Lincoln – A large class of 48 current and former Husker student-athletes across all sports will earn their undergraduate degrees from the University of Nebraska during commencement exercises on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Coach Bo Pelini’s Nebraska football program makes up nearly one-third of the list of December graduates with 14 current or former players earning degrees, including first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America offensive lineman Spencer Long and his twin brother and second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America tight end Jake Long. Other members of the 2013 NU football team earning degrees include Brandon Chapek, Scott Criss, Jay Guy, Seth Jameson, Ron Kellogg III, Taylor Martinez, Wil Richards and Colby Starkebaum. Overall, 19 of Nebraska’s 23 seniors will participate in NU’s 2014 Gator Bowl festivities with degree in hand on New Year’s Day in Jacksonville, Fla.

Former Husker football student-athletes Antonio Bell, Joe Carter and Dreu Young also will claim their diplomas on Saturday morning.

Seven former members of Coach Darin Erstad’s Nebraska baseball program will earn their degrees, including Kurt Farmer, Kale Kiser, Tom Lemke, Tyler Niederklein, Rich Sanguinetti, Josh Scheffert and Dylan Vogt.

A strong class of five current and former student-athletes will represent Coach John Cook’s Husker volleyball program, led by 2012 CoSIDA Academic All-American and Senior CLASS Award winner Gina Mancuso. All-Americans Lauren Cook, Kelsey Robinson and Morgan Broekhuis join Mancuso as AVCA All-Americans graduating from Nebraska on Saturday, while 2013 senior captain Hayley Thramer also will claim her diploma.

Coach Gary Pepin adds five members of his track and field program to the list of graduates as well, including All-American Morgan Wilken, Martina Barinova, Tommy Brinn, Rashad Moxey and NCAA Elite 89 Award winner Anne Martin.

Coach Pablo Morales’ swimming and diving program contributes four graduates with Katie Davis, Hayley Martin, Ashley Reiter and Sara Weinberg.

Amanda Burau and Shalima Zalsha from Coach Bill Straub’s national championship bowling program will both earn their degreesSaturday. Scott Jacobson’s women’s tennis team will add a pair of graduates, including 2013 All-American Patricia Veresova, along with Chelsea Finnegan. Coach Kerry McDermott’s men’s tennis squad will pitch in two graduates as well with Eric Sock and Andre Stenger.

Coach Chuck Chmelka’s men’s gymnastics team (Micah Christensen, Andreas Hofer) and Coach Rhonda Revelle’s softball team (Courtney Breault, Brooke Thomason) both added a pair of graduates, while Coach John Walker’s soccer team (Jordan Jackson), Mark Manning’s wrestling team (Cody Compton) and Coach Bill Spangler’s men’s golf team (Neil Dufford) complete the list of graduates.

Nebraska’s diverse group of 48 December graduates came to Lincoln from 15 states and five foreign countries, including Germany (2), the Bahamas, the Czech Republic, Indonesia and Slovakia. The Cornhusker State was also well represented with 18 Nebraska natives among the list of graduates.

Nebraska continues to feature one of the highest graduation rates in the nation, while leading the nation in the number of CoSIDA Academic All-Americans (310) and NCAA Top Ten Award winners (17) across all sports.

 

December 2013 Nebraska Student-Athlete Graduates (48)

Student-Athlete                   Sport                                      Hometown                                           Major

Martina Barinova                 Track & Field/CC                 Prerov, Czech Republic                     Spanish

Antonio Bell                          Football                                 Daytona Beach, Fla.                           Sociology

Courtney Breault                 Softball                                  Roseville, Calif.                                    Management

Tommy Brinn                       Track & Field/CC                 Otsego, Mich.                                       Advertising & Public Relations

Morgan Broekhuis               Volleyball                              Colorado Springs, Colo.                    Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science

Amanda Burau                    Bowling                                 Lake in the Hills, Ill.                             Natural Resources & Environmental Economics

