PSAC Names Fall 2004 Top Ten
PSAC Names Fall Top Ten
(January 20, 2005)
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference has named a group of outstanding student-athletes as the league’s Fall Top Ten Awards winners.
The Top Ten Awards, selected by the PSAC’s sports information directors, recognize student-athletes who distinguish themselves in the classroom, as well as in the arena of competition. The conference designates Top Ten Award winners after each of the sports seasons: fall, winter and spring.
To be a candidate for the Top Ten Awards, a student-athlete must have achieved a minimum of a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or key reserve with legitimate athletic credentials. Only student-athletes from the fall sports season are eligible for the Fall Top Ten Awards. Those sports are: men’s and women’s soccer, football, field hockey, women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country.
At the end of the academic year, the league announces the Scholar-Athlete Awards, which recognize student-athletes on all PSAC squads with 3.25 cumulative GPAs or better. Additionally, the PSAC names the top Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of Year.
Following are biographical sketches of the PSAC’s 2004 Fall Top Ten recipients:
Matt Crispell
Junior, East Stroudsburg
Football (Berwick/Berwick)... Crispell maintains a 3.625 GPA as a health & physical education major. Due to his success this season, he earned First Team Academic All-America honors from ESPN The Magazine. He was a first-team All-PSAC East pick and was selected to Daktronics All-Northeast Region Team. Crispell led the PSAC and ranked second nationally with 10 interceptions this season and managed to double his tackles from 26 to 59 with 32 solo tackles in just 12 games. He won the honor of Player of the Week for his performance in a game against Bloomsburg where he recorded three interceptions and seven tackles.
Cory DeForrest
Senior, West Chester
Football (Wycombe/Council Rock)... DeForrest carries a 3.73 GPA while studying economics. As the team's starting flanker, he was one of the best receivers in school history being just the eighth Golden Ram to record over 2,000 career receiving yards (2,499). DeForrest was voted first-team All-PSAC East for the second time in his career, and was a second-team choice in 2003. At West Chester he finished season ranked ninth overall in career receptions (139) and fourth in career receiving yards.
Laura Kline
Junior, Kutztown
Field Hockey (Reading/Reading)... Kline boasts a 4.00 GPA in the field of special education. A second-team All-PSAC midfielder, she posted two goals and four assists this season. She is also a member of the KU track team, earning the top spot on KU's 4x400 outdoor relay team (3:55.37).
John Kuhn
Senior, Shippensburg
Football (York/Dover)...Kuhn has earned a 3.322 GPA as a chemistry major. With this year's distinction, he is a three-time first-team All-PSAC West selection, which includes his earning the West's Offensive Player of the Year award in 2003. Kuhn holds 21 school records at Shippensburg, including in his career 4,685 rushing yards, 910 carries, 53 touchdowns, 5,300 all-purpose yards, and 26 games with at least 100 yards rushing. He also holds four PSAC records and is the only player in conference history to rush for six touchdowns in a single game. Kuhn was named as an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) First Team All-American as a senior and was selected to play in the 2005 Whataburger Cactus Bowl. He ranked 17th in the nation in rushing.
Charity Learn
Junior, Mansfield
Cross Country (Troy/Mansfield)...Learn has established a 3.97 GPA in the field of fisheries. She won three out of the four regular season races this year and became the first runner in school history to earn an All-PSAC honors in all three of her seasons at Mansfield. Learn finished sixth overall in the PSAC Championship, went on to finish third at the NCAA East Regional, and earned an All-America honors after a 33rd place finish at the NCAA Division II Championship. She is a three-time Mansfield University Female Athlete of the Year. Learn is also All-PSAC in both indoor and outdoor track for Mansfield.
Julie Nemergut
Junior, Edinboro
Cross Country (Youngstown, Ohio/South Range)...Nemergut holds a 3.87 GPA as a special education major. She won the PSAC Championship with a time of 22:06, the East Region title with a time of 20:29, and placed fifth at NCAAs with a time of 21:59.7, helping her to earn All-America honors. In addition, Nemergut earned cademic All-America honors from the National Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association for the third straight year. She also received All-America honors at the 2004 Track & Field Championships with an eighth-place finish in the 10,000 meters (36:10.95).
Sharla Partlon
Senior, Bloomsburg
Field Hockey (Langhorne/Neshaminy)...Partlon has earned a 3.63 GPA in the field of secondary education. She finished the season with three career highs, including being tied for the team lead in goals scored with 13, and led the team with eight assists and 34 points. Partlon helped lead her team to their third straight PSAC title and NCAA Division II title while being named Division II Field Hockey Player of the Year, PSAC Field Hockey Athlete of the Year and ECAC Division II Field Hockey Player of the Year. In 2004, she earned first-team All-PSAC and All-America honors by the NFHCA for the third straight time. She finished her career with 25 goals and 17 assists on a team that held an 80-6 record in four years.
Lloyd Price
Junior, California
Football (Monongahela/Ringgold)...Price has maintained a 3.83 GPA as an elementary education major. As a first-year starter, Price led his team with 66 tackles and 40 solo hits. This year he became the first CoSIDA Academic All-America in Cal football history. He is also among the team leaders with 5.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
Matt Rapa
Senior, East Stroudsburg
Football (Kresgeville/Pleasant Valley)...Rapa holds a 3.774 GPA in the field of political science. He is a four-year starting outside linebacker who finished second for the Warriors with 83 tackles (6.9 per game) and third on the team with 6.5 tackles for loss. Rapa recorded two games this season with double-digit tackles, with 12 tackles and a tackle for loss against C.W. Post and 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss against West Chester. He finished his career with a total of 230 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
Missy Swindel
Senior, IUP
Soccer (Toledo, Ohio/Bowsher)...Swindel boasts a 4.00 GPA as a history major. She helped lead an IUP defense that only allowed 24 goals all season with seven shutouts, including 1-0 wins over Lock Haven and Slippery Rock in the PSAC tournament. She helped lead her team to the PSAC Championship and a first ever spot in the NCAA tournament this season. Swindel was naned first-team Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine and second team All-PSAC West in 2004. She started 57 of the 59 games during her three year career at IUP, while helping to lead a defense that averaged only one goal allowed per game.