BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) announced the 2021 NFHCA Division III Scholars of Distinction on Thursday morning. The St. Mary’s College of Maryland field hockey team had seniors Sophie Carlson (Churchville, Md./C. Milton Wright) and Rachel Lansbury (Annandale, Va./W.T. Woodson) and first-year Jillian Mazingo (Queesnstown, Md./Queen Anne’s County) named Scholars of Distinction.
The Seahawk trio was part of more than 500 student-athletes recognized as Scholars of Distinction. The Scholars of Distinction program recognizes student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the 2021-22 academic year.
Lansbury is being named a Scholar of Distinction for the fourth year in a row. The 5-4 forward is coming off her fourth consecutive selection to the NFHCA National Academic Squad. A psychology major sociology minor with a 3.99 cumulative grade point average, Lansbury picked up the Atlantic East Conference Elite 20 Award for Field Hockey on January 12. On the field, Lansbury contributed three goals and two assists.
Another four-year member of the National Academic Squad, Carlson is earning her third straight Scholar of Distinction recognition. She is a political science major with a 3.93 cumulative GPA.
The 2021 Atlantic East Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Atlantic East honoree, Carlson was named to the NFHCA All-Region IV Second Team after being part of the conference’s stingiest defense that allowed just two goals against league foes. The 5-8 defender/midfielder created havoc for opponents in the midfield, disrupting their play at every turn on the field. She was no stranger on offense either, adding two goals and a team third-best four assists.
Mazingo, who was also named to the National Academic Squad, is a psychology major with a 3.93 cumulative GPA. The 5-6 midfielder/forward saw action in eight games in her first year as a Seahawk.
Marywood University, a fellow Atlantic East institution, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed the most student-athletes on the Scholars of Distinction list this year with nine honorees each.
Since the inception of the Scholar of Distinction program in 2012, St. Mary’s College has had nine Seahawks being named Scholars of Distinction. Lansbury is the first four-year Scholar of Distinction in program history.
View the full list of NFHCA Division III Scholars of Distinction here.
In its inaugural season in the Atlantic East, St. Mary’s College (10-8) posted an undefeated league record of 5-0, clinching the No. 1 seed in the 2021 Atlantic East Conference Championship Tournament. The Seahawks finished as the tournament runners-up, falling 2-1 in double overtime to Cabrini University in the championship game on Saturday, November 6.
Past Seahawk Scholars of Distinction
- Sophie Carlson ’22 – 2019, 2020, 2021
- Kelly Emge ’22 – 2019, 2020
- Shelby Ennis ’19 – 2014
- Maggie Howells ’23 – 2019
- Hayden Kesner ’24 – 2020
- Courtney Mellon ’20 – 2015, 2016
- Rachel Lansbury ’22 – 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
- Jillian Mazingo ’25 – 2021
- Kelly Shuman ’15 – 2012, 2013, 2014