Joe Carter                             Football                                 Jackson, S.C.                                       Sociology

Brandon Chapek                 Football                                 Wahoo, Neb.                                        Biological Sciences

Seung Hoon Choi               Football                                 Lincoln, Neb.                                        Business Administration/Sociology

Micah Christensen              Men’s Gymnastics               Port Orchard, Wash.                            Nutrition Science

Cody Compton                    Wrestling                               Bonne Terre, Mo.                                 Sociology

Lauren Cook                        Volleyball                              Lincoln, Neb.                                        Hospitality, Restaurant & Tourism Management

Scott Criss                             Football                                 Omaha, Neb.                                        Construction Management

Katie Davis                           Swimming & Diving            Lincoln, Neb.                                        Elementary Education & Mild/Moderate K-6

Neil Dufford                          Men’s Golf                            Midland, Texas                                    Global Studies/Russian

Kurt Farmer                          Baseball                                Columbus, Neb.                                  Communication Studies

Chelsea Finnegan              Women’s Tennis                 Las Vegas, Nev.                                  Political Science

Jay Guy                                 Football                                 Houston, Texas                                    Business Administration

Andreas Hofer                     Men’s Gymnastics               Heidelberg, Germany                         International Business

Jordan Jackson                   Soccer                                   Overland Park, Kan.                            Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science

Seth Jameson                      Football                                 Southlake, Texas                                 Mathematics

Ron Kellogg III                      Football                                 Omaha, Neb.                                        Ethnic Studies/Sociology

Kale Kiser                             Baseball                                Plano, Texas                                        Finance

Tom Lemke                          Baseball                                Phoenix, Ariz.                                       Business Administration

Jake Long                             Football                                 Elkhorn, Neb.                                       Biological Sciences

Spencer Long                      Football                                 Elkhorn, Neb.                                       Biological Sciences

Gina Mancuso                      Volleyball                              Omaha, Neb.                                        Marketing

Anne Martin                          Track & Field                        Waverly, Neb.                                       Elementary Education

Hayley Martin                       Swimming & Diving            Monona, Wis.                                       Fisheries & Wildlife

Taylor Martinez                    Football                                 Corona, Calif.                                       Ethnic Studies

Rashad Moxey                     Track & Field                        Nassau, Bahamas                              Psychology

Tyler Niederklein                 Baseball                                Omaha, Neb.                                        Business Administration

Ashley Reiter                        Swimming & Diving            Fargo, N.D.                                           Biological Sciences/Spanish

Wil Richards                         Football                                 Lee’s Summit, Mo.                              Business Administration

Kelsey Robinson                 Volleyball                              Bartlett, Ill.                                             Broadcasting

Rich Sanguinetti                  Baseball                                Arlington, Texas                                   Communication Studies

Josh Scheffert                      Baseball                                Lincoln, Neb.                                        History

Eric Sock                               Men’s Tennis                        Lincoln, Neb.                                        Business Administration

Colby Starkebaum              Football                                 Sterling, Colo.                                      Agronomy

Andre Stenger                      Men’s Tennis                        Tutzing, Germany                                Business Administration

Brooke Thomason              Softball                                  Overland Park, Kan.                            Elementary Education

Hayley Thramer                   Volleyball                              Ewing, Neb.                                          Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science

Patricia Veresova                Women’s Tennis                 Piestany, Slovakia                               Accounting/Business Administration

Dylan Vogt                            Baseball                                Omaha, Neb.                                        Communication Studies

Sara Weinberg                     Swimming & Diving            Bismarck, N.D.                                     Nutrition, Exercise & Health Science/Dietetics

Morgan Wilken                     Track & Field                        Crofton, Neb.                                        Mathematics/Mathematics Education

Dreu Young                          Football                                 Cozad, Neb.                                         Business Administration

Shalima Zalsha                   Bowling                                 Jakarta, Indonesia                               Management/Mathematics