May 2, 2023

McWhorter Scholar-Athletes of the Year Announced

By: SEC Staff
SECU (Twitter: @TheSECU)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Jackson Martingayle of the LSU men’s cross country and track and field teams and Callie Dickinson of the Georgia women’s swimming and diving team have been named the 2022-23 Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athletes of the Year, Commissioner Greg Sankey announced on Tuesday. The two were chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities and each will receive a $20,000 post-graduate scholarship.

“Callie and Jackson are representative of the focus, determination and success of SEC student-athletes in competition and in the classroom,” Sankey said. “These young people are committed to the total student-athlete experience, and it is reflected in the elite level of their academic and athletics accomplishments. The H. Boyd McWhorter Award is the highest honor earned by a student-athlete in the SEC and I congratulate them along with their families and universities on their outstanding achievements.”

The McWhorter Award adds to a long list of academic and athletic achievements for Martingayle, a senior from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Martingayle, a natural resource ecology and management major, is a four-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and the 2023 LSU Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He is a member of LSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, for which he served as vice-president in 2021-22, and a member of LSU Athletics Committee for Diversity and Inclusion. He is also a LSU Tiger Twelve Award Recipient. In addition, Martingayle is a Phi Beta Kappa honor society inductee, a four-time member of the LSU President’s Honor Roll, member of the Dean’s List and a LSU Stamps Scholar.

He is a two-time qualifier for the NCAA Division I Cross Country South Regional and three-time SEC Male Runner of the Week. He won the 5,000-meter at the Boston University Invitational in February of 2023.

Dickinson has enjoyed immense success both in the classroom and in athletic competition. Also a native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, she graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2022 with a degree in exercise and sports science. Currently seeking a graduate degree in comparative biomedical sciences, she is a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and has served as president of UGA chapter of the Blue Key Honor Society. Dickinson was also a recipient of the 2021 Michael E. Penland Family Research Award from the UGA kinesiology department.

A four-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-American (CSCAA), she is also a former member of the SEC Community Service Team and four-time member of the SEC Honor Roll. Dickinson was a member of the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll in semester while at UGA.

Dickinson has earned six CSCAA All-America citations in career, including her first individual honor this season in the 200-yard butterfly. She qualified for NCAA Championships in all five seasons, posting career-best finish of 16th in the 200-yard butterfly at 2023 meet. She is a five-time SEC medalist, including 2023 silver medalist in the 200-yard butterfly. Dickinson ranks top-10 in school history in four events and tallied 19 career event wins in dual meets.

Martingayle and Dickinson will be honored at the annual SEC Awards Dinner during the SEC Spring Meetings in Sandestin, Florida, the last week of May.

The 13 other male finalists: Grady Shiflet, Alabama (Track & Field); Zack Morris, Arkansas (Baseball); Jacob Quattlebaum, Auburn (Football); Chase Ruskin, Florida (Track & Field); Jack Podlesny, Georgia (Football); Mitchell Nelson, Kentucky (Rifle); Veeti Mahonen, Ole Miss (Golf); William Wann, Mississippi State (Golf); Jarrett Jaques, Missouri (Wrestling); Filip Demsar, South Carolina (Track & Field); Paxton Brooks, Tennessee (Football); Anze Fers Erzen, Texas A&M (Swimming & Diving); Max Beck, Vanderbilt (Cross Country).

The 13 other female finalists: Alyssa Shipman, Alabama (Softball); Abigail Archibong, Arkansas (Volleyball); Emma Kurtz, Auburn (Equestrian); Kathleen Golding, Florida (Swimming & Diving); Isabella Gati, Kentucky (Swimming & Diving); Jill Bohnet, LSU (Volleyball); Jayda Eckford, Ole Miss (Track & Field); Emma Antonaki, Mississippi State (Tennis); Arianna Fisher, Missouri (Track & Field); Trinity Hammerschmidt, South Carolina (Equestrian); Ashley Rogers, Tennessee (Softball); Grace Plain, Texas A&M (Cross Country/Track & Field); Mabel Cummins, Vanderbilt (Bowling).