Top efforts on the water and on the beach are paying dividends for Mount Maunganui lifesavers in the classroom, with three students among this year's Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship recipients.

Bradley Wiley is a new scholar in 2015 while fellow Mount clubbies Sam Shergold and Karina Radley are returning scholars.

Mount Maunganui's Sam Shergold (front left) has been awarded a University of Waikato Hillary Scholarship for 2015. Photo: Michael Tweedle/ISA.

The trio are all coached by Mount Maunganui Lifeguard Service coach and SLNZ life member John Bryant.

Established in 2005, the Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship provides recipients with full course fees while studying at the University of Waikato, comprehensive support for their academic, sporting and/or arts activities and additional support in leadership and personal development.

Wiley is aiming to become a Bachelor of Management Studies, while Radley is studying Science Technology, majoring in Animal Behaviour and Shergold is studying Business Management, majoring in Finance.

At January's SLNZ Eastern Region Championships, both Radley and Wiley produced impressive results – Wiley winning the ski relay alongside Charlie Haynes and Sam Roy, while Radley was fourth in the open women's ski, fifth in the open women's ski relay, and seventh in the open women's double ski.

In the 2014 edition of the Mount Monster, Shergold finished third behind winner Max Beattie and Cory Taylor in the open division.

The former Tauranga Boys' College student was last year named Sportsman of the Year at the prestigious 2014 Wallace Corporation University Blues Awards after representing New Zealand in Nicaragua at the ISA World Championships for paddleboarding last May.

Competing in the 18-kilometre prone-paddleboard race, Shergold finished second in a sprint up the beach.