AUSTIN, Texas (July 8, 2021) – For the second straight year, Oklahoma Christian golfers
Abigail Rigsby and
Shaley Goad each received recognition on the Academic All-District At-Large list for NCAA Division II women, which was announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Rigsby, a senior from Courtenay, British Columbia, became OC women's golf's first three-time Academic All-District selection. Goad, a junior from Wheeler, Texas, joined Rigsby as only the second multiple-time selection in the program's 10-season history. Before Rigsby and Goad, only one OC player (Audrey Meisch in 2015) had received the Academic All-District honor.
The CoSIDA honor recognizes student-athletes for their combined athletic and academic prowess and is considered one of the most prestigious in collegiate athletics. To qualify for the honor, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.3 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale, have reached sophomore status athletically, have legitimate athletic credentials and have been at the nominating institution at least one calendar year.
The Academic All-District awards are divided into eight geographic districts and four divisions. OC student-athletes compete for awards against their counterparts from other Division II schools. District 6 includes universities that are members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic and Lone Star Conferences – a total of 35 schools. Sports information directors from those universities vote for the Academic All-District team. OC competes in the LSC in all sports except men's and women's swimming, in which the university competes in the RMAC.
Sports that fall under the "At-Large" umbrella for CoSIDA award purposes are beach volleyball, bowling, lacrosse, rifle, crew, skiing, fencing, swimming, field hockey, tennis, golf, gymnastics, water polo and ice hockey. Individual universities are allowed no more than four nominees for the At-Large category, making it exceptionally competitive. One swimmer for OC's women's team, Grace Hill, joined Rigsby and Goad on the Academic All-District At-Large list.
Goad recorded five top-20 tournament finishes during the 2020-21 season, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the Sydney Cox Invitational at Lincoln Park Golf Club in Oklahoma City. She posted a 77.00 scoring average over 22 rounds while helping the Eagles qualify for the NCAA Division II West Super Regional. Goad, the 2019 Heartland Conference individual runner-up, ranks sixth in OC history in career scoring average at 77.71 over 83 rounds.
The Exercise Science major carries a 3.884 GPA. She is a four-time Women's Golf Coaches Association All-America Scholar (one of only three in OC history) and made the LSC's All-Academic team in 2021. She soon will be a three-time recipient of the Division II Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement Award and has made the Heartland Conference or LSC honor roll in each of her eight collegiate semesters. She also served as a sport representative on OC's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Rigsby, who's pursuing a master's of business administration degree in Finance at OC, has a 3.83 GPA in that program after posting a 3.72 GPA while earning her bachelor's degree in Mathematics. She is only the fifth three-time Academic All-District selection from OC in any sport, joining Bruno Buccolo (men's golf in 2006, 2007 and 2008), Lauren Decker (women's basketball in 2004, 2005 and 2006), Tiffany Willis (softball in 2002, 2003 and 2004) and Madison Hagood (softball in 2017, 2018 and 2019).
Like Goad, Rigsby also served as a sport representative on OC's SAAC and is a four-time WGCA All-America Scholar. Rigsby soon will be a rare four-time D2ADA Academic Achievement Award recipient. She's made either the Heartland or Lone Star Conference Honor Roll nine times and was selected as a LSC Scholar-Athlete in 2020, when she finished work on her bachelor's degree.
Rigsby's playing credentials also are stellar. She's a two-time qualifier for the NCAA Division II Championship (in 2017 and 2019) and a four-time All-Conference selection – twice in the Heartland and twice in the LSC, including her first-team recognition this season, when she posted six top-20 tournament finishes with a 75.45 scoring average over 20 rounds.
A three-time tournament winner and a three-time Heartland player of the week, she ended her career second in OC history in scoring average at 75.71 over 95 rounds. She played in the Oklahoma Open men's qualifier in 2019 and 2020, becoming the first female ever to do so.
Goad, Rigsby and Hill now will advance to the ballot for the Academic All-America At-Large team, which will be selected through a vote of sports information directors from NCAA Division II schools in the U.S. and Canada. That list will be announced later this summer.
