Esposito, Bertin and Jones named to NWCA All-Academic Team; Brown Univ. is the top ranked team
Pat Tocci/NWCA
NCAA champion Ryan Bertin is a 4-time All-Academic Selection
(Manheim, PA) The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) is pleased to release its 2005 NWCA Division I All-Academic wrestling teams. Each year the NWCA honors its Academic Top Thirty Division I wrestling teams, as well as an individual All-Academic Team.
Brown University captured honors as being the top ranked academic wrestling team with a team GPA 3.2762. This is the first time that Brown was honored with this achievement. The Bears were closely followed by Princeton University with a 3.2125 followed by Stanford University (3.1758), Duquesne University (3.1522) and Central Michigan (3.1267).
Rounding out the top ten teams in order were: Columbia University, Sacred Heart University, George Mason University, West Virginia University and Cornell University. Cornell University was the lone team to finish in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships with a fourth place finish and top ten academically.
Team rankings are selected by taking the average GPA of each team’s starting ten wrestlers along with two backups that wrestled in at least one varsity match. The average grade point average of the top-30 teams was 3.037.
The Division I All-Academic individual team was headlined by NCAA Champions Zach Esposito of Oklahoma State University, Ryan Bertin of Michigan and Greg Jones of West Virginia University. All three wrestlers also earned All-Academic honors in 2004. Bertin is a four-time All-Academic award winner while achieving All-American honors on the wrestling mat four times. NCAA Runner-ups Ben Askren of Missouri and Kyle Ott of Illinois have also been named to the All-Academic team for the second consecutive year.
The University of Michigan and Central Michigan University tied for the most members on the All-Academic team with four each. This year’s All-Academic team was composed of wrestlers from 35 universities, 55 NCAA qualifiers, and 20 All-Americans. The average GPA of the team was a 3.4165.
The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) commands the absolute belief that intercollegiate athletics is an integral part of the educational mission. Wrestling has established a clear and undeniable track record of developing student-athletes with a high degree of integrity, discipline, and perseverance
“On behalf of the NWCA Board of Directors I would like to congratulate the student-athletes and coaches who are being honored with 2005 NWCA All-Academic recognition. This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication that the athletes have exhibited in the wrestling room and classroom,” commented NWCA President Ron Beaschler.
2005 NWCA Division I All-Academic Team
School/Name/Year /G.P.A/Major Accomplishment
American – Dan Waters, SR 3.33 International Affairs 8th NCAA Championships
Brown – Doran Heist, JR 4 Chemistry 6th EIWA Championships
Campbell – Lantz Nixon, SR 3.3 Trust Management All Conference
Central Michigan – Mark DiSalvo, SR 3.79 Sport Studies 8th NCAA Championships
Central Michigan – Wynn Michalak, SO 3.66 Physical Education 6th NCAA Championships
Central Michigan – Jason Borrelli, SR 3.56 General Management MAC Champion
Central Michigan – William Stouffer, Sr 3.01 Physical Education 8th NCAA Championships
Columbia – Jeffrey Sato, JR 3.23 Biology 3rd EIWA Championships
Cornell – Michael Mormile, JR 3.34 Applied Economics and Management 2nd EIWA Championships
Cornell – Joseph Mazzurco, JR 3.17 Applied Economics and Management 5th NCAA Championships
CSUF – Clint Walbeck, SR 3.31 Kinesiology Western Regional Champion
Drexel – Ryan Hluschak, SO 3.77 Business Administration 4th CAA Championships
Duke – Levi Craig, JR 3.493 History 29-13 season record
Duke – Steven Smith, SR 3.485 Public Policy 3rd ACC Championships
Duquesne – Mark Himes, RSJR 3.9208 Economics, Finance Investment Management East Regional Champion
Duquesne – Jared Ricotta, SO 3.4717 Health Management East Regional Champion
Duquesne – Marc Allemanq, SR 3.3877 Secondary Education East Regional Champion
Gardner-Webb – Joshua Pniewski,JR 3.56 Business Administration East Regional Champion
George Mason – David Emison, SO 3.27 Undeclared 27-11 season record
Hofstra – Paul Siemon, SR 3.25 Sociology CAA Champion
