Wingate’s Kerrin Sheldon Named Academic All-American

WALTHAM, Mass.----Wingate University senior midfielder Kerrin Sheldon (Moatsville, W.Va.) is a 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® men's soccer first team selection (college division). CoSIDA (the College Sports Information Directors of America) announces the teams each November.

Kerrin Sheldon is a repeat performer, as he earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® second team honors in 2006. Earlier this month, Sheldon was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III men's soccer first team. A Communication Studies major, Sheldon has a 3.92 GPA.

Since January 1, 2000, Wingate University has produced 26 Academic All-America® selections. Wingate entered the 2007-08 academic year ranked fourth among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000s. Sheldon's selection gives Wingate 35 Academic All-America® selections all-time, tops in the South Atlantic Conference.

"I'm very proud of Kerrin," Wingate associate athletic director and head men's soccer coach Gary Hamill says. "This is an incredible feat, given the fact he is also a starter and key member of our team. Kerrin is living proof you can have balance between athletics and academics."

Sheldon was voted Wingate's 2006 MVP by his teammates. In addition to his previous ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® honors, Kerrin Sheldon was named first team All-South Atlantic Conference and second team Daktronics All-Appalachian Region in 2006. He was a second team All-SAC selection in 2005.

Statistically, Sheldon had seven goals, five assists and a team-leading five match-winning goals in 2007. Wingate (16-5-1 overall) participated in the NCAA Division II play-offs for the second time in school history this year. During the 2006 season, Sheldon led the Bulldogs with seven goals. He was four-for-four on penalty kicks, tops on the 2006 team.

"(For me) to make the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® first team is a great honor, especially during a very successful season for the team," Kerrin Sheldon says. "Personally, it is very rewarding to be recognized not only as an athlete, but as an overall student as well."

During his time at Wingate, Kerrin Sheldon has participated in many different clubs and organizations. He is a member of the Honor Council, English Club and Sigma Tau Delta (National English Honor Society). The Honor Council includes a select few students who hear disputes and other concerns from fellow classmates.

Sheldon has also been the lead literary editor for the university's literary and art magazine Counterpoint. Presently, he is the opinions editor for The Weekly Triangle, the school's newspaper. Along with editing other writers' material, he contributes each week with in-depth articles on a variety of subjects.

During the summer of 2007, Sheldon worked as a Media Relations Intern for the professional soccer team D.C. United. Along with writing press releases and news articles for the team's publications, he worked with the media and supplied them with game-day information in a fast-paced environment.

After graduation, Sheldon plans to attend graduate school. He hopes to obtain an MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in creative non-fiction writing. Interestingly enough, Sheldon hopes to utilize his one remaining season of competition during graduate school.

"Kerrin Sheldon is the epitome of a scholar-athlete," Wingate Professor of English Dr. Pamela R. Thomas says. "He is disciplined in everything he does. Kerrin always behaves like a gentleman."

The Academic All-America® Teams program honors 816 male and female student-athletes annually who have succeeded at the highest level on the playing field and in the classroom. Individuals are selected through voting by CoSIDA, the College Sports Information Directors of America, a 2,000-member organization of sports public relations professionals for colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.20 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.

ESPN The Magazine - winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence - is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,041 students, offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, faith development, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, education, physical education and sport administration and the doctor of pharmacy degree.

In the spring of 2007, Wingate University awarded its first-ever doctor of pharmacy degrees. Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports.