October 30, 2009

Ten earn CoSIDA Academic All-District

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Ten Grove City College players recently earned Academic All-District honors from ESPN The Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) through voting by the region's sports information directors.

Four members of the men's soccer team earned All-District recognition. Junior forward Chuck Witt (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern) is a First Team All-District honoree. He now advances to the national Academic All-America ballot.

Sophomore forward Brian Eckenhoff (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) is a Second Team selection. Junior midfielder Austin Bernal (Tucson, Ariz./Pusch Ridge Christian) and senior midfielder Joel Metz (Kittanning, Pa./Kittanning) both landed on the Third Team.

On the women's side, junior midfielder Emily Ostlund (Minnetonka, Minn./Hopkins) and senior defender Lauren Woodring (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) both earned Second Team honors.

Senior goalkeeper Bethany Preston (Elma, N.Y./Iroquois), senior midfielder Elise Bender (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac), senior defender Hannah Yang (Davis, Calif./Davis) and senior forward Michelle Peck (Abingdon, Md./Bel Air) all received Third Team recognition.

Witt is in his third year as a starter for the Wolverines. He is second on the team with three goals and seven total points. Witt has started 16 matches for Grove City (8-8-1). He earned Second Team Academic All-District as a sophomore.

Witt owns a 3.94 grade-point average as a mechanical engineering major. He has been named to the Dean's List and the Presidents' Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll. Witt is also involved with Grove City's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and has been inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa honorary.

Eckenhoff is in his first year as a regular for the Wolverines, having appeared in all 17 matches. He has made five starts and has scored one goal in 2009. Eckenhoff shares the team lead with two assists.

He has a 4.00 GPA while majoring in business management. Eckenhoff is a Dean's List student and has achieved PAC Academic Honor Roll distinction.

Like Eckenhoff, Austin Bernal is in his first year as a regular for the Wolverines. He has played in all 17 matches, starting six. Bernal is third on the team with two goals. An entrepreneurship/Spanish major, Bernal has earned a 3.68 GPA. He is a Dean's List student and has been named to the PAC's Academic Honor Roll.

Metz is a three-year letterman and two-year starter for Grove City. He has appeared in 16 matches and has made 12 starts in 2009. A team co-captain, Metz has achieved a 3.75 GPA while majoring in mechanical engineering. Metz is a Dean's List student and has been named to the conference's Academic Honor Roll.

Metz is also involved in SAAC and has been inducted into the Roundtable men's honorary.

Ostlund is earning Second Team Academic All-District for the second straight season. She is a three-year starter for Grove City and is tied for the team lead with six assists in 15 matches this year. Her seven goals and 20 points rank second on the team. For her career she now has 29 goals and is a two-time All-PAC selection.

Oslund has achieved a 3.49 cumulative GPA in molecular biology and Spanish. A Dean's List student, she has also been named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll. Ostlund has also been inducted into the Alpha Mu Gamma foreign language honorary.

Woodring earned Second Team All-District this year after receiving Third Team honors in each of the last two seasons. She has started all 17 matches at defender this year after moving from forward. Woodring has helped Grove City (9-5-3) record seven shutouts this year.

Woodring has a 3.80 GPA as a mathematics/secondary education major. She is a Dean's List student who has also been named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll. Woodring is a member of ODK, Kappa Delta Pi education honorary, Kappa Mu Epsilon math honorary and Mortar Board.

Preston has helped Grove City post seven shutouts this year. She owns a 5-4-1 record and a 1.76 goals-against average in 12 total appearances. Preston also earned Third Team All-District in 2007.

Preston graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in music last May. She is completing the requirements for a bachelor of science degree in business this fall. She has a 3.46 GPA and has been named to the Dean's List and the PAC Academic Honor Roll.

A team co-captain, Bender has five goals and a team-high six assists in 15 appearances this year. She is a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at midfielder and is earning her first All-District honor.

A psychology major, Bender has a 3.66 grade-point average. Bender is a Dean's List student who has also been named to the conference's Academic Honor Roll.

Yang has played primarily at defender this year while also seeing time at a variety of positions this season. She is a three-year letterwinner for Grove City. In 17 starts, Yang has four goals and two assists.

Yang owns a 3.48 GPA in molecular biology. She has been inducted into the Beta Beta Beta biology honorary and is a Dean's List honoree.

Peck leads Grove City with nine goals and 22 points this year. She has started all 17 matches this year and is a team co-captain. She has 28 career goals for the Wolverines.

A 2008 Second Team All-District selection, Peck has a 3.72 GPA while majoring in molecular biology. She is a member of Beta Beta Beta, ODK, the Crown and Sceptre women's honorary and has earned Dean's List recognition. Peck is also a two-year letterwinner in golf for Grove City.

Twenty-two PAC student-athletes earned Academic All-District in soccer this fall.

District II includes all non-NCAA Division I colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. To be nominated for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.3 or higher cumulative grade-point average and be a starter or significant reserve.

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