Lock Haven, Pa. - The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) is pleased to announce its Fall 2011 Top 10 Award recipients. The PSAC Top 10 Awards, which are selected by the PSAC’s sports information directors, recognize student-athletes who excel in both the classroom and in the area of competition. The PSAC Top 10 Awards are in their 15th season of existence, having been initiated in the 1997-98 academic year.
The Top 10 Awards recognize 10 outstanding student-athletes, five male and five female, for each athletic season: fall, winter and spring. The Fall 2011 Top 10 Award winners are Devin Goda of Slippery Rock, Stephen Schelander of Shippensburg, Bryce Shaffer of Bloomsburg, Shawn Sopic of Clarion and Ian Wild of Mercyhurst on the men’s side, while the women’s winners are Alyssa Barrett of Slippery Rock, Rhianon Brady of Clarion, Rose Mascoli of East Stroudsburg, Danielle Ostendorf of IUP and Neely Spence of Shippensburg.
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 soccer, field hockey, volleyball, football and men’s and women’s cross country. At the end of the academic year, all Top 10 Award winners from the entire academic year 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.
This year’s Fall Top 10 winners feature both of last year’s PSAC Pete Nevins Scholar-Athletes of the Year in Wild and Spence, who are the only two repeat selections that were also Top 10 winners last fall. Spence will end her Shippensburg career after turning professional at the conclusion of the cross country season as a five-time PSAC Top 10 pick, having also earned the award in all three seasons last year as well as the winter of 2009-10. East Stroudsburg’s Rose Mascoli is the only other previous Top 10 recipient in the Fall Top 10, as she previously earned the honor last spring as a part of the outdoor track & field team.
Additionally, exactly half of the Fall Top 10 recipients were honored during the fall as CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-Americans®, and four were honored on their respective first teams. Shaffer was a first team honoree on the Academic All-America men’s soccer team, while Goda, Sopic and Wild were first team Academic All-Americans on the football squad. Brady was a second team Academic All-American on the volleyball team. There is also a chance that as many as three more of the Fall Top 10 honorees could be named Academic All-Americans later in the academic year, as the cross country/track & field Academic All-America teams are announced in the spring. Spence is previously a two-time Academic All-American, having earned second team honors last season and third team accolades two years ago. Furthermore, the Fall Top 10 honorees also featured one of the inaugural winners of the PSAC Champion Scholar Awards, as Shaffer was the inaugural recipient of that award at the PSAC men’s soccer championship during the fall. The PSAC Champion Scholar Awards are modeled after the NCAA Elite 89 awards and are given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at the finals site of each of the PSAC’s 23 championships.
Listed below are biographies for the Fall 2011 PSAC Top 10 Award winners:
Alyssa Barrett, Slippery Rock
Women’s Soccer, Senior
Rochester, N.Y./Penfield
Major: Communications (Emerging Technology and Multimedia)
Cumulative GPA: 3.92
NSCAA All-Region selection … First team Capital One Academic All-District … 4.0 GPA in fall semester … Helped anchor one of the top defensive units in the nation as a defensive midfielder … Also handed out one assist … SRU defense put together a streak of 11 consecutive shutouts, the fifth best streak in Division II history … Rock allowed just 13 goals in 23 games this season … SRU reached the third round of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history and posted second best single season win total in school history … Played in every game of her collegiate career … Missed just four career starts … Shifted from attacking midfielder to defensive midfielder with addition of players this fall … Member of the Dean’s List in every semester … PSAC Scholar-Athlete in every year … Served as team captain … Finished career with 11 goals and eight assists for 30 points … Named to first postseason honors of career following 2011 season … Served as team captain.
