A record 692 Ohio State student-athletes were recognized Monday night at Ohio State's annual Scholar-Athlete Dinner, which recognized all Buckeye student-athletes who have obtained grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher for the year.
Monday night's honorees include 40 Ohio State football players, nine men's basketball players, seven women's basketball players and 18 wrestlers, among many others. The full list of honorees can be seen here.
Athletes who received special recognition on Monday night included 28 student-athletes who have achieved 4.0 grade-point averages, as listed in the following table:
| ATHLETE | SPORT | CLASS |
|---|---|---|
| JONERIK ALFORD | MEN'S GOLF | FRESHMAN |
| LAUREN BANKS | WOMEN'S SWIMMING | FRESHMAN |
| KALLIE BOREN | SOFTBALL | FRESHMAN |
| GABRIELA PACZKO BOZKO CECCHINI | WOMEN'S FENCING | SENIOR |
| LAILAH ELLIOTT | WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD | FRESHMAN |
| AARON HUGHES | BASEBALL | FRESHMAN |
| MARY BETH HURLEY | WOMEN'S TENNIS | FRESHMAN |
| ALEKSANDRA KOLMYKOVA | WOMEN'S FENCING | SOPHOMORE |
| CARLI MAGER | WOMEN'S LACROSSE | FRESHMAN |
| BENJAMIN MARCUS | MEN'S FENCING | FRESHMAN |
| STEPHANIE MAVUNGA | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | GRADUATE |
| REED MCGRAW | MEN'S SWIMMING | JUNIOR |
| JOSEPH MCKENNA | WRESTLING | JUNIOR |
| CHEYENNE MEEK | WOMEN'S SWIMMING | GRADUATE |
| KELSEY NOLAN | FIELD HOCKEY | SENIOR |
| MICHAELA NORDHAUS | ROWING | FRESHMAN |
| EMILY NOTHGALE | PISTOL | FRESHMAN |
| GRACE PONCSAK | WOMEN'S SOCCER | FRESHMAN |
| CHANDLER RILEY | DANCE | SOPHOMORE |
| MAGGIE SAMANICH | WOMEN'S SOCCER | FRESHMAN |
| SOFIA SELDEMIROVA | WOMEN'S GOLF | FRESHMAN |
| MADELINE SMITH | DANCE | FRESHMAN |
| KALEE SOEHNLEN | WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY | FRESHMAN |
| NATHAN TOMASELLO | WRESTLING | GRADUATE |
| PETE WERNER | FOOTBALL | FRESHMAN |
| JOSEPH WILMOT | MEN'S GYMNASTICS | FRESHMAN |
| LAUREN WITTE | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL | FRESHMAN |
The women's soccer team was recognized for having the best cumulative GPA among teams with large rosters, while the women's golf received that honor for teams with small rosters. Women's hockey was honored for having the most improved cumulative GPA among teams with large rosters, while men's basketball was recognized for having the most improved GPA among teams with small rosters.
A total of 12 graduating athletes planning to continue their education were recognized with postgraduate scholarships, as can be seen in the following table:
| ATHLETE | SPORT | SCHOLARSHIP(S) |
|---|---|---|
| LAUREN SPRING | WOMEN'S HOCKEY | CORWIN A. FERGUS MEMORIAL AWARD, LEANN GRIMES-DAVIDGE AWARD |
| HELEN SUDHOFF | ROWING | CORWIN A. FERGUS MEMORIAL AWARD |
| FERNY ANGELES PAZ | WOMEN'S TENNIS | CORWIN A. FERGUS MEMORIAL AWARD, WOODY AND ANNE HAYES SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| FREDDY FREIBOTT | MEN'S LACROSSE | CORWIN A. FERGUS MEMORIAL AWARD, VARSITY O SCHOLARSHIP AWARD |
| REBECCA GAVIN | SOFTBALL | PIERCE PHOENIX AWARD, WOODY AND ANNE HAYES SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| QUINN CONNOR | SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING | JOHN DANA COLE FUND |
| LINNAE HARPER | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL | M/I HOMES FOUNDATION AWARD |
| ZHESI LI | WOMEN'S SWIMMING | M/I HOMES FOUNDATION AWARD |
| HANNA GOTTSCHALK | ROWING | WOODY AND ANNE HAYES SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| MONICA VELAZQUEZ-STIAK | SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING | WOODY AND ANNE HAYES SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| NATHAN KOHL | MEN'S SOCCER | WOODY AND ANNE HAYES SCHOLARSHIP FUND |
| ELIZABETH AUCKLEY | WOMEN'S SWIMMING | VARSITY O SCHOLARSHIP AWARD |
More information on each of the postgraduate scholarships can be found on Ohio State's official athletics website.
Finally, 10 Ohio State student-athletes were recognized as finalists for the 2018 Big Ten Medal of Honor. The finalists, consisting of five female athletes and five male athletes: Irina Andrianova (pistol), Liz Li (women's swimming), Kelsey Mitchell (women's basketball), Monica Velazquez-Stiak (synchronized swimming), Nikki Walts (women's soccer), Drew Cheezum (rifle), Sean Melton (men's gymnastics), Kyle Snyder (wrestling), Nicolas Szerszen (men's volleyball) and Mikael Torpegaard (men's tennis).
Following Monday night's ceremony, Eleven Warriors caught up with Mitchell and Mavunga – who are both expected to be selected in the WNBA Draft – and two of the football team's honorees, kicker Sean Nuernberger and long snapper Liam McCullough. You can hear what each of them had to say in the videos at the top of the page.
Ohio State's 692 Scholar-Athletes for the 2017-18 academic year top the previous record total of 626 honorees from the 2016-17 academic year.
