Former Lakeland High School standout Sarah Bowyer has been the epitome of a student-athlete at college.

Bowyer, who was the starting catcher for North Carolina Wesleyan College, has enjoyed a solid four years of college. She recently completed her senior season, and as the starting catcher, she helped the team to a 21-15 record. She finished the season with 22 hits, a double, a triple and seven RBIs. She also had 161 put outs.

The Suffolk native was happy with her season.

“I just wanted to enjoy my last year,” she said. “I wanted to absorb every pitch, every pick off, and every hit. I didn’t care too much about my stats. I just wanted to play the game I grow up loving.”

One of the main reasons she chose NCWC was for academics to go along with a chance to play. She was able to earn a full scholarship academically. Recently, she graduated summa cum laude and with honors with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a grade point average of 3.95.

Because of her outstanding dedication to being a student-athlete, she was awarded the Outstanding Student Athlete Scholar Award to go along with the Criminal Justice Outstanding Student Award. For the last three years, she was named to the All-Conference academic team.

All the accolades Bowyer earned both on and off the field were through hard work and being able to maintain a balance. It has always been in her to be successful in her academics.

“It was pretty demanding at times, especially during my senior year with all the things I had to get done,” she said. “I had to master time management skills and learn to prioritize my work, softball, all the clubs I was in and my personal life. Overall, I felt accomplished. Not only did I earn an outstanding education, but I was lucky to play one of the best sports at the highest level.”

At Lakeland, she graduated fourth in her class with a 4.28 GPA. As a junior and sophomore, she made the All-District teams.