INDIANAPOLIS---Sarah Dance, a Truman State University swimmer who plans to pursue a medical degree in postgraduate studies, and Matthew Gunn, a University of Arkansas runner who plans to earn a law degree, have been named the 2005 NCAA Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship award recipients.

Dance and Gunn, who were selected from among six finalists (three men, three women), will each receive a $21,500 scholarship from the NCAA. They have the option of renewing the scholarship in year two of their studies if they are in excellent academic standing.

Dance, a resident of Lincoln, Nebraska, will graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science with a minor in biology in May. She plans to become a physician after completing her postgraduate studies.

She was a member of three national championship teams at Truman State. The 21-time all-American and two-time first-team Verizon Academic All-America honoree served as a volunteer in the emergency room at Saint Elizabeth�s Hospital and was a member of the Alpha Sigma Gamma service sorority.

Gunn will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations with minors in history and European studies and has been accepted into Columbia University School of Law Class of 2008.

Gunn, a resident of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was a member of the 2002, 2003 and 2004 national champion Razorback track and field teams. Gunn has served as the undergraduate chair of the International Law Society at Arkansas, as well as the speaker for the Arkansas Athletic Outreach Champions of Character Program.

The Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship Program was established in 1988 to recognize the contributions of the former NCAA executive director, Walter Byers, and was developed to encourage excellence in academic performance by student-athletes. A Byers Scholar is recognized as an individual who has combined the best elements of mind and body to achieve national distinction for his or her achievements, and who promises to be a future leader in his or her chosen field.

Award recipients are required to have at least a 3.5 grade-point average (4.0 scale), show evidence of superior character and leadership and demonstrate that participation in athletics has been a positive influence on personal and intellectual development, among other notable qualifications.

Last year, Corrin Drakulich, a track & field student-athlete at the University of Georgia, and Joaquin Zalacain, a tennis student-athlete at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, were named the 2004 Walter Byers Scholars.