Wingate leads nation with four NCAA postgrad scholarship recipients in spring

By Chuck Gordon

After running for a national-championship team and nearly making all A's during his four years at Wingate, Leo Freeland is heading off to graduate school in Kansas later this summer. In addition to serving as a graduate-assistant track coach, he'd been planning to work part time to help pay the bills. Now he won't have to.

Freeland is one of four Wingate student-athletes to receive NCAA postgraduate scholarships after the spring semester. Joining Freeland are men's tennis players Florian Walcher and Petar Basic Palkovic and softball star Savanna Brooks.

The scholarships, worth $10,000 each, are awarded to 21 men and 21 women across all NCAA Divisions (I, II and III) for each athletics season (fall, winter and spring). Wingate led all schools with four recipients this spring.

A student in the Honors College majoring in political science, Freeland admits that he hadn't heard of Wingate before being contacted by cross country head coach Pol Domenech. But it turned out to be exactly the environment he was looking for, on the track and in the classroom. After receiving a B+ in his biology lab as a freshman, Freeland, a native of Milton Keynes, UK, notched nothing but A's the rest of his time at Wingate, registering a 3.97 grade-point average.

"The professors know you personally, so they're always going to keep it at a level where you still have to work hard," he says. "I always felt challenged. I always felt like my professors were pushing me and holding me to a high standard, which is exactly what I wanted."

Freeland's professors were also understanding when it came to his athletic pursuits, which included running on the cross country team, which has finished second, first and second the past three years at the national meet while winning South Atlantic Conference titles each season.

Freeland was an all-conference runner multiple years, was an alternate on the national-champion indoor distance medley relay team, and ran the 1200-meter leg of the DMR at nationals another year.

"Coming from the UK, that's what I was looking for: being around so many good runners," he says. "It's just so easy to improve when you've got 10, 15 guys who are all better than you. You've always got somebody to train with. Honestly, it's just very inspiring having such a high standard and everyone keeping you accountable and pushing you forward."

Freeland's next stop is Washburn University in Kansas, where he will work toward a master of studies in law degree. His goal is to work in international politics. "I'd like to do something involving relations with the U.S.," he says, "so having that legal background from a U.S. perspective will be really helpful for a career in that."

Freeland also hopes to represent England on the track before he brings his competitive racing career to a close.

Savanna Brooks

The NCAA postgraduate scholarship is just the latest plaudit for Brooks, Wingate softball's all-time leader in several offensive categories. She was first-team Academic All-America three times, and most recently she received the South Atlantic Conference's President's Award, which goes to the top overall student-athlete in the league. She also led Wingate to three consecutive regular-season SAC titles.

Jamie Stanclift, softball head coach, says that Brooks' athletic and academic achievements "speak for themselves" and that her leadership qualities really make her stand out. "Savanna is someone others want to follow because she is incredibly humble, selfless, and her work ethic is unmatched," she says. "She may not always lead with her words, but her actions have never wavered. She will be greatly missed and has left a mark on my life just as much as she has on all of her teammates and the Wingate softball program for years to come."

An exercise science major who went on to get her master of arts in sport management, Brooks managed a 4.0 GPA throughout her time at Wingate. She is working part time as a physical therapy technician in Indian Trail and will enter Wingate's Doctor of Physical Therapy program in January.

Florian Walcher

A three-time team MVP, Walcher is hoping to eventually help others replicate his athletic success. Walcher is planning to pursue a graduate degree in exercise science in his home country, Austria.

"My experiences as a collegiate tennis player at Wingate University have deepened my passion for athletic performance and inspired me to turn this passion into a career," he says. "In the long term, my goal is to apply scientific research to develop evidence-based training programs that make a real impact on athletes' success."

Walcher registered a 3.93 GPA over his four years at Wingate, was a member of the Honors College and served as a peer tutor.

"Florian has always been a fighter on the court, and he took that same mindset into the classroom as well," says Michael Cabana, Wingate's head tennis coach. "This recognition is truly an honor, and Florian will use this award to further his studies and continue his development."

Petar Basic Palkovic

Palkovic, from Serbia, maintained a 4.0 GPA in mathematics, while serving as a peer tutor, working on the IT help desk, and managing a portfolio that netted a 20 percent return as a member of the Investment Club. For his work in the classroom, he won the H.K. Helms Award, the Dr. David Rowe Outstanding Senior Award in Mathematics, and the Haskins Award.

This fall he will begin a two-year master's program in mathematics at Youngstown State University, where he will also serve as a graduate assistant tennis coach. He ultimately plans to pursue a career in actuarial science.

Primarily a doubles player, Palkovic's greatest individual achievement as a Bulldog, he says, was helping secure the doubles point in Wingate's match against No. 2 Flagler during his junior season. Wingate won back-to-back South Atlantic Conference titles during his career as well.

"I am so proud that he has been recognized with this award," Cabana says. "Petar is the epitome of a team leader. He was such a great teammate. Petar was instrumental in our team's success and was such a selfless individual."

July 9, 2025