The St. Cloud State University wrestling team, which won its fourth NCAA Division II national championship in 2019, also ranked among the nation’s top academic teams with a 12th place standing in this year’s National Wrestling Coaches Association Division II All-Academic team rankings. The Huskies earned their elite status by posting a 3.1868 team grade point average in 2018-19.
The NWCA also honors individual athletes as Division II Scholar All-Americans. Those ranked individually included 212 student-athletes from 41 institutions. This group included 11 Scholar All-Americans from St. Cloud State University. The Huskies’ award winners were led by senior Brett Velasquez, who earned Scholar All-America honors for the fourth time in his career. The 2016 NCAA DII champion at 125-pounds, Velasquez earned All-America status for the Huskies four times during his sterling career.
In addition to Velasquez, SCSU student-athletes earning honors included: Jake Barzowski, Joseph Bianchini, Luke Clark, Kolton Eischens, Boone Giulio, Chance Helmick, Mason Phillips, Ttavis Swanson and Garrett Vos. Barzowski (157), Eischens (174) and Vos (133) all earned All-America for the Huskies at the NCAA championships and Helmick was an NCAA qualifier for SCSU at 184 pounds this season.
In order for a student-athlete to be nominated to the Division II All-Academic Team, he must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale, with that benchmark at 3.25 for those who qualified for the 2019 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships and 3.0 for those who earned All-American status for the 2019 season. The athlete must also have competed in a minimum of six dates of competition.
One of the nation’s dominant NCAA DII teams, St. Cloud State has won four NCAA team titles since 2015 (2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019) along with eight consecutive NSIC championships under the direction of head coach Steve Costanzo.
2019 NWCA DII All-Academic teams and individuals
TOP 20 TEAMS
TeamPlaceGPAMaryville University13.5558LIU Post23.4283Colorado School of Mines33.428University of Indianapolis43.3414Newman University53.2931Urbana University63.2766Gannon73.2667Ashland University83.2455Mercyhurst93.2395Lake Erie103.2095Drury Wrestling113.1889ST. CLOUD STATE123.1868Chadron State133.1817University of Mary143.1785Colorado Mesa153.1634Northern State University163.1612University of Nebraska at Kearney173.1084Seton Hill183.0899West Liberty University193.0606Central Missouri203.0378
NWCA DII Scholar All-Americans
WrestlerSchoolYrWgtMajorBarzowski, JakeSt. Cloud StateRSo157Technology ManagementBianchini, JosephSt. Cloud StateFr141General BusinessClark, LukeSt. Cloud StateFr174General StudiesEischens, KoltonSt. Cloud StateJr174Technology ManagementFitzpatrick, DevinSt. Cloud StateSo165MarketingGiulio, BooneSt. Cloud StateFr157Criminal JusticeHelmick, ChanceSt. Cloud StateSr184FinancePhillips, MasonSt. Cloud StateFr149MarketingSwanson, TravisSt. Cloud StateSr141Mechanical EngineeringVelasquez, BrettSt. Cloud StateSr125Biomedical SciencesVos, GarrettSt. Cloud StateFr133Criminal Justice
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