BATON ROUGE — Sixty-one student-athletes, including Olympic Games silver medalist John Moffitt and Remmington Trophy winner Ben Wilkerson, were among the LSU students who received their degrees in ceremonies on Friday.
As 53 student-athletes earned undergraduate degrees, eight former Tigers earned postgraduate degrees, including former LSU defensive tackle and current New York Giant Chuck Wiley, who earned his master’s degree in kinesiology.
Moffitt, a two-time NCAA long jump champion, highlighted the list of 20 track and field athletes who took part in the graduation ceremonies on the LSU campus. In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, the general studies graduate took home the silver medal after finishing second to American Dwight Phillips in the long jump.
The 2004 Remmington Trophy winner, awarded to the nation’s top center, Wilkerson also earned his degree in general studies. He was one of eight LSU football players to earn degrees on Friday. Among the other Tiger gridiron stars was offensive lineman Rudy Niswanger, who completed his degree in kinesiology with a perfect 4.0 grade point average, earning him summa cum laude and University Medalist honors.
Joining Wilkerson and Niswanger as LSU’s football graduate during the spring commencement were linebacker Barrett Dupuy, fullback Brandon Hurley, tight end Demetri Robinson and linebacker Derek Hinds. Former center Jimmy Courtenay and Wiley earned graduate degrees in public administration and kinesiology respectively.
Baseball standouts Jason Determann, Jordan Faircloth, Nick Stavinoha and Lane Mestepey also earned degrees on Friday. Determann was a magna cum laude graduate in biological sciences and will forgo his senior season on the diamond to enroll in medical school next fall.
Faircloth, the 2005 SEC Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship recipient, earned his degree in political science. Mestepey, the 2001 National Freshman of the Year, earned his degree in kinesiology before earning the start tonight in the weekend series at Mississippi State, while Stavinoha, a starter in the Tiger outfield, was a management graduate.
2004 softball All-American LaDonia Hughes earned her degree in general studies. The outstanding outfielder is currently a member of the Arizona Heat in the National Pro Fastpitch League. She is joined by kinesiology graduate Sara Fitzgerald as two members of the Tiger team that made a memorable run through the Women’s College World Series last spring.
Women’s golfer Brooke Shelton is currently playing her final round in the 2005 NCAA Championships in Oregon. The marketing graduate stands in a tie for fourth place heading into the last day of competition.
A pair of women’s soccer players, Kristin Frischhertz and Christine Haman, earned summa cum laude and magna cum laude honors respectively as they earned their degrees in psychology and geography. A pair of swimmers also earned summa cum laude honors as Leon Cannizzaro was named a University Medalist in biological sciences and Margaret Beadle also earned her degree in biological sciences.
2005 LSU Student-Athlete Spring Graduates
| Track and Field (20) ?? | |
| Nick Accardo?? | ?Biological Sciences |
| Matthew Carroll?? | ?Biological Sciences |
| Jamison Carter?? | ?General studies |
| Pete Coley?? | ?Sociology |
| Brandon Conine?? | ?Biological Sciences |
| Nadia Davy?? | ?Sociology |
| Wynand Dempers?? | ?Business Administration (Graduate School) |
| Katie Denton?? | ?Nutrition |
| Marlon Greensword?? | ?General Studies |
| Christopher Jackson?? | ?Mass Communications |
| Zamyal Jackson?? | ?Sociology |
| Lori Jones?? | ?Economics |
| Brittany Littlejohn?? | ?Business Administration (Graduate School) |
| Keioike Lutcher?? | ?Psychology |
| John Moffitt?? | ?General Studies |
| Robert Parham?? | ?Economics |
| Tiffany Robinson?? | ?Finance |
| Benjamin Shumaker?? | ?Sociology |
| Peter Simon General?? | ?Business |
| Ronetta Smith Public?? | ?Administration (Graduate School) |
| ? | |
| Swimming and Diving (14) ?? | |
| William Alvarez?? | ?Math |
| Margaret Beadle ***?? | ?Biological Sciences |
| Leon Cannizzaro ****?? | ?Biological Sciences |
| Margot Gathings *?? | ?Kinesiology |
| William Guthrie?? | ?Landscape Architecture |
| Alice Hardesty?? | ?Dietetics |
| Lauren Harvey?? | ?General Business |
| Martin Latz?? | ?Business Administration (Graduate School) |
| Donna Leslie?? | ?Anthropology |
| Laurie Luttrell?? | ?Business Administration (Graduate School) |
| Matthew Rucker?? | ?General Studies |
| Lindsay Staak?? | ?Kinesiology |
| Christopher Stanczyk?? | ?Management |
| Rachel Taylor?? | ?Psychology |
| ? | |
| Football (8) ?? | |
| Jimmy Courtenay?? | ?Public Administration (Graduate School) |
| Barrett Dupuy?? | ?General Studies |
| Derek Hinds?? | ?Kinesiology |
| Brandon Hurley?? | ?Mass Communications |
| Rudy Niswanger ****?? | ?Kinesiology |
| Demetri Robinson?? | ?General Studies |
| Chuck Wiley?? | ?Kinesiology (Graduate School) |
| Ben Wilkerson?? | ?General Studies |
| ? | |
| Baseball (6) ?? | |
| Jason Determann **?? | ?Biological Sciences |
| Jordan Faircloth?? | ?Political Science |
| Lane Mestepey?? | ?Kinesiology |
| Ryan Richard?? | ?Biological Sciences |
| Nick Stavinoha?? | ?Management |
| Dustin Weaver?? | ?General Studies |
| ? | |
| Soccer (3) ?? | |
| Rachel Cohen?? | ?General Studies |
| Kristin Frischhertz ***?? | ?Psychology |
| Christine Haman **?? | ?Geography |
| ? | |
| Tennis (3) ?? | |
| Rocio Fantilli?? | ?International Trade and Finance |
| John Gray Pou?? | ?Business Administration (Graduate School) |
| Cory Ross?? | ?Mass Communications |
| ? | |
| Gymnastics (2) ?? | |
| Rachel Franzella?? | Elementary Education |
| Annie Gagnon?? | ?Marketing |
| ? | |
| Softball (2) ?? | |
| Sara Fitzgerald?? | ?Kinesiology |
| LaDonia Hughes?? | ?General Studies |
| ? | |
| Men’s Basketball (1) ?? | |
| Paul Wolfert?? | ?Finance |
| ? | |
| Women’s Golf (1) ?? | |
| Brooke Shelton?? | ?Marketing |
| ? | |
| Volleyball (1) ?? | |
| Rachel Pittman?? | ?Mass Communications |
* – cum laude
** – magna cum laude
*** – summa cum laude
**** – summa cum laude and University Medalist