Commencement Central

SPRINGFIELD -- A total of 39 current and former Missouri State University student-athletes will receive their degrees Friday, Dec. 16 during fall commencement ceremonies at JQH Arena on the Springfield campus.
 
The athletes represent 13 different sports with women's soccer standout Nikki Kerrigan topping the list by earning summa cum laude (3.90-4.00 GPA) academic honors, while five other student-athletes received cum laude honors (3.50-3.74 GPA) -- track standout Betsy Borgsmiller, football linebacker Dylan Cole, former footballer Matt Miller, swimmer Ibby Simcox, and soccer player Lauren Shadel.
 
Six additional Bears -- football player Johnny Onoh (MBA), swimmers Daan Jansen (MS) and Oliva Gean (MBA), softball players Ashley Brentz (MS) and Raeven Replogle (MS), and volleyball star Karen Rivatt (MS) -- are completing post-graduate degrees.
 
The December 2016 class represents MSU's largest crop of fall athletics graduates on record. So far, during the 2016-17 academic year, a total of 50 Bear student-athletes have earned degrees, including 11 in the summer 2016 commencement.
 
By sport, here are the student-athletes completing their degrees in December 2016:
 
Baseball (2)
Matt Dezort (Finance); Nick Petree (General Business).
 
Field Hockey (1)
Liz Young (Biology).
 
Football (8)
Dylan Cole (Sales Management)*; T.J. Kroll (Computer Science); Brodie Lambert (General Business); Vashon Landers (Criminology); Matt Miller (Finance / Sales Management)*; Johnny Onoh (M.B.A. Business Administration/Graduate Certificate in Finance); Sam Schwartze (Middle School Education); Brad Troyer (Biology).
 
Men's Golf (2)
Joey Johnson (Sport & Park Administration); Mitch Mather (Entertainment Management).
 
Men's Swimming & Diving (1)
Daan Jansen (M.S. Producing & Screenwriting).
 
Softball (4)
Ashley Brentz (M.S. Elementary Counseling); Raeven Replogle (M.S. Secondary Counseling); Mary Stephens (Sport & Park Administration); Bethany Sullinger (Middle School Education).
 
Volleyball (2)
Elise Munroe (Sport & Park Administration); Karen Rivatto (M.S. Administrative Studies).
 
Women's Basketball (1)
Hillary Chvatal (Physical Education).
 
Women's Golf (1)
Megan Furnish (Middle School Education)
 
Women's Soccer (5)
Kelsey Goff (Hospitality & Restaurant Administration); Nikki Kerrigan (Exercise & Movement Science)***; Alix Opfer (Dietetics); Jessica Perry (General Business); Lauren Shadel (Exercise & Movement Science)*.
 
Women's Swimming & Diving (4)
Andi Burroughs (Chemistry); Marisa Frazier (Exercise & Movement Science); Ibby Simcox (International Business Administration)*; Olivia Gean (M.B.A. Business Administration).
 
Women's Tennis (2)
Miranda Poile (Communication Studies); Ema Turudija (Communication Studies).
 
Women's Track & Field / Cross Country (6)
Betsy Borgsmiller (Physical Education)*; Josie Dyke (Hospitality & Restaurant Administration); Cindy Forde (Hospitality & Restaurant Administration); Chelsie Horton (Communication Studies); Taeler Marshall (Public Relations); Katie Vignery (General Business).
 
* Cum Laude; ** Summa Cum Laude; *** Magna Cum Laude; +Honors College
 
Missouri State University will confer a total 1,476 degrees to students at its 2016 fall commencement. Two ceremonies will be held at JQH Arena Friday with students graduating from the colleges of Business and Education participating in the first ceremony at 10 a.m., while graduates from the colleges of Arts and Letters, Health and Human Services, Humanities and Public Affairs and Natural and Applied Sciences, as well as students from the William H. Darr School of Agriculture and global studies majors participating in the second ceremony at 1:30 p.m.
 
A total of 1,075 bachelor's degrees, 400 master's degrees and one specialist in education degree will be conferred. Beyond the standard expectations, 37 students will be recognized for their work with a more rigorous curriculum in Missouri State's Honors College. Scholastic honors will be given to 31 students who will graduate summa cum laude, 54 who will graduate magna cum laude and 135 who will graduate cum laude.