Three Lions earn Academic All-Conference honors

MARS HILL, N.C. – Mars Hill's Vitor Goncalves, Elijah Sears and Matthew Walker each earned Bluegrass Mountain Conference Academic All-Conference honors, as announced by the league Friday morning.

Goncalves, a junior, holds a 3.63 GPA in Business Administration.

Goncalves won the 50 Yard Freestyle and was part of the winning quartet in the 200 yard freestyle and 200 yard medley relays in the team's October 28 wins over Union and Urbana. Along with Erwin Ortiz, Angel Regalado and fellow Academic All-Conference honoree, Matthew Walker, Goncalves was a member of the Lions' record-setting 800 yard freestyle team at the Fall Frenzy on November 17. The quartet swam a time of 6:53.89. In the bonus final of the conference championships, Goncalves won the 50 yard freestyle event.

Sears, a junior, carries a 3.68 GPA in Computer Science.

The Charlotte, North Carolina native won the 100 yard breaststroke at the Lindsey Wilson Fall Frenzy and against King and Lindsey Wilson in the first two meets of the season and later in the season against Milligan on Senior Day. He also picked up a 200 yard breaststroke victory at the Lindsey Wilson Fall Frenzy and in the sweep against Emory & Henry and King.

Walker, a senior, boasts a 3.9 GPA in Criminal Justice.

Walker picked up victories in the 200 and 500 yard freestyles, swimming times of 1:52.43 and 5:07.72, respectively on Senior Day on January 27^th. He was also a member of the winning 200 yard medley and 800 yard freestyle relay teams.