Duncan Earns Woodruff and Peace Scholarships

MACON, Ga. – Mercer track and field's Tessola Duncan has earned two major scholarships to attend the Mercer School of Law starting fall 2021.

The George W. Woodruff Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship awarded to four members of each entering class. This scholarship covers tuition and a stipend for books and living expenses.

"Tessola Duncan wowed our panel during the highly competitive Woodruff Scholarship interview process at Mercer Law School with her personality, intelligence and preparedness for law school," Cathy Cox said. "I'm confident she will put the discipline of a student-athlete to work in her graduate studies here, and succeed at Mercer Law just as she has as a Mercer undergraduate. We are very excited about having her in the Class of 2024!"

Along with receiving the George W. Woodruff Scholarship, Duncan also received the Rush and Judy Peace Graduate Scholarship. Dr. Rush Peace and Mrs. Judy Peace established this fund to provide scholarships for student-athletes who, after graduating, enroll in graduate or professional school in the Walter F. George School of Law or the Mercer University School of Medicine.

"I have truly enjoyed my time as a Mercer undergraduate student and I am even more excited to begin my journey as a double Bear at Mercer Law School," stated Duncan. "Being awarded the Woodruff Scholarship and the Rush and Judy Peace Graduate Scholarship is an amazing blessing. This is a dream come true for me and I cannot wait to begin my law school career knowing I will be debt-free."

Duncan came to Mercer in 2018 and immediately made an impact on the track. She helped set a then-school record in the 4x400-meter relay the 2018 SoCon Championships, as the Bears finished fourth, clocking in at 3:52.32. Duncan also finished eighth at the league championships in the 400-meter dash, running the event in 57.71 seconds. She received SoCon All-Freshman Team honors for her performance in the 200-meter dash, which she ran in 24.67 seconds.

At the 2019 SoCon Championships, Duncan and the 4x400-meter relay team topped its 2018 time with a gold medal and program record of 3:47.37. Duncan also competed as a member of the 4x100-meter relay squad, which also earned the top spot on the podium with a program record of 45.71 seconds. In addition to relay records, Duncan is featured four times in Mercer's record books as an individual. She has three of the top ten times in the 200-meter dash, including the aforementioned fifth-best time of 24.67 seconds. Her 57.71 second showing in the 400-meter dash at the 2018 Southern Conference Championships ranks eighth in Mercer history.

Academically, Duncan is a three-time SoCon Academic Honor Roll recipient and also earned a spot on the Spring 2020 Academic All-SoCon squad. Additionally, Duncan has spent time working in the Athletic Compliance office as well as the Mercer Athletic Foundation office.

"Tessola truly represents what it means to be a Mercer Bear," remarked Senior Associate AD Brian Gerrity. She is dynamic, well-rounded and has been very involved with the Athletic Foundation over the course of her time at Mercer. It does not come as a shock to me that Tessola earned the Woodruff and Peace Scholarships for Mercer Law. I can't wait to watch her career unfold."

Check out the feature from Sept. 2019 on Tessola that the Mercer Athletic Fundation created.

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Players Mentioned

Tessola Duncan

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