The National Wrestling Coaches Association has announced its annual Division I All-Academic Top 30 and Individual All-Academic wrestling teams for the 2007-08 season.
Duke University finds itself at the head of the class for the second straight year, but the Blue Devils have company. American University tied Duke for the top team GPA with a 3.335.
For teams to be eligible for consideration, teams comprise 12 student athletes, including the 10 wrestlers that were the entries in the NCAA tournament conference qualifier. If teams had less than 10 entries for their respective qualifier, they may fill those spots with wrestlers that competed in at least one varsity dual during the season.
Individually, wrestlers must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, been an NCAA qualifier or won 60 percent of his total schedule – and must have competed in at least 60 percent of said schedule. The other way to qualify for the All-Academic team is have a 3.0 cumulative and been an NCAA All-American.
Last season, 57 wrestlers were named to the All-Academic team. This year, that number increased 35 percent to 88 total wrestlers.
The 2007-08 All-Academic team was highlighted by 27 Division I All-Americans and three national champions – Brent Metcalf of Iowa (149), Jordan Leen of Cornell (157) and Mike Pucillo of Ohio State (184).
Four other finalists also made the squad: Eric Tannenbaum (165) and Steve Luke (174) of Michigan, Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan (197) and J.D. Bergman of Ohio State (285).
Five All-Americans were named to the All-Academic team at 197 pounds, the most of any weight single class. Nine of the 10 weights had at least two All-Americans represented on the All-Academic team.
"We're seeing more teams and more coaches aware on how important being recognized for academics can be," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "We had mountains of data to look through and reference while compiling this information. Our staff was impressed with not only the volume of nominations, but the number of new programs who were submitting All-Academic recommendations."
"The All-Academic Team represents more than just fine work in the classroom, because the impact of the Academic Progress Report is more important to a sport like wrestling now more than every," said Moyer. "These programs are making the grade."
"This is one important indicator to the academic integrity in our sport," added Moyer. "That said, we can't turn a blind-eye to the NCAA's yardstick (APR) for measuring academic integrity."
Both Duke and American had four wrestlers on the All-Academic Team. Leading the way for the Eagles were All-Americans Mike Cannon and Josh Glenn and qualifier Chris Stout.
Duke, which didn't have an NCAA qualifier, was led by Addison Nuding's 3.67 in International Comparative Studies.
Team wise, Liberty followed in third with a 3.286. The Flames just finished their second season after being re-instated and qualified six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships. Four of them were on the All-Academic Team, led by Patrick Walker's 3.93 in Religion and Christian Smith's 3.83 in the MBA program.
Stanford was fourth, with a 3.269. Two of the three Cardinal honorees were All-Americans with stellar GPA's. Tanner Gardner, a three-time All-American, sported a 4.0 in sociology, while Josh Zupancic notched a 3.71 in American Studies.
Princeton, the highest Ivy League program on the list, didn't have anyone on the individual list, but overall was represented with a team GPA of 3.209.
Two Ivy League schools, two southern schools and a MAC program rounded out the Top 10.
Gardner-Webb was sixth nationally with a 3.175. The Bulldogs were followed by Brown (3.156), Columbia (3.114), Campbell (3.109) and Northern Illinois (3.100).
"We like the cross-section of programs represented in the Top 30," said NWCA President Ron Mirikitani. "It's not just the high profile private schools dominating the list, we have many state schools represented across the list as well as our traditional service academies and Ivies, but it's a good to see so many types of schools represented."
Individually, Gardner and Edinboro's Jarrod King had the highest GPA of the 86 honorees, both reporting 4.0's. King, a transfer from Oklahoma, is majoring in Health & Physical Education with an emphasis on Human Performance.
Rounding out the top five are Lehigh's Manuel Schubert (3.98, Biology), Eastern Michigan's Cory Mancuso (3.97, PE), and Missouri's Tyler McCormick (3.95, Business Administration).
In all, 48 schools had at least one wrestler represented on the All-Academic Team, over half of all participating schools in NCAA Division I.
Eleven schools had three or more All-Academic Selections. American, Duke, Iowa and Liberty each had four representatives, while Cal State-Bakersfield, Central Michigan, Michigan, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion and Stanford had three apiece.
Overall, 26 teams had two or more wrestlers on the All-Academic Team.
The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling.
The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition.
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