Rhianon Brady, Clarion
Volleyball, Senior
Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester
Major: Secondary Education/Biology
Cumulative GPA: 3.936
Led the PSAC and ranked 13th in the nation at 5.81 digs per set … 2011 second-team Capital One Academic All-American … Three-time CoSIDA Academic All-Region … 2011 PSAC West Defensive Player of the Year … 2011 first-team Daktronics All-Region …. 2011 AVCA All-Region … First player in school history to earn All-Region in all four season (seven All-Region awards including five first-team awards) … School record holder in career digs (2,682) and holds top two single-season dig marks at Clarion and three of the top five … Helped Clarion to three NCAA D-II Playoff appearances including 2010 Elite Eight … Also helped Clarion to three PSAC Semifinal appearances including 2010 PSAC Title … Ranked 2nd in PSAC and 6th in nation in digs per set as a junior and 3rd in PSAC and 13th in the nation as a sophomore.
Devin Goda, Slippery Rock
Football, Senior
Monongahela, Pa./Elizabeth Forward
Major: Safety Management
Cumulative GPA: 3.615
1st-team Capital One Academic All-America and 1st-team All-PSAC-West … Led Rock to its first PSAC-West championship since 2000 and first PSAC championship-game appearance since 1974 … Ranked second in PSAC in catches per game (6.8) and third in yards per game (93.5) ... Caught 75 passes for 1,028 yards and 11 touchdowns ... Those totals ranked as the third, fourth and second best, respectively, among SRU’s all-time leaders … Had 100 or more pass receiving yards in five of Rock’s 11 games … Caught career-high 11 passes in Week 3 at West Chester … PSAC-West “Offensive Player of the Week” Oct. 23 after he set school records with 225 pass receiving yards and four touchdown receptions at Lock Haven … Finished four-year Rock career ranked second in both receptions (173) and yardage (2,259) … 3-time All-PSAC-West selection … 2-time Academic All-District first-team selection … 4-time PSAC Scholar Athlete … Played in 43 of Rock’s 44 games since 2008 … No. 2 on SRU’s all-time pass receptions (173) and pass receiving yardage (2,259) charts … Led Rock to three consecutive winning seasons and 25-19 record in four seasons … 2011 1st-team Capital One Academic All-America and All-District … First-team honor extended SRU’s string of Academic All-America selections to 12 years and 18 of last 19 years … 2011 1st-team All-PSAC-West selection after ranking No. 2 in PSAC in catches per game, No. 3 in PSAC in pass receiving yards per game … Was Rock’s leading receiver for third consecutive season in ‘11 … 75 receptions, 1,028 yards, 11 TDs rank third, fourth and second respectively, in SRU record book … 2010 ESPN The Magazine 1st-team Academic All-District … 2010 2nd-team All-PSAC-West after recording 54 receptions (#5 all-time at SRU) for 590 yards and 3 TDs … Ranked fourth in PSAC in pass receptions per game … Was a 2009 2nd-team All-PSAC-West selection after 44 receptions, 466 yards and 3 TDs.
Rose Mascoli, East Stroudsburg
Women’s Cross Country, Junior
Lebanon, Pa./Lebanon Catholic
Major: Exercise Science
Cumulative GPA: 3.98
Won first four meets of season, topping a total of 609 competitors at Fordham, Monmouth, Salisbury and Slippery Rock … All-PSAC and All-Region for second straight year … Placed 5th in PSAC and 8th in Atlantic Region … Set ESU course records at Salisbury and Lock Haven (PSAC Championship) … Academic All-American as a sophomore … Member of PSAC Spring Top 10 … Three-time All-American, once in cross country and twice in outdoor track & field … 3rd in 10K and 5th in 5K at 2011 NCAA Championships … Holds school records in 3K, 5K and 10K and freshman records in 3K and 10K … Competing in indoor track for first time this winter (member of swimming team for two years) … Holds course records on 3 of the 4 courses in ESU record book (#2 on other by 1 second).
