PSAC Announces Fall Top 10 Honorees
Lock Haven, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athlete Conference is pleased to announce its Fall 2015 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 is given to five males and five females in each athletic season: fall, winter, and spring. The Fall 2015 award winners are Devon Ackerman of East Stroudsburg, Mani Brueckner of Gannon, Alex Hampel of IUP, Chrissy Hollan of Bloomsburg, Emily Howell of East Stroudsburg, John Matarazzo of Mercyhurst, Kaley Pittsley of Clarion, Jon Schnaars of East Stroudsburg, Morgan Seybold of Clarion, and Josh Smith of Bloomsburg.
It is the first time that any of the honorees have been named to a PSAC Top 10 Team.
Listed below are the biographies for the Fall 2015 PSAC Top 10 Award winners:
Devon Ackerman, East Stroudsburg University
Football – Junior
Major: Biochemistry
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
Ackerman started all 11 games at left guard for the high-powered Warrior offense. In his first two seasons on the field, Ackerman has started every single contest, 22 games straight in all. ESU ranked second in the country in passing yards per game this season, averaging 361.5 yards per game. The Warriors were also 10th in total offense (488.0 yards per game) and 14th in scoring offense (40.0 points per game) in 2015.
Mani Brueckner, Gannon University
Women’s Soccer – Senior
Major: Engineering
Cumulative GPA: 3.74
In 2015, Brueckner led Gannon to a national number one ranking on the way to winning her third PSAC Athlete of the Year honor and NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Player of the Year for the third time, as well. She led the PSAC in points per match (2.10), goals per match (.86), and game-winning goals (6). Her 44 points and 18 goals in 2015 are school records for Gannon for a single season. She is also the career leader in points (137) and assists (45) for the Lady Knights.
Alex Hampel, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Men’s Cross Country – Senior
Major: Nursing and Biology
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
Hampel won the Elite 90 Award from the NCAA for Division II Cross Country in 2015, recognizing the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site of the NCAA Championship. Hamper qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championship this year after a 19th place finish at the Atlantic Region Championship. The top runner for the Crimson Hawks, Hampel is an All-PSAC runner in cross country in addition to being a PSAC Champion Scholar and winning the 2014-15 IUP Scholar Athlete Award.
Chrissy Hollan, Bloomsburg University
Women’s Soccer – Senior
Major: Speech Pathology
Cumulative GPA: 3.92
A two-time all-conference honoree, Hollan started every game in 2015 for the Huskies, leading the BU defense. In addition to PSAC honors, Hollan was a First Team All-Atlantic Region by the National Commissioners’ Association and a Second Team All-Region selection by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Hollan is a PSAC Scholar-Athlete as well as a 2014 NSCAA Scholar All-Region selection.
Emily Howell, East Stroudsburg University
Field Hockey – Junior
Major: Health and Physical Education
Cumulative GPA: 3.795
Howell started all 22 games for the national champion Warriors, earning multiple laurels along the way. She was named NFHCA All-America First Team, All-PSAC First Team, and was the MVP of the PSAC Tournament. Starting at left back, she helped the ESU defense rank second in Division II in goals allowed, only surrendering .77 goals per game. This was Howell’s first year at back after earning a letter her first two years at forward and midfielder. During the Warrior run to the Division II crown in the fall semester, Howell maintained a perfect 4.0 in the classroom.
John Matarazzo, Mercyhurst University
Football – Senior
Major: Biology
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
From his tight end position, Matarazzo caught five touchdowns for the Lakers in 2015, earning a spot on the All-PSAC First Team. Over his career, Matarazzo has maintained a 4.0 GPA in biology and has earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team in 2014 and 2015 after being named a Second Team Academic All-American in 2013. Through 2013-2015, he was also a CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team member.
Kaley Pittsley, Clarion University
Volleyball – Junior
Major: Marketing/Management
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
Pittsley led the PSAC in total assists this season (1,452) to go along with the league lead in assists per set (10.52), leading the Golden Eagles to the second best attack percentage in conference play (.221). While thriving on the court, Pittsley has also maintained a perfect 4.0 in the classroom, and was named to the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team. She is also a Clarion and PSAC Scholar-Athlete.
Jon Schnaars, East Stroudsburg University
Football – Senior
Major: Business Management
Cumulative GPA: 3.517
It was a record-setting year on the football field for Schnaars, who led all of Division II in receptions (114), yards (1,610), and touchdowns (22). He set single game PSAC records, recording 20 catches for seven touchdowns in a game against Shippensburg. His accomplishments on the field earned him ESU’s first American Football Coaches Association All-American since 1991. For his work in the classroom, Schnaars has also received praise, being named CoSIDA Second Team Academic All-American in 2014 and First Team Academic All-America in 2015.
Morgan Seybold, Clarion University
Volleyball – Senior
Major: Marketing/Management
Cumulative GPA: 3.911
Seybold was the starting libero for the Golden Eagles this season, leading the PSAC and finishing third in the country in total digs (796). She is on the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team and is a past PSAC and Clarion Scholar-Athlete. In 2014, she was a Third Team Daktronics All-Ameican, a First Team Daktronics and AVCA Atlantic Region selection, and the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year. She was also First Team Daktronics in 2013.
Josh Smith, Bloomsburg
Men’s Soccer – Junior
Major: Exercise Science
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
Smith was named First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2015. As a defender, Smith started in 18 of the 19 games he played in during the season, scoring two goals and assisting on two others. He was also part of a defensive unit that limited opponents to just 21 goals allowed during the year. As a team, Bloomsburg won a school-record 14 games during the year against just five losses and reached the semifinals of the PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) playoffs. At the PSAC Championships he was also named the winner of the PSAC Champion Scholar Award as the student-athlete at the event with the highest GPA at the championship site.
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 fall sports eligible for consideration for the Fall Top 10 Awards are men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s Soccer, and women’s volleyball.
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.