Georgia Southern placed nine student-athletes on the 2024 Collegiate Sports Communicators At-Large Academic All-District teams, as announced by the organization last week.
To be eligible for CSC Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA at their institution. They must also be at least a sophomore academically. Each school is allowed six male and six female honorees for the all-district team based on academic and athletic merit.
The nine honorees are: men's golf athlete Brantley Baker, rifle athlete Addy Burrow, men's golf athlete Hayden Carner, rifle athlete Bella Gamez, men's golf athlete Luke Koenig, women's golf athlete Abby Newton, rifle athlete Emma Pohlmann, rifle athlete Amy Visconti, and women's golf athlete Haley Yerxa
Baker: A captain of the men's golf team, he held a season-scoring average of 74.14 in 29 rounds played. The Leesburg, Georgia, native shot a low round of 70 six times during the season. Now a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree, he is a construction management major.
Burrow: A multiple-time All-American by the CRCA, Burrow finished as the runner-up in air rifle at the 2024 SoCon Championships. She was named first-team All-SoCon in both disciplines and averaged 586.786 in smallbore, 593.857 in air rifle and 1,180.643 aggregate. The multiple-time CRCA Scholastic All-American was named to the Collegiate Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team last year and just graduated with a master's degree in professional communications.
Carner: A graduating senior, Carner held a season-scoring average of 72.79 in 33 rounds. The Birmingham, Alabama, native fired his lowest round of 65 in the second round of the Schenkel Invitational to finish T5 in the tournament. Carner tallied 103 birdies, 357 pars and a team-high five eagles and recorded two top-10 finishes on the season. Carner earns his first academic all-district honors for his work in his degree program of management.
Gamez: A multiple-time CRCA Scholastic All-American, Gamez averaged 566.900 in smallbore, including a career-high of 578 at VMI on Oct. 28. She also averaged 573.545 in air rifle and had a 1,140.500 aggregate average, with a career-high of 1,156 at VMI on Oct. 28. The San Antonio native recently graduated with a degree in psychology and will remain at Georgia Southern to pursue a master's degree in sport psychology.
Koenig: The Statham, Georgia, native recorded a season scoring average of 72.78 in 27 rounds played this season with his best finish, T3, at the JT Poston Invitational. He recorded a low round 65 in the second round of the Poston and shot par or better in 14 rounds. The junior tallied 86 birdies, 299 pars and an eagle. He earns a spot on the all-district team for his work in sport management.
Newton: A three-time All-Sun Belt honoree, Newton competed in nine events for the Eagles, posting a 74.33 scoring average over 27 rounds played. The Statesboro native led the Eagles at the Sun Belt Conference Championship, shooting 72-75-72=219, (+3) to finish seventh. Newton recorded par or better in six rounds and finished the season with three top-10 finishes. Newton recently graduated with a degree in finance.
Pohlmann: A multiple-time All-American by the CRCA, Pohlmann stormed onto the rifle scene by winning the SoCon Athlete of the Year and individual titles in both smallbore and air rifle. The Nentershausen, Germany, native qualified as an individual shooter in air gun for the NCAA Championship and averaged a school-record 587.929 in smallbore, a school-record 595.200 in air rifle and a school-record 1,182.214 aggregate average. She also was named a CRCA Scholastic All-American for her work in interdisciplinary studies.
Visconti: A second-team All-SoCon selection in both smallbore and air rifle, she averaged 577.300 in smallbore, 589.182 in air rifle and 1,166.273 in aggregate. She graduated in May with a degree in criminal justice and will attend UTEP for grad school. The multiple-time CRCA Scholastic All-American leaves the program with the second-highest career smallbore average and the third-highest career aggregate average in program history.
Yerxa: A 2023-24 First-Team All-Sun Belt honoree, Yerxa competed in 10 events for the Eagles, including one as an individual. The Ottawa, Ontario, native posted a 73.03 scoring average for the second-best in program history. Yerxa's best finish came at the Edisto Island Invitational, where she finished T6. She notched five top-10 finishes and six top-20 finishes on the season. Now a two-time CSC Academic All-District selection, she was honored last season as a CSC Second-Team Academic All-American.
Burrow, Newton, Pohlmann and Yerxa will advance to national balloting for possible Academic All-America honors. Only student-athletes who were all-conference, earned All-America honors or were players of the year in their respective conferences advance to the national ballot.
