Wingate's Kopmels Named 2024 SAC Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Wingate University's Cas Kopmels was voted as the 2024 South Atlantic Conference Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the conference announced today.
The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee. The winners are selected based on their achievements in academics, athletics, service and leadership.
Kopmels, a fifth-year senior, holds a 3.950 GPA in management and has been a two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic team member in both cross country and track and field. Kopmels has also garnered a pair of nods to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll as well as the Wingate University President's list. He also holds minors in economics and finance.
On the course, Kopmels was named 2024 All-South Atlantic Conference as Wingate won the SAC Championship. He ran a 24:46.6 8k to finish ninth in the league championship meet. He posted a season-best 8k time of 24:24.3 at the prestigious Lehigh University Paul Short Run. In 2023, he was an All-American performer as Wingate won the National Championship and he finished 26th at nationals. He also earned All-American accolades in 2022 and helped Wingate to a second-place finish at nationals. He earned the top newcomer award in 2022 for the Wingate men's cross country program.
The Leiden, Netherlands native has been extremely involved in various service and leadership positions. On top of serving as the team captain, he works as a student assistant in Wingate's Hinson Art Gallery and volunteered with teammates at East Elementary School to help run their Field Day event. He served as a tutor and supplemental instructional assistant for the Business Statistics class and as a tutor for high school math and economics classes over his summer and winter breaks.
2024 Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete Finalists
Cas Kopmels, Wingate
Jonah Adams, UVA Wise