Olivet College’s Vanderhyde earns first-team Academic All-America® honors

OLIVET, Mich. -- Olivet College senior wrestler Kyle Vanderhyde (Sparta) has earned 2009ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® At-Large College Division first-team honors, as selected by College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He was selected for this honor after being named to the 2009 CoSIDA Academic All-District IV first-team. The men's at-large team recognizes athletes who compete in the sports of fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, tennis, water polo and wrestling.

A mathematics education major, Vanderhyde has a 3.85 grade point average (GPA), while posting a 39-7 record during the 2008-09 season. Three of his seven losses came against NCAA Division I competition, and 29 of his wins by major decision or better. Vanderhyde won the 174-pound championship at the Elmhurst, Ohio Northern and Wheaton Invitationals. In addition, he was the only NCAA Division III wrestler to place at the Midlands Tournament, and had a 4-0 record at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals.

Vanderhyde finished an outstanding career on the wrestling mat, for which he had a 110-20 record. Vanderhyde was a two-time NCAA All-American with a second-place finish in 2007 and fourth-place finish in 2008. He was also named to the NWCA All-Academic Team three times.

Vanderhyde is the second Olivet student-athlete this spring and only the fourth in school history to earn first-team Academic All-America® honors. The others were Travis Sleight in 2005, Dustin Meisner in 2007 and 2008, and Anna Braner in 2009.

Vanderhyde is the son of Mark and Pat Vanderhyde.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America® honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

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