PSAC Releases Fall 2012 Top 10 Winners
Lock Haven, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is pleased to announce its Fall 2012 Top 10 Award recipients chosen by the PSAC’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 Fall 2012 award winners are
Meghan Franz of California (Pa.),
Kristyn Grunza of Mansfield,
Hannah Heeter of Clarion,
Mary Reilly of Gannon,
Kara Styles of Slippery Rock,
Robbie Bennett of Gannon,
Anthony DiPasquale of IUP,
Bryce Shaffer of Bloomsburg,
Anthony Vendemia of Mercyhurst, and
Khriswayne Wallace of East Stroudsburg.
Bloomsburg’s Bryce Shaffer is the only repeat Top Ten Award winner from the 2011 fall season, and seven recipients were named to their respective CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America® teams. Shaffer, a two-time first team honoree, was joined on the men’s soccer Academic All-America list by Wallace and Bennett, both second team honorees. Franz earned first team mention for women’s volleyball, while Heeter landed a spot on the second team. DiPasquale earned second team recognition in football, and Reilly was a first team selection in women’s soccer.
Of the ten recipients, two student-athletes were crowned the PSAC Champion Scholars of their respective PSAC Championships this fall. DiPasquale earned the achievement as he led IUP to its first PSAC title since 1987, and Styles was named the Champion Scholar for women’s cross country.
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 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 Fall 2012 PSAC Top 10 Award winners:
Robbie Bennett, Gannon
Men’s Soccer, Sophomore
Pinetown, South Africa / St. Benedict School
Major: Sports Psychology
Cumulative GPA: 3.96
Notched 10 goals, 6 assists, 26 points, four game-winning goals, three first goals, three game-tying goals in 2012…Named to the Capital One Academic All-America third team and the Capital One Academic All-District first team … Named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-America third team and the NSCAA All-Atlantic Region first team … Named to the All-PSAC and Daktronics All-Atlantic Region first teams … Led Gannon in goals (10), assists (6), points (26) and game-winning goals (4) … Ranked third among PSAC players in points per match (1.44), goals per match (0.56) and assists per match (0.33) … Ranked 50th among all Division II players in points per match, 62nd in goals per match and 88th in assists per match …Named PSAC Freshman of the Year, as well being selected to the All-PSAC and Daktronics All-Atlantic Region first teams in 2011…Led the conference in goals per match and points per match in 2011.
Anthony DiPasquale, IUP
Football, Graduate
Pittsburgh / Pine-Richland
Major: Marketing
Cumulative GPA: 3.74/3.75 (grad)
Started all 14 games at center for a team that won the PSAC championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II Super Region One championship… Blocked for nation’s 10th best running game (259.3 rush yards/game) and two 1,000-yard rushers in Harvie Tuck (1,660 yards) and De’Antwan Williams (1,325 yards)… The Crimson Hawks finished second in the nation with a 34:16 time of possession and 12th with 0.79 sacks allowed per game….Named to 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® second team… 2012 PSAC Football Champion Scholar Athlete… 2012 All-PSAC West second team… Started 44 games in career… PSAC Scholar Athlete each season…. Dean’s List each semester.
Meghan Franz, California (Pa.)
Volleyball, Senior
Cranberry Twp. / Seneca Valley
Major: Biology (Secondary Education)
Cumulative GPA: 3.93
Led PSAC and ranked No. 18 in NCAA Division II with a career-high .363 hitting percentage … Finished among league leaders with 123 blocks (0.99 per set) … Ranked second on the team with 297 kills (2.40 per set) … Set the all-time school record with 493 blocks, which ranks 10th in league history … Finished tied for seventh in school history with 1,149 career kills while playing a record 525 sets in her career…Is a Two-time Academic All-American (Third Team 2011, First Team 2012) … Three-time Academic All-District (Second Team 2010, First Team 2011-12) … Three-time All-PSAC West First-Team (2010-12) … Two-time AVCA All-Region … Three-time Daktronics All-Region (Second Team 2010, First Team 2011-12) … Starter on two PSAC Championship Teams (2009, 2011) and one NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship Team (2009) … Helped program post a 122-32 overall record, including 66-10 mark in PSAC play, over the last four years … Is the first volleyball player in school history to be a two-time Academic All-American … Three-time PSAC Scholar-Athlete.
Kristyn Grunza, Mansfield
Field Hockey, Senior
Nicholson / Lackawanna Trail
Major: Nursing
Cumulative GPA: 3.89
Named 1st team Longstreth/NFHCA 1st team All-American and 1st team All-PSAC West for third straight season ...Selected to Synapse Sports 2nd team All-American honors ... Named team MVP ... Garnered 2012 MU co-Female Fall Athlete of the Year honors … Helped Mansfield garner its first national ranking since 2009 at No. 9 in the polls … Third on the team in goals scored with eight ... Led the team and ranked sixth in the PSAC in assists with eight ... Totaled 24 points on the season ... Recorded 90 total shots with 48 shots on goal ... Tallied multi-goal games against S. Conn. St. and at Mercyhurst ... Put-up 15 total shots in one game at Mercyhurst ... Averaged 5.29 shots and 0.47 goals and assists per game … Scored a goal in Mansfield’s thrilling 4-2 upset over No. 3 Bloomsburg … Recorded two assists in a win over No. 7 Kutztown…PSAC and MU Presidential Scholar-Athlete and Division II ADA academic Achievement honoree all three seasons … Earned NFHCA Division II National Academic Squad honors in 2010 and 2011 … Ranks second in MU field hockey history in career points with 100, 3
rd in career assists with 24 and 6
th in career goals with 38 … Started in all 71 career games played … Helped Mansfield to its first PSAC playoff appearance since the 2006 season in 2010.
