Annville, PA – Eight Falcons were honored by the Middle Atlantic Conference on Thursday in their release of the inaugural Academic All-Conference Teams for the winter of 2013-14. The award is in its first year of existence for the MAC and seeks to recognize the top student-athletes in each sport across a combination of the Commonwealth and Freedom divisions.
Recipients of the award must carry at least a 3.2 cumulative grade point average (GPA) and must be top performers in their respective sports. Unlike the conference's Academic Honor Roll,
which recognizes all student-athletes with at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, the Academic All-Conference teams are voted upon by sports information directors from across all member schools.
As such, the Academic All-Conference Teams give special attention to student-athletes that have most impressively combined athletic proficiency and outstanding classroom performance. Each team is also, like the All-America Academic program, limited in number to reflect the sport's customary field.
The first season of the award was the Fall of 2013,
when 11 Messiah student-athletes were honored.
The Falcons' winter recipients are listed below, with a small snapshot of their career achievements. (GPA and major listed in parentheses.)
Men's Basketball (Five members)Brad Bolen (3.62, Accounting) – Two-time All-Commonwealth; Second Team All-NABC this season; second in conference in scoring; sits No. 7 all-time for Messiah with 1,368 points.
David Fernandez (3.30, Business Administration) – Two-time All-Commonwealth; second-leading scorer for Falcons; sits No. 20 all-time for Messiah with 1,056 points.
Women's Basketball (Five members)Taylor Miller (3.82, Education Cert. Grades PreK-4) – Two-Time All-Commonwealth; sits. No. 11 all-time for Messiah with 1,172 points.
Men's Swimming (Ten members)Daniel Wingert (3.95, Molecular Biology) – Earned two Second Team All-MAC finishes (100 Breaststroke, 200 Breaststroke) and three Second Team All-MAC Relays (200 Medley, 400 Medley, 400 Free) this season.
Men's Track & Field (Ten members)Trevor Stutzman (3.68, Nutrition and Dietetics) – NCAA All-American in Shot Put; MAC Champion in Shot Put.
Wrestling (Eight members*)Stephen Cannon (3.32, Biochemistry) – NCAA Qualifier at 165 lb.; Mideast Regional and MAC Runner-up.
Kaleb Loht (3.40, Health & Physical Education: K-12) – NCAA Division III National Champion at 141 lb.; Mideast Regional Champion; Undefeated (42-0) against Division III opponents this season.
Lucas Malmberg (3.26, Christian Ministries) – NCAA Division III Runner-up at 125 lb.; Mideast Regional Champion; MAC Champion.
*Expanded from six to eight because of ties in votingÂ
