December 3, 2014

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference recently announced the fall honorees of the HCAC All-Academic awards for the 2014-15 school year. Twenty Bluffton University athletes were recognized for their efforts in the classroom. Football and men's soccer led the way for the Beavers with six honorees. Cross Country and volleyball both checked in with three honorees, while two were recognized from women's soccer. 

Senior Caleb Berlon (Kettering/Fairmont) secured his third consecutive HCAC All-Academic honor. Ryan Johnson-Evers (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) and Jake Headings (Cincinnati/McNicholas) were both second year selections, while fellow junior Appiah Adubofour (Kumasi, Ghana) earned his first Academic All-HCAC honor. Sophomores Josh Carmack (Miamisburg) and Jeff Yoder (Goshen, Ind./Bethany Christian) gave the men's soccer team six honorees, matching the football team for most Bluffton athletes this fall.                                   

Senior Jacob Huber (Findlay/Van Buren) earned his third consecutive HCAC All-Academic award while Ryan Leopold (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) and Ben Schamp (St. Marys/Memorial) both picked up their first honors. Juniors Troy Lind (Delta/Wauseon) and Austin Siefker (Lima/Bath) are both two-time Academic All-HCAC honorees and sophomore Colt Royer (Convoy/Van Wert) made it six student-athletes from football.

Bluffton had three harriers from the cross country team named Academic All-HCAC following the 2014 season. A trio of sophomores were recognized for their work in the classroom. Anna Hairston (Mansfield/Ontario), Raven Wilson (Coshocton/Riverview) and Patrick Brean (Ashland) were all honored in their first season of eligibility.

Senior Jessica Williams (Genoa/Genoa Area) and sophomore Abby Karikas (Curtice/Genoa Area) are both first-time honorees from the women's soccer team.                                                                                                

Junior Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) collected Academic All-HCAC honors for the second consecutive season and she was joined by sophomores Mackenzie McFarlin (Ashland), the HCAC Volleyball Player of the Year, and Lauren Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley).                                                

To be named All-Academic HCAC, a student-athlete must have completed a full year at the institution, be a varsity athlete and carry a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 through the semester preceding the end of the season.                                                

Bluffton University is a liberal arts residential campus with 39 undergraduate programs, adult degree completion programs in organizational management and human resource management and master's degree programs in education, organizational management and business administration. Founded in 1899 and affiliated with Mennonite Church USA, Bluffton is located in northwest Ohio. The institution has a growing enrollment of more than 1,100 students and 14 NCAA Division III athletics teams. Bluffton's hundred-year legacy is expressed today in its enduring values of discovery, community, respect and service that are woven into the academic program and campus life. Bluffton students go into the world prepared for life as well as for their chosen vocation.

-BEAVERS-