Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.
DESTIN, Fla. – LSU cross country and track and field’s Jackson Martingayle will be recognized tonight in Destin, Florida, at the SEC Spring Meetings after being named the 2022-23 Southeastern Conference H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year earlier in May.
Martingayle became the third LSU track and field athlete to garner the most prestigious honor the SEC gives out each May joining last year’s winner, Lisa Gunnarson (2022), and Mikael Olander (1989).
“This is a dream come true for me.” Martingayle said. “It’s amazing to be recognized like this for all of my hard work over the last few years. As someone who arrived as a preferred walk-on, receiving the same award as some of the phenomenal former student-athletes to walk through LSU like Lisa Gunnarsson, Skylar Mars, Mikael Olander and many more is a huge honor.”
Martingayle was chosen by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from SEC universities and will receive a $20,000 post-graduate scholarship. Georgia’s Callie Dickinson (swimming & dive) was named the women’s H. Boyd McWhorter Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
A five-time SEC Academic honor roll member, Martingayle has been a member of the LSU track and field and cross-country programs dating back to 2019. The senior has excelled in the classroom and on the track ever since arriving to Baton Rouge from Virginia Beach.
Martingayle becomes the ninth LSU athlete to garner the award joining Mikael Olander (track & field/1989), Michael Blanchard (football/1995), Martin Nyberg (swimming/1996), Lisette Lee (women’s golf/2000), Rudy Niswanger (football/2006), Kelly Quinn (volleyball/2018), and Skylar Mays (men’s basketball/2020), Lisa Gunnarsson (track & field/2022).
“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.”
For a complete history of the H. Boyd McWhorter Award, visit secsports.com.