SEC names Florida nominees for McWhorter Award

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (April 13, 2023) - Kathleen Golding of the Florida women's swimming and diving team and Chase Ruskin of the Gator men's track and field team have been nominated for the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship by the University of Florida.

The H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship has been presented by the Southeastern Conference since 1986 to the league's top male and female scholar-athletes.

The Southeastern Conference will name the 2023 recipients of the H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete Post-Graduate Scholarship on May 2.

Highlights of Florida's nominees include:

ATHLETE	SPORT	MAJOR
Kathleen Golding,  Florida	Swimming & Diving	Civil Engineering
College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American: 2020, 2021, 2022 SEC Academic Honor Roll: 2020 (First Team), 2021, 2022 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll, 2020 Secretary of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC): Collaborates with student athletes to enhance student athlete experience and help the community (Organized food drive for Food4Kids) Team Captain, 2022 Three-Time All-American NCAA Qualifier: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 Member of the 2023 SEC Championship team

ATHLETE	SPORT	MAJOR
Chase Ruskin, Florida	Track & Field	Computer Engineering
SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll: 2020, 2021, 2022 Carries a GPA of 3.98 in computer engineering Has been admitted to the UF Electrical & Computer Engineering PhD Program Member of the UF Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Interned at the NASA Glenn Research Center UF Teaching Assistant Extensive community service with Special Olympics, Gator Tracks Program, and Elementary mentoring program Competed in four SEC Championships as a Gator Personal Best in the 800m (1:52.32) Finished 6th at the Clemson Invitational in the 800 meter

The SEC provides the league's male and female McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year Post-Graduate Scholarship recipients with a $20,000 post-graduate scholarship. The 26 remaining male and female finalists for the award will also receive a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship.

The award recipients are chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from the 14 SEC institutions and are announced in May, as well as honored by the league membership at SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla.

Last year's McWhorter Award recipients were Mississippi State football student-athlete Austin Williams and Lisa Gunnarsson of the LSU women's track & field team.