Three Wingate Swimmers Earn Academic All-District Honors

WINGATE, North Carolina, May 26. THREE members of the Wingate University men's and women's swimming team have been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III at-large first team (college division), as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

For the Wingate women, junior Lara Golesorkhi (Stuttgart, Germany) and sophomore Nicole Moody (Grovetown, Ga.) represent the Bulldogs on the first team. Bulldog junior Mason Norman (Duluth, Ga.) represents Wingate on the men's first team.

Golesorkhi is the only repeat performer for the Bulldog swimmers, as she was named to the 2008 Academic All-District III first team. Moody and Norman earn Academic All-District III laurels for the first time in their careers. Interestingly enough, Moody's sister Rebekah Moody was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America women's at-large first team (college division) two years in a row (2007, 2008).

District III (college division) includes all non-NCAA Division I schools (Division II, III and NAIA) in Florida, Georgia, Virginia and North and South Carolina. Moody, Golesorkhi and the other eight women's first team selections move on to the national ballot for 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors. Norman and the other nine men's first team selections move on to the national ballot for 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors.

Lara Golesorkhi
Golesorkhi possesses a cumulative 3.82 GPA with a double major in Psychology and Sociology. She earned honorable mention All-American honors in the 200 Medley Relay at the 2009 NCAA Division II national meet (1:46.95). Golesorkhi set school marks in three relay events this year. She posted personal bests in the 200 Breast (2:35.17) and the 200 Individual Medley (2:08.37) in 2009.

Golesorkhi is a three-time first team NCAA Division II All-American during her three years with the Bulldogs. A six-time Blue Grass Mountain Conference champion and a 17-time All-BGMC pick during her career, Golesorkhi holds multiple school records.

Thanks to the efforts of Golesorkhi and her teammates, Wingate was fourth in the BGMC in 2009 and second in 2008 and 2007. The Bulldogs were a top 15 finisher at NCAA national meet in 2007 and 2008.

Outside the pool, Golesorkhi has served as president of Wingate's International Club. In addition, she is a UCAN volunteer and a student government representative. Golesorkhi belongs to three national honor societies: Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Kappa Delta and Phi Chi.

Nicole Moody
Moody holds a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA with a Psychology major. She joined Golesorkhi as an honorable mention All-American in the 200 Medley Relay at the 2009 NCAA Division II national meet (1:46.95). In 2009, Moody set school records in the 50 Backstroke (26.93) and the 100 Backstroke (57.46) at the NCAA event. The sophomore standout holds school marks in three relay events.

In her first year in the blue-and-gold, Moody earned first team All-American honors in the 400 Medley Relay at the 2008 NCAA Division II national meet. For her career, she has one first team honor and three honorable mention All-American laurels.

Moody was All-Blue Grass Mountain Conference in two events during the 2009 BGMC meet. In 2008, she earned BGMC titles in the 200 Medley Relay and the 400 Medley Relay.

Moody is also a member of three national honor societies: Phi Eta Sigma, Alpha Kappa Delta and Phi Chi. She is a member of Wingate's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Moody was the co-coordinator of the Union County Special Olympics swimming program in 2009.

Mason Norman
Mason Norman is a Social Studies Education major. He has a 3.57 cumulative GPA. In the pool, he earned first team All-American laurels in seven events at the 2009 NCAA Division II meet in Houston. The 2009 Wingate University Male Athlete of the Year, Norman led the Bulldogs to their second straight Blue Grass Mountain Conference title and a school-record sixth-place finish at NCAA national meet. The aforementioned accomplishments are amazing, as the Wingate program is only four years old.

In 2009, Norman set new WU school records in the 50 Freestyle (19.90), the 100 Freestyle (43.70), the 100 Breaststroke (55.38) and four relay events his junior campaign. The Bulldogs won the BGMC title in the 800 Free Relay at the 2009 event. Norman holds multiple school records.

At the 2008 NCAA Division II meet, Norman finished second in the men's 50 Freestyle competition with a time of 20.11. Dan Perdew of UC San Diego won the 50 Freestyle with a time of 20.07, edging Wingate's Norman by 0.04 of a second.

In 2008, Norman was first team All-American in two events and honorable mention All-American in three events. In 2007, Norman earned four All-American honors, six all-BGMC laurels and one BGMC league title. One of Wingate's most versatile student-athletes, Norman won the slam dunk competition at the school's 2008-09 winter sports Meet the Teams night. He is also a Special Olympics volunteer.

Student-athletes selected for Academic All-District honors must be a starter or important reserve with legitimate athletic credentials. They must possess at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.00 scale). They must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing and must have completed at least one full academic year at his or her institution.

The women's at-large line-up for the Academic All-America program includes the sports of bowling, crew, fencing, golf, gymnastics, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis and water polo. There are five swimmers, three tennis student-athletes and two golfers on the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III at-large first team.

The men's at-large line-up for the Academic All-America program includes the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling. There are four tennis student-athletes, three swimmers, two lacrosse student-athletes and one golfer on the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III at-large first team.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,129 students, offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, international study, faith development, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physical education, physician assistant studies, sport administration and the doctor of pharmacy degree.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America producing schools in the 2000's with 31 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America honorees during this time period. Wingate's 40 Academic All-America honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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