Tusculum’s Holzapfel, Wingate’s Watson Named Academic All-Americans
BRISTOL, Conn. -- Tusculum College's Simon Holzapfel and Wingate University's Jayce Watson have have been named to the 2008-09 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Men's College Division Track & Field/Cross Country Third Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America® honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA covering all NCAA championship sports.
ESPN The Magazine - winner of the 2006 and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence - is a provocative and innovative sports publication. Full of insight, analysis, impact and wit, the oversized bi-weekly with a circulation of 1.9 million looks ahead to give fans a unique perspective on the world of sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.
Simon Holzapfel
Holzapfel becomes the first male cross country runner in school history to earn this prestigious honor. He joins 12 other Tusculum student-athletes who have earned Academic All-America® recognition, including women's soccer player Nicole Ferris, football tight end Jarrell NeSmith and men's golfer Chase Carroll, who earned Academic All-America® accolades earlier this year.
Holzapfel, a 5-5 sophomore from Nuremberg, Germany, has emerged as the top runner on the Tusculum cross country team. He has a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average, majoring in Sport Management and Sport Science. Holzapfel was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District IV First Team earlier this month.
He had a banner season this year as he posted three individual wins in his seven competitive meets. Holzapfel captured titles at the Tusculum Invitational, Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational and the Camp Bethel Open. His 8,000-meter time of 26:20.05 at the L-R Invitational is a new school record. For his efforts, he was named the South Atlantic Conference Runner of the Week. In fact, he owns three of the top 8K times in school history.
He finished runner-up at the 2008 SAC Championship to earn a spot on the All-Conference First Team. His second place showing is the best-ever by a Pioneer harrier at the league championship. He followed that effort with his ninth place performance at the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championship. He posted a time of 33:17 on the 10K layout to garner All-Region accolades.
Holzapfel is the 2008-09 recipient of the prestigious Duffield Award, which is presented to the Tusculum student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point average. He is also a member of the President's List, Dean's List and Charles Oliver Gray Honors List. He was also named to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll and the Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll. In 2007-08, he was named the Tusculum Academic Freshman of the Year Academic Award honoree.
Jayce Watson
Wingate University senior cross country student-athlete Jayce Watson (Millersport, Ohio) has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® men's cross country/track & field third team (college division), selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). A Mathematics major with a sterling 3.75 GPA, Watson earns ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® honors for the first time in his illustrious career.
Watson is only the second Wingate men's cross country student-athlete to earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® honors. In 2002, Remy Nsengiyumva (Kigali, Rwanda) was selected to the Academic All-America® third team.
"Jayce Watson is a leader on and off the cross country course," Wingate University head cross country coach Dr. Dennis Johnson says. "He is a leader by example and a true competitor in every sense of the word. Jayce Watson is very deserving of this high honor."
Jayce Watson won the 2008 South Atlantic Conference championship meet, earning SAC Runner of the Year honors for the second year in a row. Watson qualified for the NCAA Division II national championship meet three times as an individual. In 2008, he won five races. His top 2008 times include a 26:02 (8K) and a 32:13 (10K).
Watson holds school records in both the 8K and the 10K. He posted a school-record 25:12 8K time in the 2007 pre-national race in Joplin, Mo. (Sept. 15, 2007). In 2006, he posted a school-record 10K time of 31:50 at the national championship meet in Pensacola, Fla. Watson is four-time All-SAC and All-Region performer and a three-time team MVP. He was the 2005 SAC Freshman Runner of the Year.
During the 2007 campaign, Watson won three races (Greensboro Invitational, Erskine Invitational and SAC championship). For his career, the Millersport High School product won 10 races. In addition, he posted eight career second-place finishes and one third-place showing.
A two-time recipient of the SAC Scholar-Athlete Award for men's cross country, Watson graduated with honors at Wingate's recent commencement exercises. In the campus community, he is a member of the Wingate University Singers. Watson has participated in the Up 'til Dawn fund-raiser to help the children of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Since January 1, 2000, Wingate University has produced 33 Academic All-America® selections. Wingate is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000's with its 33 honorees during this millennium.
Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time frame. Wingate's 42 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among schools affiliated with the South Atlantic Conference.
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,129 students, offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, international study, faith development, career discovery and community service.
Wingate offers 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physical education, physician assistant studies, sport administration and the doctor of pharmacy degree.
Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.
2009 ESPN THE MAGAZINE
Academic All America®
Men's Cross Country/Track & Field Team (College
Division)
FIRST TEAM
Matt Gersick, Adams State (Colo.)
Sam Johnson, Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Brian Harvey, Carnegie Mellon
Aaron Braun, Adams State
(Colo.)
Derek Carson, Nebraska Wesleyan
Jordan Henry, Missouri Science & Technology
Michael Barnes, Denison (Ohio)
David McKay, Luther (Iowa)
Todd Wildman, Trinity (Texas)
Henry Reich, Grinnell (Iowa)
Ted McMillan, Augustana (Ill.)
Jon Garrett, Pittsburg State (Kan.)
Phil Bastron, St. Thomas (Minn.)
Mark Husted, Colorado Mines
Eric Buss, St. John's (Minn.)
SECOND TEAM
Patrick Aucoin, Spring Hill (Ala.)
Christopher Clark, California (Pa.)
Kevin Jillson, Worchester Tech (Mass.)
Thomas Adam, Ohio Northern
Kirby Dunn, Wayland Baptist (Texas)
Cody Stelzer, Whitworth (Wash.)
Joe Drexler-Dreis, Xavier (La.)
Jesse Schneider, New York Univ.
Nathaniel Tussey, Moravian (Pa.)
Erik Van Kampen, Calvin (Mich.)
Brad Zarembski, Defiance (Ohio)
Tony Kilburg, Wisconsin-Platteville
Tyler Kreitz, Gettysburg
Brad Peterson, Wisconsin-La Crosse
Max Petersen, Augustana (Ill.)
THIRD TEAM
Jarrett Arredondo, Worchester Tech (Mass.)
Steve Dry, Emory
Greg Kuczynski, Rowan (N.J.)
Josh Streeter, Adams State (Colo.)
Garrett Harms, Rensselaer Tech (N.Y.)
Bobby Torphy, Muhlenberg (Pa.)
Justin German, Mary Washington
Taylor Ferda, Bethel (Minn.)
R.J. Cowan, Texas-Tyler
Jayce Watson, Wingate
Simon Holzapfel, Tusculum
Paul Wagner, East Stroudsburg (Pa.)
Frank Iwanicki, Rutgers-Camden (N.J.)
Michael McCampbell, Southwest Baptist
Ken Gilkerson, Michigan Tech
Academic All-America® of the Year: Aaron Braun, Adams State