UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa – The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday that Penn State athlete Alissa Bonsall of the women's gymnastics teams and Mark Porter of the men's track & field team have been selected as recipients of the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship.
Recipients of this award receive a $7,500-dollar scholarship for post graduate studies. To be eligible for this award a nominee must be in their final season of competition, have a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher, is a model example of leadership and integrity, recommended by two of their professors, and plan to enroll in a graduate degree program after graduation.
Bonsall was a consistent figure at the top of the leaderboards for the Nittany Lions this season. A Second Team All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten honoree, she claimed four event victories in 2021. In addition to setting a career-high of 9.875 on floor this season, Bonsall placed second at the NCAA Morgantown Regional with a career-high 9.950 on bars to close out her season. She was honored as an Academic All-Big Ten honoree for the third time in her career following the season. Bonsall announced her intent to return to Penn State for the 2022 season earlier this year.
Porter continued a strong run of success for Penn State in the men's javelin, winning Penn State's fourth conference championship in the event in the past seven seasons. He recorded the top javelin throw in both the Big Ten and Mid-Atlantic Region this season with his 73.94m toss at the Maryland B1G Invite in March. It ranks as the second-best throw in Penn State history. Porter became a Second Team All-American for the second time in his career with his performance at the NCAA Championships earlier this month. Like Bonsall, Porter claimed his third career Academic All-Big Ten honor at the conclusion of the season.