Indiana – Michael Simpson, Grad 3.9 MS Sports Admin NCAA Qualifier
Indiana – Max Dean, SO 3.82 Business Management NCAA Qualifier
Lehigh – Brian Lamay, SR 3.41 4th EIWA Championships
Lehigh – Travis Frick, JR 3.22 Industrial Engineering 3rd EIWA Championships
Lehigh – Jonathan Trenge, SR 3.01 Environmental Science 3rd NCAA Championships
Lock Haven – Carlos Ponce, JR 3.234 Physical Education 3rd EWL Championships
Michigan State – Darren McKnight, JR 3.34 Accounting 4th Big Ten Championships
Millersville – Mark Knock, SR 3.44 Art Education NCAA Qualifier
Millersville – Curtis Yeager,SR 3.42 Occ Safety & Environmental Health 27-8 season record
Northwestern – Matthew Delguyd, JR 3.44 Economics Big Ten Champion
Oklahoma State – Kevin Ward, JR 3.327 Sociology Big 12 Champion
Oklahoma State – Daniel Frishkorn, RSFR 3.293 Biology 4th NCAA Championships
Oklahoma State – Zack Esposito, JR 3.033 Social Studies NCAA Champion
Sacred Heart – Kyle McCarthy, JR 3.44 Business 2nd CAA Championships
Sacred Heart – Sherwood Fendryk, SO 3.267 Undeclared 2nd CAA Championships
Slippery Rock – Charlie Pienaar, SO 3.435 Health and PE East Regional Champion
Slippery Rock – Cory Mancuso,SO 3.415 Health and PE East Regional Champion
Slippery Rock – Garry Price,SO 3.333 Art East Regional Champion
Stanford – Joshua A. Zupancic, SO 3.638 Undeclared 22-9 season record
Stanford – Imad M. Kharbush, JR 3.373 Management Science and Engineering NCAA Qualifier
Stanford -Matthew J. Gentry,SR 3.311 Biology NCAA Qualifier
The Citadel – William Clifton,Grad 4 MBA NCAA Qualifier
The Citadel – Curtis McClester, SR 3.312 Political Science NCAA Qualifier
United States Millitary Academy -Todd Wisman, JR 3.531 Engineering 4th EIWA Championships
Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln – Matt Murray, SR 3.796 Math Education NCAA Qualifier
Univ. of Northern Iowa – Nicholas Baima, SO 3.47 Philosophy/Humanities NCAA Qualifier
Univ. of Northern Iowa – Eric Hauan, SR 3.05 Communication 6th NCAA Championships
Univ. of Illinois – Alex Tirapelle, JR 3.72 Accountancy Big Ten Champion
Univ. of Illinois – Kyle Ott, JR 3.5 Pre-Med 2nd NCAA Championships
Univ. of Illinois – Mark Jayne, SR 3.24 Kinesiology 7th NCAA Championships
Univ. of Michigan – Eric Tannenbaum, RSFR 3.74 Brain Behavior & Cognitive Science 4th NCAA Championships
Univ. of Michigan – Ryan Bertin, SR 3.51 Business Administration NCAA Champion
Univ. of Michigan – Ryan Churella, RSJR 3.2 Sport Management 4th NCAA Championships
Univ. of Michigan – Joshua Churella, RSFR 3.053 Undeclared 8th NCAA Championships
Univ. of Minnesota – Charles Schlatter, RSFR 3.267 Pre-Med NCAA Qualifier
Univ. of Missouri – Brad Cieleski, Grad 3.5 Graduate 2nd Big 12 Championships
Univ. of Missouri – Benjamin Askren, JR 3.23 Geography 2nd NCAA Championships
Univ. of Oklahoma – Justin Dyer, SR 3.87 Political Science NCAA Qualifier
Univ. of Oklahoma – Sam Hazewinkel, SO 3.34 Communications 3rd NCAA Championships
Univ. of Pennsylvania – Doug McGraw, SR 3.22 Biological Basis of Behavior NCAA Qualifier
Univ. of Pennsylvania – Matthew Feast, SR 3.16 Finance 6th NCAA Championships
Virginia Tech – Michael Faust, RSJR 3.48 Business Management ACC Champion
West Virginia – Greg Jones, SR 3.05 Sport Psychology NCAA Champion
West Virginia – Matt Lebe, JR 3.49 Physical Education 7th NCAA Championships
NWCA All-Academic Top 30 Teams
Rank/School/Name/Team GPA
1 Brown University 3.2762
2 Princeton Univerity 3.2125
3 Stanford University 3.1758
4 Duquesne University 3.1522
5 Central Michigan University 3.1267
6 Columbia University 3.1069
7 Sacred Heart University 3.1055
8 George Mason University 3.0875
9 West Virginia University 3.075
10 Cornell University 3.0742
11 University of Michigan 3.0523
12 University of Maryland 3.0498
13 Slipperry Rock University 3.0488
14 Oklahoma State University 3.026
15 Northwestern University 3.0243
16 Lock Haven University of PA 3.0206
17 University Of Northern Iowa 3.0175
18 Harvard University 2.9917
18 Cleveland State University 2.9917
20 Drexel University 2.9742
21 Penn State University 2.965
22 University of Virginia 2.9647
23 University of Missouri 2.9634
24 University of Oklahoma 2.9542
24 Illinois University 2.9542
26 Gardner Webb University 2.9517
27 Indiana University 2.9514
28 Millersville University of PA 2.945
29 University of Pennsylvania 2.9342
30 Rider University 2.926
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