December 2, 2015

Academic All-HCAC release

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference recently announced the fall honorees of the HCAC All-Academic awards for the 2015-16 school year. Twenty-five Bluffton University athletes were recognized for their efforts in the classroom. Football led the way for the Beavers with nine honorees. Volleyball and Men's Soccer were impressive with six and five honorees, respectively. Cross Country checked in with three honorees, while two were recognized from Women's Soccer.

Seniors Troy Lind (Delta/Wauseon) and Austin Siefker (Lima/Bath) are both three-time Academic All-HCAC honorees while fellow four-year Beavers Aron Gibson (Caledonia/River Valley) and Derrick Bowman (Lima/Bath) were both recognized for the second time. Senior Dylan Mann (Calden/Preble Shawnee) earned his first Academic All-HCAC recognition. Junior TrEy Wilds (Ironton/Rock Hill) along with sophomores Antonio Capasso (Eastlake/Trinity), Wyatt Jarrell (Racine/Southern Local) and Noah Rathbun (Erving, Mass./Pioneer Valley Regional) rounded out the first-time honorees from football.

Bluffton had three runners from the cross country team named Academic All-HCAC following the 2015 season. A junior and two sophomores were recognized for their work in the classroom. Anna Hairston (Mansfield/Ontario) secured her second straight HCAC All-Academic award while Elaina Alpeter (Galloway/Hilliard Bradley) and Alissa Hauke (Hillsboro) were both honored in their first season of eligibility.     

Senior Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) collected Academic All-HCAC honors for the third consecutive season, all three years in which she was eligible. She was joined by juniors Mackenzie McFarlin (Ashland) and Lauren Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) who were both recognized last year as well. Sophomores Alexa McCourt (Toledo/Cardinal Stritch), Lauren Miller (Dayton/Miamisburg) and Erin Helms (Arlington) made it six award winners from volleyball.

Sophomores Katelyn Gardella (Troy/Miami East) and Brittany Huff (Union/Northmont) are both first-time honorees from the women's soccer team.

Ryan Johnson-Evers (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) and Jake Headings (Cincinnati/McNicholas) both secured their third consecutive HCAC All-Academic honor, while fellow seniors Appiah Adubofour (Kumasi, Ghana) and Chris Wagler (Leipsic/Pandora-Gilboa) earned their second Academic All-HCAC honor. Junior Josh Carmack (Miamisburg) also took home his second Academic All-HCAC award, giving the men's soccer team five honorees.

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 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-