INFO | Academic All-District team MEN
INFO | Academic All-District team WOMEN
 
Austin, Texas----Four Wingate University student-athletes have been named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) All-District® track and field/cross country teams. Grace Burrell and Amber Lawless represent the Bulldog women, while Mateo de Castro Navarro and Levente Palvolgyi represent the Wingate men.
 
With this honor, the College Sports Communicators recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the playing field and in the classroom. Wingate's four Academic All-District® selections advance to the national ballot with the Academic All-America® teams to be announced in July.

What They Are Saying
Wingate director of cross country and track and field Matt van Lierop
 
"The XCTF Bulldogs strive to do their best in both athletics and academics. All aspects of the program having an overall team GPA over a 3.000, which proves they're the definition of student-athletes. Grace Burrell, Amber Lawless, Levente Palvolgyi and Mateo de Castro Navarro take this definition to the next level. Not only are they the top of their class in academics, but they're also major point scorers on the conference and regional levels. We're proud to call them Bulldogs, leading this pack of student-athletes on and off the field (and track)."
 
Grace Burrell
('25, Brentwood, United Kingdom)
 
- Graduated summa cum laude with University honors in May
- Psychology major posted a 3.916 cumulative GPA during her WU career
- Won two SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards this year (XC, T&F)
- All-South Atlantic Conference XC first team three times
- Season-best XC times: 21:35.1 (6K, SAC) and 21:44.0 (6K, Lehigh)
- Added All-SER XC honors to her All-SAC XC award in '22
- Helped Wingate finish eighth at XC NCAAs in '23 and '24
- The 'Dogs won SAC XC titles in each of her three seasons
- All-South Atlantic Conference and All-Southeast Region in track
- Season-best T&F times: 4:39.04 (1500, Duke) and 16:43.93 (5000, APU)
- WU won three SAC indoor and three SAC outdoor titles during her career
 
Amber Lawless
('26, educational studies major, Perth, Western Australia)
 
- Educational studies major with a 4.000 cumulative GPA
- Won SAC Elite 23 Award for women's indoor track and field in 2025
- Won SAC indoor (13.04) and outdoor (14.07) shot put competitions
- Season-best shot put mark: 14.30 (LR Last Chance Meet, PR)
- Season-best discus mark: 42.61 (Duke Invitational, PR)
- Season-best weight throw mark: 13.88 (SAC indoors, PR)
- Five career SAC podium finishes (three outdoors, two indoors)
- WU has won three SAC indoor and three SAC outdoor titles during her career
 
Mateo de Castro Navarro
('27, mathematics major, Valladolid, Spain)
 
- Mathematics major with a 3.950 cumulative GPA
- Won SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for men's outdoor T&F in 2025
- Won SAC Elite 23 Award for men's outdoor track and field in 2025
- First team All-SAC in indoor shot put in 2025 (16.07 meters)
- First team All-SAC in outdoor shot put in 2024 (15.35 meters)
- Season-best shot put marks: 16.07 meters (SAC indoors); 15.78 meters (Duke Invite)
- WU has won two SAC indoor and two SAC outdoor titles during his career
 
Levente Palvolgyi
('27, Budapest, Hungary)
 
- Sport management major with a 3.900 cumulative GPA
- Won SAC outdoor 800 meters for second time this season (1:50.10)
- '25 SAC indoor podium finishes in the 800 meters and the 4x400 relay
- Palvolgyi and three teammates ran a 3:22.97 in the 4x400 relay
- Season-best T&F times: 800 meters (1:50.10, SAC outdoors)
- Ran a personal-best 8K XC time of 27:14.6 in the '24 Queen City Invite
- WU has won six SAC titles during his career (4 in T&F, 2 in XC)
 
Wingate University
 
Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 29 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 17 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.
 
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