University of Georgia graduate student-athletes Caitlin Lyons (equestrian) and Bradley Dunham (swimming and diving) were named institutional winners of the Southeastern Conference Brad Davis Community Service Award, as announced by the league office Thursday morning.
Lyons and Dunham will each receive a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship from the SEC and will be nominees for the Male and Female Brad Davis Community Service Leaders of the Year to be announced later in May.
The SEC Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship is named for former Associate Commissioner Brad Davis. Davis succumbed to cancer on March 2, 2006. He had been a member of the SEC staff since 1988, first serving as an assistant commissioner until 1994 when he was promoted to associate commissioner.
Lyons, a Mead, Washington product, graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.96 GPA to earn a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and is set to complete a bachelor’s in French this May. She is also currently enrolled in the Master of Natural Resources program. She is an equestrian representative for the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was inducted into the Student-Athlete Leadership Academy in 2020.
She is a three-time recipient of the University of Georgia Presidential Scholar Honors and has been named to the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll every semester for four years. She is a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree and was placed on the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA) All-Academic First team twice.
Her accomplishments in the ring include being named the SEC Reining Rider of the Year in 2022 when she also received All-SEC recognition. She was selected to the NCEA All-America Reining Second Team and was later named the Most Valuable Player in Reining for UGA that season.
Dunham, a Hoschton native, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and is also a current enrollee in the Natural Resources master’s program. This season, he concluded his Georgia career with All-America citations in five events, including his first individual podium finish in the 200-yard backstroke, after previously earning SEC medals in the 200y backstroke and 100y backstroke. At the NCAA Championships, he set new school records in the 200y backstroke and 400y freestyle relay, finishing his time in Athens with top-10 program times in nine events.
Dunham currently serves as the co-president of the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and is a member of the Student-Athlete Leadership Academy. He has been named to the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll in each of his six seasons and was named to the 2023 College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-America First Team. He was also named to the SEC Community Service Team for the 2022-23 season.