Danielle Ostendorf, IUP
Volleyball, Senior
Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic
Major: Exercise Science
Cumulative GPA: 4.00
2011 second team All-PSAC West … Led team with 242 kills, 2.52 kills/set … Had 12 double-figure kill matches, including season-high 18 in win over Seton Hill … Had 27.8 hitting percentage … Totaled 63 blocks, third on team … Member of Cook Honors College at IUP…Finalist for Fulbright Scholarship … IUP nominee for the Syed R. Ali-Zaidi Award for Academic Excellence (PASSHE) … Two-time all-conference selection … Dean’s List all seven semesters … Provost Scholar … PSAC Scholar-Athlete … 902 career kills is eighth all-time at IUP.
Stephen Schelander, Shippensburg
Men’s Cross Country, Senior
Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg
Major: Sociology
Cumulative GPA: 3.803
Served as Shippensburg’s No. 1 runner in all six of his races, including all three in the postseason … Team finished second at PSACs and third at regionals, resulting in team’s third straight appearance at nationals … Earned All-PSAC accolades (3rd time in career) by finishing 3rd with an 8K PR of 24:37 … Earned All-Region honors (3rd time in career) by finishing 3rd and matching his 10K PR of 31:53 … Finished one spot short of national All-America honors (41st place) ... Took 85th place in the Division I-laden gold race at 2011 Paul Short XC Invite … 2010-11 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country Second Team … 2010-11 SU Student-Athlete of the Year … 2009-10 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Second Team selection … Is a 3-time All-PSAC cross country performer … 3-time All-Atlantic Region XC performer … SU’s No. 2 XC runner at 2010 NCAA Atlantic Region Championships and 2010 NCAA National Championships after finishing as SU’s No. 1 runner at the 2010 PSAC Championships … Raiders won their first XC PSAC title in school history in 2010 … Aided SU to a seventh-place finish at 2010 nationals … Finished 50th at 2010 NCAA National Championships (31:53 in 10K); a 69-second improvement from his previous run at the 2009 national championships in which he was SU’s No. 1 runner … Finished 8th at 2010 NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships (31:55 in 10K) … Crossed the tape in second place at the 2010 PSAC Championships … Was the team’s No. 3 runner at the 2010 Greater Louisville Classic … Posted top 10 finishes in his other two races of the season ... In track & field, is a 12-time PSAC place winner and a 7-time All-PSAC award winner … 2-time USTFCCCA Division II All-Academic award winner … Earned All-PSAC finishes in 2011 in the outdoor 1,500 (2nd place) and 5K (3rd place) to help Shippensburg culminate its season with the first PSAC men’s “Triple Crown” in league history … USTFCCCA All-Region honors in the 1,500 meters (3:53.94; converted mile time from Millersville Metrics) and the 5K (career PR of 14:28 at Bison Outdoor Classic) … Previous All-PSAC finishes with indoor 4x800-meter relay squad and outdoor 5K.
Bryce Shaffer, Bloomsburg
Men’s Soccer, Junior
Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg
Major: Business Management
Cumulative GPA: 3.96
Named first team 2011 Capital One Academic All-America for NCAA Division II Men's Soccer as selected by CoSIDA ... Selected to the second team of the NSCAA Academic All-East Region team ... Named to the second team of the NSCAA All-Atlantic region team ... Named to the Daktronics All-Atlantic Region second team ... Earned All-PSAC second team honors … Named the recipient of the PSAC Champion Scholar Award for the men's soccer championship ... Led Bloomsburg in scoring with 17 points (8 goals and one assist) … Helped the Huskies reach the PSAC title game for just the third time in school history … Named the PSAC Men's Soccer Athlete of the Week after leading the Huskies to two PSAC wins (10/3) … Was named to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 2 College Division first team as a sophomore.
