Eastern Wayne Today

NORMAN, Okla. -- Mat Hawryluk (Chatham, Ont. / Ursuline College Chatham), Max Leppelmeier (Wauseon, Ohio / Pettisville) and Ian Smith (Canton, Mich. / Plymouth) of the Wayne State University men's golf team were named 2023-24 Cobalt All-America Scholars on Thursday by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

To be eligible for Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar nomination, an individual must be a sophomore, junior or senior both academically and athletically in NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA, or receiving their Associate's Degree and in their last year of athletic eligibility in the NJCAA. In addition, they must participate in 50% of their team's competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 76.0 in NCAA Division I, under 78.0 in NCAA Division II, under 79.0 in NCAA Division III, under 78.0 in NAIA, and under 77.0 in NJCAA, and maintain a minimum cumulative career grade-point average of 3.2. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at their college or university.

Hawryluk carries a cumulative GPA of 3.45 in Marketing; Leppelmeier sports a 3.32 in Management; and Smith holds a 3.63 in Marketing. The three of them turned in season averages of 72.5, 73.3 and 73.5 respectively for the 2023-24 season. Hawryluk saw time in 28.5 rounds while Leppelmeier and Smith each competed in 31.5 rounds.

A total of 227 NCAA Division II athletes from 77 schools earned Cobalt All-America Scholar honors for the academic year 2023-24.

Missouri S&T had six recipients among several other institutions with notable mentions including Georgia Southern, Mercer, Texas Tech, Yale (NCAA Division I), Trine (NCAA Division III), and Texas Wesleyan (NAIA). Nine NCAA Division II schools had at least five recipients: Lincoln Memorial (5), Maryville (5), Missouri S&T (6), Newberry (5), Parkside (5), Saint Leo (5), SWOSU (5), Tiffin (5), and Wingate (5).

Cobalt is known as a direct-to-consumer golf brand focused on developing premium laser rangefinders for golfers seeking top-tier equipment.

The GCAA was established in 1958 as the professional organization for men's collegiate golf coaches across various divisions including NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA.