Included among the United States Naval Academy's Class of 2021 were 19 first-class members of the varsity sports program who earned Graduate with Distinction honors.
 
Those who garner Graduate with Distinction laurels finish in the top-10 percent of the graduating class in the Overall Order of Merit, which includes academics, military performance, conduct and physical education standing.  There were 110 members of the Class of 2021 who earned the accolade, including Valedictorian Thomas Johnstone (Los Gatos, Calif.) who was a member of Navy men's track and field program.  
 
This is the sixth year in a row, the ninth time in the last 11 years and 16th time since 2000 in which the No. 1 graduate on the Overall Order of Merit is a varsity sport athlete.
 
Johnstone was one of four varsity athletes to rank among the top-12 graduates in the class.  Matt Gillcrist (Fallbrook, Calif.) and Nicholas Walden (San Diego, Calif.) from the offshore sailing team ranked third and sixth, respectively, and Laura Spratling (Dunwoody, Ga.) from the women's swimming team ranked 12^th.
 
First-Class Varsity Athletes in Navy's Class of 2021 who Earned Graduate with Distinction Honors
Thomas Johnstone, Men's Track and Field
Matt Gillcrist, Offshore Sailing
Nicholas Walden, Offshore Sailing
Laura Spratling, Women's Swimming and Diving
Christian Daniel, Men's Lacrosse
Micah Oh, Men's Swimming and Diving
Bray Zimmerman, Women's Rowing
Evelyn Berecz, Women's Track and Field
Elizabeth Downing, Women's Rowing
Jared Cox, Heavyweight Rowing
Don Poirier, Offshore Sailing
Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan, Women's Soccer
Luke Johnson, Men's Swimming and Diving
Kate Long, Women's Rowing
Andrew Ton, Men's Tennis
Nicole Victory, Women's Lacrosse
Sam Orie, Women's Track and Field
Jared Leins, Baseball
Molly Swiger, Women's Soccer