Shawn Sopic, Clarion
Football, Senior
Curwensville, Pa./Curwensville
Major: Chemistry
Cumulative GPA: 3.919
A 2011 Team Captain … 64 tackles, 2 tfl’s, 2 break-ups, 2 fumbles caused; 1 int … 2nd on team in tackles… Top Games – 11 tackles, 1 tfl, 1 fumble caused vs Mercyhurst; 9 tackles vs Bloomsburg & IUP; 5 tackles, 1 int. vs Gannon … 2011 Capital One first team Academic All-American; 2011 Capital One first team Academic All-District … 4-year starter at free safety – also starter in 2007, 2008 and 2009 – sat out 2010 with knee injury … Career Stats – Clarion was 8-3 overall and 6-1 in 2009 – Sopic had 56 tackles, 7 break-ups, and 2 tfl’s …. He had 65 stops, 5 break-ups, 3 int’s and 2 tfl’s in 2008 and 44 hits, 2 break-ups and 1 int in 2007… CAREER TOTALS: 229 tackles, 16 break-ups, 5 int’s, 7 tfl’s, 3 fumbles caused and 2 fumbles recovered.
Neely Spence, Shippensburg
Women’s Cross Country, Senior
Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg
Major: Human Communications Studies
Cumulative GPA: 3.859
2011 NCAA Division II national champion … 2011 NCAA Atlantic Region champion … 2011 PSAC champion … 2011 USTFCCCA Division II Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year … 2011 PSAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year… Won five of her six races to cap off XC career with victories in 22 of 27 races … Concluded her collegiate cross country career as a two-time Division II national champion, three-time Division II All-American, four-time NCAA Atlantic Region champion and four-time PSAC champion … Remains the only athlete to ever be named the PSAC Athlete of the Year in all of her collegiate seasons in every sport … 2010-11 PSAC Pete Nevins Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year … 2010-11 DII CCA Regional Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year … 3-Time USTFCCCA All-Academic Team Member … 2010 USTFCCCA D2 Cross Country Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year … 2010-11 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team (XC/Track) … 2010-11 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic … All-District First Team (XC/Track) … 2010-11 PSAC Spring Top Ten Award Winner … 2010-11 PSAC Winter Top Ten Award Winner … 2010-11 PSAC Fall Top Ten Award Winner … 2009-10 PSAC Winter Top Ten Award Winner … 2009-10 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team (XC/Track) … In cross country, is a 3-time Division II All-American, 2-time Division II National Champion, 2-time USTFCCCA National XC Athlete of the Year, 4-time PSAC champion and 4-time NCAA regional champion … In track, was an 8-Time Division II All-American, 6-Time Division II National Champion, 19-Time PSAC place winner, 19-Time All-PSAC Award Winner, 17-Time PSAC Champion, and owns 7 PSAC all-time records and 2 NCAA D2 all-time records.
Ian Wild, Mercyhurst
Football, Senior
Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
Major: Business/Finance
Cumulative GPA: 3.902
In 2011, Wild missed the final three games of the year due to a shoulder injury, and still led the Lakers with 90 total tackles, recording double-digit stops in six of the eight games he played, including a career-high 16 stops against Edinboro … Wild led the team with a personal-best seven sacks and a career-high five forced fumbles. He also finished second on the team with a personal-best 12.5 tackles for a loss. He finished his career in a tie for eighth place on the all-time tackles list at Mercyhurst with 304 … 2011 Don Hansen All-Super Region One First Team … 2011 Capital One Academic All-America First Team …2011 Capital One Academic All-District First Team … 2011 All-PSAC West First Team … 2010-11 Division II CCA Male Scholar Athlete Of The Year … 2010-11 DII CCA Regional Male Scholar Athlete of the Year … 2010-11 ECAC Division II Male Scholar Athlete Of The Year … 2010-11 PSAC Pete Nevins PSAC Scholar-Athlete Of The Year … 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America … 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team … 2010 Daktronics, Inc. All-Super Region One First Team … 2010 All-PSAC West First Team … 2009 All-PSAC West Second Team … 2009 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Region Second Team … A two-sport athlete, Wild was the winner of the NCAA Elite 88 award at the 2011 NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse championship as he had the highest GPA of the participants at the finals site … Helped lead Mercyhurst to the national title in men’s lacrosse last year.