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| Wooster had the fourth-most NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients in the entire NCAA for the 2020-21 academic year. It's the College's second top-five finish in the last four years. Photos by Matt Dilyard. |
For the second time in the last four academic years, The College of Wooster finished among the top-five nationally in NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients, thanks to the recent selections of Jack Redick and David Roney, who were among the 21 male spring sport student-athletes to earn a one-time, non-renewable $10,000 award, as announced recently by the NCAA.
Wooster, which tied its record with three student-athletes chosen for the prestigious scholarship this academic year, finished fourth nationally, behind the likes of Stanford University (7), Case Western Reserve University (4), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (4). Of the nine institutions with at least three NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients for the 2020-21 academic year, Wooster is the only liberal arts college, the lone primarily-undergraduate institution, and the institution with the smallest undergraduate enrollment on the list.
Redick, a key midfielder on Wooster's men's lacrosse team, appeared in 37 career games. He scooped up 41 groundballs, caused 17 turnovers, dished out seven assists, scored a goal, and was a team captain.
Off the field, Redick's distinguished research involvement is headlined by a summer internship with the prestigious Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship Program at Stanford. There, Redick performed research for a United States Department of Energy program, studying the bioinorganic properties of Vitamin B12 using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. For his Independent Study, Redick determined the 10-step kinetic mechanism of an environmentally important enzyme using stopped-flow.
Elsewhere, Redick was a research assistant in the campus biology department, was a three-year health coach with the College's partnership with Wooster Community Hospital, was a peer tutor for biology and chemistry courses, was a pre-medical student advisor, and was involved with the campus biochemistry and pre-health clubs. He's a three-time member of the North Coast Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Beta Beta.
The biochemistry and molecular biology alumnus, who graduated summa cum laude, is off to medical school this fall at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
"I am extremely grateful to Dr. Drew Pasteur for my nomination and to the NCAA for this honor," said Redick. "My coaches, teammates, trainers, professors, and advisors at The College of Wooster have all provided me with tremendous support over the course of the last four years. Without them, this would not have been possible. It is an honor and a privilege to be a Fighting Scot, and I hope that I am able to continue to represent The College of Wooster with distinction as I move on to Ohio State, thanks in part to the financial support from this scholarship."
Redick's the second men's lacrosse alumnus to earn a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, and his selection marks just the second time Wooster's had teammates selected in back-to-back years. Wes Wagner was a recipient for the 2019-20 academic year, and prior to that, men's basketball greats Matt Schlingman and Kyle Witucky were chosen during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 academic years, respectively.
Roney, Wooster's men's golf anchor, averaged a team-best 78.5 strokes over 10 rounds this spring. He earned medalist honors with a 1-over-par 73 against Allegheny College and Hiram College and was subsequently tabbed as the NCAC Athlete of the Week for the second time. Roney was also a mainstay in the lineup as a sophomore, when he averaged 76.5 strokes over 16.5 rounds.
Off the links, Roney was a three-year student clinician at Freedlander Speech and Hearing Clinic, the College's outpatient clinic that serves the Wooster community. His Independent Study investigated perceptions of stuttering via the fundamental attribution error in psychology. He's an active volunteer with FRIENDS The National Association of Young People Who Stutter. There, Roney's mentored youth and has served as a presenter at national and regional conventions held by the association.
On campus, Roney was a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative and worked in the campus access office. He's also a three-time member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll and was part of the College's National Student Speech Language Hearing Association and Psi Chi chapters.
The communication sciences and disorders and psychology alumnus, who graduated magna cum laude, will be pursuing a master's degree in speech-language pathology at the University of Colorado Boulder this fall.
"I am so excited and fortunate to have been selected to receive the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship," shared Roney. "I am grateful for the support I have received from The College of Wooster staff and faculty, who are confident in my abilities to accomplish my academic, professional, athletic, and personal goals. Specifically, I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Shelley Judge and head coach Rich Danch for working on the nomination and their generous words of recommendation, as well as to Dr. Donald Goldberg and Mrs. Lee Caggiano for their overarching support of my endeavors."
Of note, Roney's the first Wooster men's golfer selected to receive a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
Wooster now has 22 all-time NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients, with eight of those coming in the last four years. Men's soccer alumnus Andreas Xenofontos rounded out Wooster's honorees for the 2020-21 academic year.
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships are awarded annually to up to 126 student-athletes who are selected by a committee that screens candidates who maintain at least a 3.2 GPA, have performed or behaved with distinction on and off the playing field, and intend to continue their academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree.