Nebraska Wesleyan University track & field athletes Derek Carson and Matt Glasnapp were two of the 29 men in the nation in all divisions selected to receive a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship from the NCAA for the spring 2009 sports season.

Nebraska Wesleyan now has 38 athletes that have earned NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, which is tied for fourth among Division III schools.

In addition, NWU has now had 11 track & field athletes earn NCAA Postgraduate scholarships in the past eight years, which is tied with Missouri for the most in the entire nation.

Carson (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Pius X H.S.) graduated from NWU in May with a 3.90 GPA in  history.  He earned three NCAA Div. III All-American awards at the 2009 NCAA III outdoor championship, including being a member of the national runner-up 4x100 meter relay.  For his career he has five All-American awards and numerous All-Conference honors.  He put his track and field career on hold in 2005-06 while he served in Iraq.  He is currently in Washington D.C., participating in the State Department’s inaugural internship fellows program.  Upon his return to Lincoln, he plans to pursue a graduate degree in history.

Glasnapp (Beaver Lake, Neb./Conestoga H.S.) graduated in May with a degree in accounting.  He   earned three NCAA III All-American awards at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.  He placed fifth in the 200 meters, and was on the runner-up 4x100 and third place 4x400 relay teams.  He finished his career as a five-time All-American.  He is enrolled in a MBA program with a concentration in accounting at Bellevue University. 

Fifty-eight scholarships (29 men and 29 women) were awarded to spring sports participants in all three NCAA divisions. Nebraska Wesleyan was one of only six schools with more than one scholarship winner. Other schools with two winners are Division I Alabama, Arizona State, Stanford and UCLA and Division III Gustavus Adolphus.

To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must meet minimum GPA requirements and have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which he or she was nominated.  The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics.  The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.