With a composite average of 3.555, the NAIA All-Academic team is loaded to the brim with wrestlers that not only excelled in the classroom, but on the mat as well.
All 41 members of the team were national qualifiers, with 18 wrestlers on the All-Academic team earning All-American honors on the mat.
Dana College, which won the 2006 NAIA National Championship put seven on the All-Academic Team, as did Campbellsville, a second-year program in Kentucky coached by Franky James.
Lindenwood sophomore Jacob Dieffenbach was the only national champion on this list. The sophomore Business major won the NAIA title at 165 pounds and sports a 3.1 GPA.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University sophomore Hayden Harrison had the best overall GPA, earning a 4.0 mark while finishing second at 157 pounds.
The All-Academic Team was represented by 14 programs, most of which had multiple selections on the team.
Along with Dana and Campbellsville, Southern Oregon placed five on the All-Academic Team led by James Mannenbach's 3.82 GPA. Embry-Riddle had four on the team, led by Harrison's perfect average while Lindenwood and William Penn had three apiece.
Team-wise, Jamestown College sported the best overall team GPA with a 3.199, edging Dana College, which came in with a 3.175 cumulative team average.
Five of the seven Dana College wrestlers were All-Americans –Terrance Almond, Burke Barnes, Scott Taylor, Trent Leichleiter, and Marshall Marquardt.
Southern Oregon, Campbellsville and Cumberland University rounded out the top five.
"We're seeing an abundance of great wrestlers that are also great students," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "It's prevalent in all levels of wrestling."
"There's something to be said about programs that finish in the top five in both the team standings at the national tournament and the All-Academic standings at the end of the season."
The team was comprised of 11 seniors, seven juniors, 17 sophomores and seven freshmen.
Four wrestlers carried over a 3.8 GPA – Harrison, Montana State-Northern's Chad Seeley (3.91), Campbellsville's Kyle Norred (3.82) and Mannenbach (3.82).
"With the growth at the NAIA level, with new programs being added seemingly each year, we fully expect more teams to be included in the All-Academic team in the future," said NWCA President Ron Beaschler.
To qualify for selection, wrestlers must A) have a 3.2 GPA and been an NAIA qualifier or won 60 percent of his total schedule and must have competed in 60 percent of team schedule or B) have a 3.0 and earned NAIA All-American honors.
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