Wingate's Burrell Takes Home SAC Women's Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honors
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Wingate's Grace Burrell was voted as the 2025 South Atlantic Conference Women's Track and Field 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.
Burrell, a senior from Brentwood, United Kingdom, owns a 3.908 cumulative GPA while majoring in Psychology. Her academic awards have been numerous, starting with her being named a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic Team member in both cross country and track and field. She is also a three-time member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and has been on the Wingate University President's List and Dean's List each of her four years. In the past two years, she has been in the Wingate University Honors Program and was nominated for this honor. She wrote an extensive research paper with her faculty mentor.
On the track, Burrell has been named to the All-Southeast Region team in Cross Country as a sophomore and a three-time First Team All-conference selection the past three years. In track and field, she has been on the All-SAC team and All-Region team as a sophomore and senior. In her final year of competition, she won the 5000 indoors and finished fourth in the event in outdoors.
Burrell has been deeply dedicated to service in her four years at Wingate. She has volunteered at an Animal Sanctuary each of her four years and has also spent four years volunteering with her hometown running club. She was a Wingate Cross Country recruit host for the past two years and served as a paid research assistant in the Psychology PUPPY Lab at Wingate where she is studying prejudice and stereotypes in young children. Finally, she spent the summer of 2021 volunteering at the Eating Disorder Inpatient Unit, sharing advice and motivating residents.
2025 Women's Track and Field Scholar-Athlete Finalists
Grace Burrell, Wingate
Alexis Brown, Lenoir-Rhyne
Madi Clay, Catawba