PSAC Announces Winter Top 10 Honorees
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Lock Haven, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is pleased to announce its Winter 2013-14 Top 10 Award recipients chosen by the league's sports information directors. The PSAC Top 10 Awards are designed to recognize student-athletes who excel in both the classroom and in athletic competition.
Initiated in the 1997-98 academic year, the Top 10 Award recipients are given to five male and five females in each athletic season: fall, winter and spring. The winter 2013-14 award winners are
Adam Blazek of Gannon,
Tabitha Bemis of Edinboro,
Kristin Day of Clarion,
Dylan D’Urso of Mercyhurst,
Hannah Heeter of Clarion,
Morgan Huegel of California,
Valerie Majewski of Edinboro,
David McCormick of West Chester,
Jen Papich of Gannon,
Ian Vescovi of Pitt-Johnstown.
Bemis has now captured her fifth PSAC Top 10 accolade, as she has been named a Top 10 athlete in both the winter and spring in 2011-12 and 2012-13 in addition to this winter. Bemis is just the sixth PSAC student-athlete to have ever earned five Top 10 honors and the 45th time Edinboro has had a Top 10 selection. Heeter, a PSAC volleyball and basketball athlete, is a four-time honoree and is the tenth female to be named a Top 10 athlete on four occasions. She is also the first PSAC student-athlete to earn four Top 10 honors and not compete in track and field and/or cross country. Papich is the only other repeat selection, as she earned Top 10 status following the 2012-13 winter season. Heeter, Papich and Vescovi earned CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America® honors this winter.
Swimming and wrestling athletes will have their opportunity to earn Academic All-America honors with the release of the CoSIDA At Large team announced in early June. Indoor track and field is combined with outdoor track and field as well as cross country for Academic All-American honors and will also be released by CoSIDA in June.
Seven of the ten student-athletes hold a 3.9 or higher grade point average led by three 4.0 GPAs from Day, Huegel and Vescovi. Bemis, D’Urso, Heeter, and Papich all hold 3.9 or better GPAs.
Clarion, second to Shippensburg’s 52 selections, has a total 49 Top 10 recipients since the PSAC Top 10 program began in 1997. Edinboro holds 45, while East Stroudsburg has had 44 honorees and Slippery Rock has 43. Vescovi marks Pitt-Johnstown’s first-ever honoree, as UPJ joined the league at the beginning of the 2013-14 academic year.
To be a candidate for the PSAC Top 10 Awards, a student-athlete must have achieved a minimum of a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or key reserve with legitimate athletic credentials for their respective team. The winter sports eligible for consideration for the Winter Top 10 Awards are men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s indoor track and field, wrestling, and men’s and women’s basketball.
At the conclusion of the academic year, all Top 10 Award winners from each season are eligible for the PSAC Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards, given to one male and one female candidate at the end of the academic year.
Listed below are biographies for the Winter 2013-14 PSAC Top 10 Award winners:
Adam Blazek, Gannon
Men’s Basketball – Junior
Major: Journalism Communications
Cumulative GPA: 3.624
Averaged 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 2.4 3-pointers per game in 2013-14…Named to the Capital One Academic All-District First Team this season…Earned PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Year…Named to the Daktronics and NABC All-Atlantic Region first teams, as well as the All-PSAC West First Team, this season…Named PSAC Scholar-Athlete and received the NCAA D2ADA Academic Achievement Award every season…Named to the Daktronics First Team, the NABC Second Team and the Division II Bulletin Second Team in 2011… Named PSAC Western Division Freshman of the Year and landed a spot on the all-conference second team in 2011-12.
Tabitha Bemis, Edinboro
Women’s Indoor Track and Field – Senior
Major: Health and Physical Education (Sports and Recreation Administration)
Cumulative GPA: 3.90
Named the USTFCCCA Indoor Track & Field Atlantic Region Field Athlete of the Year and the PSAC Indoor Track & Field Women’s Field Athlete of the Year for the third year in a row…Named the PSAC Championships’ Overall and Field Athlete of the Meet for the third consecutive season…Two-time All-American at NCAA D-II Indoor Track & Field Championships, finishing second in long jump with school-record 6.00m (19’ 8 1/4”) and seventh in triple jump with school-record 12.44m (40’ 9 3/4”)…Won three events at PSAC Indoor Championships and was All-PSAC in five events…Two-time Capital One Academic All-American, earning first team honors in 2013 and second team in 2012…Five-time PSAC Top 10 honoree (winter and spring 2012 and 2013, winter 2014).
Kristin Day, Clarion
Women’s Swimming and Diving – Junior
Major: Chemistry
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
Won the NCAA Division II 3-meter springboard championship with an NCAA record 539.5 points winning by 52.9 points…Won the NCAA Division II 1-meter springboard championship with a score of 497.05 points, 30.2 points better than the second place diver…Named the 2014 College Swimming Coaches Association NCAA Division II Female Diver of the Year…Six-time All-American Diver after taking fourth and fifth in 1-meter dives prior to this season and second and third in 3-meter dives.
