PSAC Names Fall 2003 Top Ten
PSAC Names Fall Top Ten
(January 15, 2004)
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference has named a group of outstanding student-athletes as the league’s Fall Top Ten Awards winners. The group includes five All-Americans, three conference athletes of the year and three repeat selections from a year ago.
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 2003 Fall Top Ten recipients:
Corey DeForest
Junior, West Chester
Football (Wycombe/Council Rock)… DeForest carries a 3.78 GPA while studying economics and finance. A first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District choice, he was West Chester’s top wide receiver this season. He registered 740 yards and eight touchdowns off 34 catches and earned second-team All-PSAC honors. His top performance this season came in a win over Shippensburg, when he hauled in six passes for 162 yards and a score. With still one year to play, he has accumulated 95 receptions for 1,730 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Jessie Didier
Senior, Kutztown
Volleyball (Tunkhannock/Tunkhannock)… Didier has earned a 3.73 GPA while majoring in elementary education. As well as earning first-team All-PSAC East and second-team Daktronics All-Atlantic Region honors, she was named PSAC East Volleyball Athlete of the Year this past season. She ranked fourth in the PSAC in hitting percentage (.364) and led her team with 81 blocks. Didier is a four-time All-PSAC selection, and was honored as the 2000 PSAC East Volleyball Rookie of the Year.
Dan Holland
Senior, Mansfield
Football (Scranton/Bishop O’Hara)… Holland has established a 3.48 GPA as a special education major. Holland is a two-time Eastern Division Defensive Player of the Year and four-time first-team All-PSAC East selection as a linebacker. He was a national finalist for the Harlon Hill award, given to the top football player in Division II, after registering a PSAC-best 12 tackles per game. A consensus first-team All-American, Holland led the country in tackles (14.1 pg) and solo tackles (8.5) in 2002. He is a repeat selection for the Top Ten.
John Kuhn
Junior, Shippensburg
Football (York/Dover)… Kuhn maintains a 3.29 GPA as a chemistry major. The talented fullback was named PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year in addition to multiple All-America honors for his efforts on the field. He also was named first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. In 2003 Kuhn rushed for 1,500 yards on 294 carries and led the conference in scoring with 22 touchdowns. Only a junior, Kuhn is already Shippensburg’s career leader with 3,198 rushing yards, 39 touchdowns and 238 points. His work experience already includes stints with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in 2002 and Worked with Johnson & Johnson in 2003.
Charity Learn
Sophomore, Mansfield
Cross Country (Troy)… Learn maintains a perfect 4.0 GPA in the field of fisheries. She earned All-PSAC honors and All-Regional honors this season, never finishing lower than fourth in regular-season competition. Learn was named PSAC Cross Country Rookie of the Year in 2002 after becoming the first runner in school history to finish first in the PSAC Championship.
Kamar Samuels
Senior, East Stroudsburg
Men’s Soccer (St. Elizabeth, Jamaica)… Samuels has earned a 3.65 GPA as a business management major. Samuels was named second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America for the second straight year. A back, the NSCAA first-team All-American led a PSAC-best defense that allowed only 17 goals in 23 games (.74 gpg) and did not allow a goal in PSAC playoff competition. He registered five goals and was second on the team with eight assists, and was noted for marking the opposition’s best threat on offense. He was named first-team All-PSAC in 2003 after collecting second-team honors the previous two seasons.
Kelly Stewart
Senior, Shippensburg
Cross Country (Glenmoore/Downingtown)… Stewart boasts a 3.941 GPA as a psychology major. She earned All-America honors at the NCAA Division II championships this past season by finishing 32nd of 192 runners. Stewart was second at the regional meet and fourth at the PSAC Championship. A standout in track as well, Stewart was an outdoor All-American in the 10,000 meters in 2002, and is the two-time defending conference champion in the event.
Josh Telenko
Senior, IUP
Football (Jerome/Conemaugh Township)… Telenko carries a 4.0 GPA as an MBA candidate. He established a 3.76 GPA in business administration as an undergraduate. A second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, Telenko hit all 39 of his extra point attempts and 12 of 19 field goals. He led all conference kickers in scoring with 75 points. This season, he kicked the game-winning field goal in a 28-26 win over Nebraska-Omaha, and was named the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week after hitting four field goals against Shippensburg. A repeat Top Ten recipient, Telenko is a three-time All-PSAC West choice, including first-team selections in 2001 and 2002. He holds the IUP record with 242 kicking points.
Melissa Terwilliger
Junior, Clarion
Cross Country (Blasdell, N.Y./Frontier)… Terwilliger maintains a 3.78 GPA as an elementary environmental biology major. She was an All-American with a 17th place finish at nationals, an All-East Region runner with a fourth-place finish at regionals and an All-PSAC runner with a third-place finish at the conference championship this season. She also earned All-PSAC and all-region honors in 2002. Terwilliger is a USCTA Scholar-Athlete as well as an All-American in outdoor track (5th in 10,000m in 2003).
Sheila Zilinski
Senior, Bloomsburg
Field Hockey (Barto/Boyertown)… Zilinski holds a 3.50 GPA in the field of elementary education. After leading the Huskies with 20 goals and 44 points this season, she was named to the first-team All-American, All-PSAC, All-ECAC, and was the womensfield.com National Player of the Year. She was the 2002 PSAC Field Hockey Athlete of the Year, as well as the Honda Division II Collegiate Woman Field Hockey Player of the Year, fieldhockey.com Player of the Year and an ECAC All-Star. This marks the second time Zilinski has received Top Ten honors.