University of Tennessee Athletics
UT Trio Nets NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships
May 02, 2012 | Women's Cross Country
May 2, 2012
 Ryan Helms
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Three University of Tennessee student-athletes have been rewarded for their combined excellence in the classroom and in competition. Male diver Ryan Helms and female track & field standouts Chanelle Price and Ellen Wortham are among 58 winter sport athletes nationwide earning 2011-12 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships.
Tennessee was the only NCAA Division I school with three scholarship recipients, and only two other programs matched or bettered that total. Division III schools Emory University and Kenyon College produced four and three, respectively. Five SEC schools had winners, including Arkansas with two, and Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and LSU with one each.
The NCAA awards up to 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The one-time grants of $7,500 each are awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports. Each sports season (fall, winter and spring), there are 29 scholarships available for men and 29 scholarships available for women. The scholarships are one-time, non-renewable grants.
Helms, a native of Moultrie, Ga., has fashioned a 3.71 grade point average and is scheduled to complete his degree in exercise science in August. The Vols' leading diver was selected as Tennessee's representative for the McWhorter Scholarship Award this year. He was selected this year as the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and has been on the SEC Academic Honor Roll twice.
On the boards, Helms enjoyed the best season of his career as a senior. He was named the SEC Diver of the Year after winning the 1-meter and 3-meter titles at the SEC Championships in Knoxville. He also placed forth on the 3-meter springboard at the NCAA Championships, a career-best finish. He has qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials on the 3-meter springboard this summer and will represent the United States this week in the Canada Cup.
Price, who hails from Easton, Pa., owns a 3.93 GPA in journalism and electronic media. She was the 2011 SEC Co-Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a first-team Capital One Academic All-American. Additionally, she is a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic and SEC Academic Honor Roll member and a two-time recipient of Capital One Academic All-District IV acclaim.
On the oval, she is an eight-time All-American in middle distance and relay events and a two-time NCAA champion in the distance medley relay (DMR). At the SEC level, she has scored on 13 occasions, earning All-SEC honors seven times and winning league championships three times with the DMR and twice in the 800 meters. Currently ranking No. 2 in the SEC and fourth in the NCAA in the 800 meters at 2:03.36, she is the owner of two world records, three American and collegiate marks, four UT bests and an SEC record.
Wortham is a product of Maryville, Tenn., and maintains a 3.88 GPA in psychology. She is a three-time USTFCCCA All-Academic and SEC Academic Honor Roll recipient, and she was a member of the 2011 Capital One Academic All-District IV Second Team.
In the competitive arena, Wortham is an eight-time All-American, as well, winning an NCAA title with UT's DMR in 2010. An 18-time SEC scorer and four-time All-SEC honoree, she claimed an SEC Indoor title in the DMR in 2009 and was an outdoor victor in the 400m hurdles in 2011. Currently the SEC leader in the 400m hurdles at 55.93 and ranked number-two nationally, she has been the Tony Wilson Award winner for women's running events the past two seasons at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville.
Both Wortham and Price will join their teammates in competing at next week's SEC Outdoor Championships, and both are expected to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer.
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, as well as campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership, are evaluated.
An equitable approach is employed in reviewing each applicant's nomination form to provide opportunity to all student-athlete nominees to receive the postgraduate award, regardless of sport, division, gender or race. In maintaining the highest broad-based standards in the selection process, the program aims to reward those individuals whose dedication and effort are reflective of those characteristics necessary to succeed and thrive through postgraduate study in an accredited graduate degree program.
