Wrestling: Olivet earns academic honors from NWCA
At a banquet prior to the start of the 2015 NCAA Division III National Wrestling Championships, the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) presented its annual academic awards.
OLIVET, Mich. – At a banquet prior to the start of the 2015 NCAA Division III National Wrestling Championships, the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) presented its annual academic awards. Olivet College narrowly missed winning the National Academic Championship for a third straight season, with King's (Pa.) College edging the Comets by .01 at 3.59 to 3.58. Overall, Olivet has now placed in top five for the 11th time since the inception of the award in 1998.
To determine the GPA, a coach submits the average cumulative GPA for 10 wrestlers on his squad. Six of the 10 wrestlers must have competed at the NCAA Regional qualifying tournament and the remaining wrestlers must have participated in at least half of the team's scheduled competitions during the season.
The 10 members of the Comets' Scholar All-American team were senior Nick Allen, freshman Jared Brickley, freshman Ryan Clark, senior Matt Darling, senior Dan Fleet, senior Anthony Giordano, sophomore Rodney Harvey, sophomore Kevin Papak, sophomore Ross Pennock and senior Kyle Witgen.
TOP FIVE TEAMS
- King's (Pa.) College – 3.59 GPA
- OLIVET – 3.58 GPA
- University of Wis.-Stevens Point – 3.54 GPA
- Alma College – 3.52 GPA
- Wabash (Ind.) College – 3.51 GPA
In addition, three wrestlers – Allen, Harvey and Witgen – earned Individual Scholar All-American honors from the NWCA. Allen earned the honor for a third straight year, Witgen for a second straight year and Harvey for the first time.
To be eligible for this honor, the student-athlete must have a 3.20 or higher GPA and meet one of three criteria: qualify for the NCAA Championships, place in top six at the NCAA qualifier, or win more than 66 percent of matches and wrestle in 50 percent of scheduled dates.