Hannah Heeter, Clarion
Volleyball, Junior
Seneca / Cranberry
Major: Pre-Med/Biology
Cumulative GPA: 3.949
Second on the team in hitting percentage (.259), third in blocks (0.81 per set) and kills (2.26 per set) … Helped Clarion to the second round of the NCAA Atlantic Region bracket where the Golden Eagles fell in five sets to the Atlantic Region champions, host Wheeling Jesuit…Helped Clarion make the PSAC playoffs for the fourth straight year…2012 Second-Team Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America … 2012 CoSIDA Academic All-Region … 2012 First-team AVCA Atlantic All-Region … 2012 PSAC West second team … 2011 CoSIDA Academic All-Region … 2011 PSAC Scholar Award winner in volleyball … Helped Clarion to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances including the 2010 Elite Eight and the 2010 PSAC and PSAC West titles … Plays on Clarion’s women’s basketball team and was the PSAC West Freshman of the Year in 2012 and a second team PSAC West selection after being the only rookie in NCAA Division I or NCAA Division II to average a double-double for the season (13.4 ppg, 11.8 rpg).
Mary Reilly, Gannon
Women’s Soccer, Senior
Akron, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban
Major: Physician Assistant
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
Tallied 2 assists, 2 points, 0.61 team GAA, 12 team shutouts in 2012…Became a two-time Academic All-American this season, being named to the Capital One Academic All-America first team in 2012 after landing a spot on the third team in 2011 … Is the fifth Gannon student-athlete in school history to become a two-time Capital One Academic All-American … Is a two-time academic all-district first-team selection … Has been named a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Scholar-Athlete and received the NCAA Division II Athletics Directors Association (ADA) Academic Achievement Award each of the last two seasons … Has played in 54 matches the last three years, starting 50 … Was part of a Gannon defense that ranked fifth among all NCAA Division II schools in shutout percentage (.632), recording 12 shutouts and ranked 16th nationally in save percentage (.864) and 18th in goals against average (0.61) … Helped Gannon qualify for the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second time in school history …Named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Atlantic Region second team this season.
Bryce Shaffer, Bloomsburg
Men’s Soccer, Senior
Gettysburg / Gettysburg
Major: Business Management
Cumulative GPA: 3.97
Second on the team in scoring with 16 points coming on seven goals and two assists…Named to the 2012 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II All-Atlantic Region team...Named first team CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Team for second straight year…Named to the All-PSAC second team for second straight season...Named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District soccer team for second time… Finished his career fourth all-time in school history with 29 goals…Was the 2011 PSAC Champion Scholar for men’s soccer...Was a 2011 PSAC Fall Top 10 Winner… Was named to the 2010 CoSIDA/
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 2 College Division first team.
Kara Styles, Slippery Rock
Women’s Cross Country, Doctoral Student
Windber / Forest Hills
Major: Doctor of Physical Therapy
Cumulative GPA: 4.0
Earned PSAC Champion Scholar honors at the conference cross country meet after owning a perfect 4.0 GPA and completing more than 150 total credit hours to date…Maintains such an incredible academic record as a doctoral student that has now completed three semesters in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program… Bounced back from an injury that didn’t allow her to run all summer and by the end of the year regained her place as the No. 2 runner on the team…Named All-PSAC with an 18
th-place finish at the conference meet and then earned All-Region with a 24
th-place finish at the Atlantic Regional Championships…Two-time PSAC Champion Scholar Award Winner … First team Academic All-District … Second team Academic All-American … Two-time USTFCCCA All-Academic … Three-time All-PSAC … Two-time All-Region in cross country.
Anthony Vendemia, Mercyhurst
Football, Redshirt Junior
Murrysville / Franklin Regional
Major: Finance
Cumulative GPA: 3.84
Lakers' starting quarterback for all 11 games this season, helping to lead Mercyhurst to a 9-2 overall record and a share of the PSAC West crown…Established career-highs in nearly every category this season, including passing yards (1,938), passing touchdowns (17), rushing yards (47), rushing touchdowns (4), and yards of total offense (1,985)…Threw for a career-high four touchdowns in Mercyhurst's opening week loss at Notre Dame College…Threw for a career-high 379 yards in the season-closing win against East Stroudsburg…Went 9-2 as Mercyhurst's starting quarterback this season and is now 10-6 in his career starting under center…Finished completing 115-of-211 passes (54.5%) with 17 touchdowns and just seven interceptions…Named a CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District First Team selection this past season and was a PSAC Scholar-Athlete last season…Became the eighth quarterback in program history to record 3,000 career passing yards and he became the ninth player in history to reach 3,000 yards of total offense this season…Has thrown for 3,458 career yards - seventh on the all-time list and just 48 yards behind Brian Rostek (1984-87) for sixth…Is eighth all-time with 3,425 yards of total offense and trails Jeff Nowling (2002-06) by 79 yards for seventh place…Voted by his teammates and coaches as a team captain at the team’s postseason banquet.
Khriswayne Wallace, East Stroudsburg
Men’s Soccer, Junior
Westmoreland, Jamaica / Munro College
Major: Business Management
Cumulative GPA: 3.92
Academic All-America 2nd team selection … Started 14 games at center back (missed 3 due to injury)…Academic All-America 2nd team … Two-time Academic All-District … Two-time All-PSAC 1st team and Two-time All-Region selection (Daktronics 2010, NSCAA 2011) … Has started 47 games at center back in 3 years … Started all 20 games on ESU’s 2010 PSAC runner-up team … Missed seven games due to injury over the last two years … Is a senior academically.