is automatically named to the previously-announced Academic All-MAC Team from each sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.
Faculty athletic representatives from each conference institution then select the 'best of the best' from the Academic All-MAC Teams to be honored with the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete award. The number of honorees from each sport are equivalent to the number of first-team selections or 20% of nominees, whichever is greater.
Kent State's MAC Distinguished Scholar Athletes
*#Mason Mamarella, Kent State, Senior, 3.716 GPA, Marketing (Dover, Ohio)
Chris Martin, Kent State, Senior, 4.00 GPA, Exercise Physiology (Mason, Ohio)
Zach Schultz, Kent State, Sophomore, 3.975 GPA, Actuarial Mathematics (Indiana, Pa.)
*^Jared Skolnicki, Kent State, Senior, 3.936 GPA, Actuarial Mathematics (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
*Ian Holt, Kent State, Senior, 3.212 GPA, Business Management (Stow, Ohio)
*#Chase Johnson, Kent State, Senior, 3.417 GPA, Communications (Barberton, Ohio)
Bjarki Petursson, Kent State, Junior, 3.292 GPA, Communications (Borgarnes, Iceland)
*Michaela Finn, Kent State, Junior, 3.448 GPA, Fashion Merchandise (Angelholm, Sweden)
Pimnipa Panthong, Kent State, Sophomore, 3.345 GPA, Business Management (Nakhon Sawan, Thailand)
Karoline Stormo, Kent State, Sophomore, 3.351 GPA, Exercise Science (Tvedestrand, Norway)
Bailey Brownfield, Kent State, Junior, 3.225 GPA, Sports Administration (Thornville, Ohio)
Maria Cegledy, Kent State, Sophomore, 4.000 GPA, Exercise Science (Pataskala, Ohio)
Madi Huck, Kent State, Sophomore, 3.589 GPA, Chemistry (Delaware, Ohio)
*Trevor Detillion, Kent State, Sophomore, 3.399 GPA, Construction Management (Chillicothe, Ohio)
*TJ Lawson, Kent State, Sophomore, 3.802 GPA, Sports Administration (Stow, Ohio)
*Walter Petzel, Kent State, Sophomore, 3.812 GPA, Construction Management (Kingston, Ohio)
Sam Tollerud, Kent State, Senior, 4.00 GPA, Exercise Science (Eugene, Ore.)
Vanessa Vodan, Kent State, Sophomore, 3.673 GPA, Exercise Science (Berea, Ohio)
*2016-17 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete
#2015-16 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete
^2014-15 Distinguished Scholar-Athlete
Players Mentioned