Dylan D’Urso, Mercyhurst
Wrestling – Sophomore
Major: Intelligence Studies
Cumulative GPA: 3.90
Earned All-American status for the first time in his career in 2014, finishing third at the NCAA Division II National Championships at 141 pounds…Finished the season with a 32-4 overall record and was a perfect 18-0 in dual competition this season…Had seven victories by fall, four by technical fall, 11 by major decision, and seven by decision…Finished second at the Super Region I tournament…Led the Lakers with 74 takedowns, 22 three-point nearfalls, and 129 team points…Placed third at 141 pounds at the 2013 NCAA Division II National Championships…Holds a two-year record of 62-10 since joining Mercyhurst…PSAC Scholar-Athlete in 2013 and earned the NCAA Division II Most Technical Falls Award as a true freshman in 2013.
Hannah Heeter, Clarion
Women’s Basketball – Junior
Major: Biology/Pre-Med
Cumulative GPA: 3.963
Led PSAC and ranks second in NCAA D-II in rebounding (12.3rpg) while ranking 15th in PSAC in scoring (14.3ppg), fifth in PSAC and 24th in D-II in shooting (53.8 %) and ninth blocked shots (1.0bpg)…Recorded 15 double-doubles in 21 games, the 14th most double-doubles in D-II this season…2014 Capital One/CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American in basketball…2013 Capital One/CoSIDA First Team All-American of the Year in volleyball…2013 Capital One/CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-American in basketball… 2013 NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association Atlantic Region Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year…2013 PSAC Female Pete Nevins Scholar-Athlete Award Winner…2014 Daktronics All-Region Second Team in basketball & First Team All-PSAC West…School-record holder in rebounds per game (12.5); 982 points, 874 rebounds in career…All-Region and All-Conference multiple times in volleyball including First Team Daktronics All-Region, AVCA All-Region, and PSAC West in 2013.
Morgan Huegel, California
Men’s Indoor Track and Field – Junior
Major: Secondary Education (Math)
Cumulative GPA: 4.00
Received USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the 800m…Earned All-PSAC status in 800m after finishing second at the league championships with a season-best time of 1:54.94…Competed as a member of the 4x800 relay and DMR at the PSAC Championships…Named PSAC Champion Scholar at 2013 PSAC Cross Country Championships…Earned USTFCCCA All-Academic laurels in cross country in 2013…Tabbed PSAC Scholar-Athlete twice… Received D2ADA Academic Achievement Award.
Valerie Majewski, Edinboro
Women’s Basketball – Junior
Major: Speech Pathology
Cumulative GPA: 3.80
2013-14 WBCA All-American…PSAC West Athlete of the Year and the PSAC Championships’ Most Valuable Player…Helped team reach Elite Eight for second time in school history while winning the PSAC Championship for the third time in four years…Led the team in scoring (16)…Led team in 3-pointers made (62-of-169) and steals (66), while finishing second in assists (134)…Shot 45.1% from the floor (195-of-432) and 72.4% from the line (76-of-105)… Set a PSAC tournament record and tied school record with 16 assists vs. West Chester in semifinals, then had sixth-highest point total with 33 points in PSAC championship game vs. Gannon.
David McCormick, West Chester
Men’s Swimming – Senior
Major: Mathematics
Cumulative GPA: 3.69
Finished third at NCAAs in the 400 IM (3:53.17) to earn All-America status… Honorable Mention All-American in 200 Breaststroke…Helped three relays to honorable mention All-America status at NCAAs…PSAC Champion in the 400 IM (3:54.57)…PSAC runner-up in both the 200 IM (1:50.60) and 200 Breaststroke (2:01.43)…Finished fourth in the 100 Breaststroke (56.01)… Member of the Dean’s List…Two-time PSAC Honor Roll…Five-time WCU AD Academic Honor Roll…Four-time individual PSAC Champion in his three seasons swimming for West Chester…Helped WCU capture the PSAC Men’s Swimming title all three years…Placed among top eight at PSAC Championships 10 times in individual events.
Jen Papich, Gannon
Women’s Basketball – Senior
Major: Biomedical Engineering
Cumulative GPA: 3.945
Two-time Academic All-American, being named to the Capital One Academic All-America women's basketball Second Team during each of the last two seasons…Three-time Capital One Academic All-District First Team selection…13.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.5 steals per game in 2013-14…Named the PSAC Champion Scholar and received the PSAC Winter Top 10 Award in 2013…Named a PSAC Scholar-Athlete and received the Division II Athletics Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award every year…Named to WBCA Division II All-America honorable-mention team during each of the last two seasons…Is a two-time Daktronics All-Atlantic Region Second Team selection…Named PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Year in 2012-13…Is a three-time All-PSAC Western Division First Team selection.
Ian Vescovi – Pitt-Johnstown
Men’s Basketball – Junior
Major: Mathematics
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
2013-14 Capital One Academic All-America third team selection…First Team Capital One Academic All-District Academic selection in 2013-14…13.2 ppg., 6.7 rpg., 2.04 blocks per game this season…Led the team in rebounds per game, field goal percentage (56.6%) and blocks (53)…Finished second on team in scoring and assists (61)…Named All-PSAC West Second Team this season.