FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

D2WCA All-Academic Teams

SOMERS, Wis. (July 27, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside wrestling squad was honored by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association as one of the top academic teams in the nation while seven student-athletes earned a selection to the 2014-2015 All-Academic Team.

The Rangers compiled the 15th best team grade point average in NCAA Division II in 2014-2015 with the squad boasting a 3.151 average, finishing one tenth of a point shy of a spot in the Top 10.

Individually, Ronzel Darling earned a spot on the All-Academic Second Team while Jake Armellani, Aaron Heidersheid, Jake Papke, Brett Scoles, Brandt Welcher, and Adam Yde all secured Honorable Mention honors.

Darling lands Second Team honors after earning a spot on the Honorable Mention squad last season. The business management major was a national qualifier at 125-pounds this winter, closing the season with a 21-14 record on the mat.

Applied health science major Jake Papke tallies Honorable Mention All-Academic accolades for the third consecutive year while criminal justice major Jake Armellani and business management major Adam Yde claim the honor for the second straight season. Sport management major Aaron Heidersheid and exercise science major Brandt Welcher claim the award for the second time in their careers while applied health science major Brett Scoles claims the honor for the first time in his career.

In order for a student-athlete to be nominated to the Division II All-Academic Team, he needed to have a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale. He must also be in at least his second full year at his school, be a varsity member on his team or a key reserve, demonstrate a degree of skill and have a minimum of two letters of recommendation (academic advisor and coach) submitted on his behalf.

The Rangers wrapped up the 2014-2015 campaign with a 32nd place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships with 165-pounder Nick Fishback placing fifth to earn All-American honors.