Patriot League Announces Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and 2016 All-Academic Team
Holy Cross Wide Receiver Jake Wieczorek Named the 2016 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Holy Cross wide receiver/return specialist Jake Wieczorek was selected as the 2016 Corvias Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was one of 14 student-athletes named to the football Academic All-Patriot League Team when honors were announced on Wednesday.
Wieczorek, a three-time Academic All-League selection, is one of five Patriot League football student-athletes to have earned academic team accolades last season, joined by teammate and senior defensive back Luke Ford, Fordham’s senior placekicker Makay Redd, Georgetown senior defensive lineman Phil Novacki and Lafayette senior defensive lineman Collin Albershardt. Colgate senior placekicker Jonah Bowman is also a two-time Academic All-League selection having received the honor in 2014. Bucknell junior wide receiver Jack Horan and junior tight end Andrew Podbielski, Colgate sophomore punter Josh Cerra, Georgetown junior wide receiver Jim McLaughlin and junior defensive back Jelani Williamson, Lafayette senior defensive tackle Anthony Labudev and Lehigh senior defensive lineman Jimmy Mitchell and offensive lineman Micah Tennant are all first time Academic All-Patriot League selections.
The Academic All-Patriot League Team honors student-athletes who excel both on and off the field and has 14 student-athletes to equal one-half the size of the All-Patriot League Football First Team. The awards are nominated and voted on by the Patriot League football sports information directors.
On the field Wieczorek, a two-time All-League selection, was a multi-faceted weapon for the Crusaders. He led all Patriot League punt returners with a 13.7 yards per return average and finished among the League leaders with a 22.1 yards per kickoff return average, helping earn Second Team All-League honors as a return specialist. On offense the senior wide receiver had 55 catches for 705 receiving yards and five touchdown receptions and finished behind only Fordham junior running back Chase Edmonds with 1,820 all-purpose yards. Wieczorek was also an All-League selection in 2014.
In the classroom Wieczorek showed just as wide an array of talents, carrying a 3.9 grade point average as an economics and chemistry double major. In addition to being named to the Academic All-League team for the third time, he is also a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in each of the last three years. He is also a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, awarded by the National Football Foundation to the best senior scholar-athlete in the nation. Wieczorek, who has interned at Beth Israel Hospital for the past two summers plans on taking his medical school entrance exams this upcoming spring.
Each of the honorees has shined in the classroom with Horan carrying a 3.81 GPA in financial management with Podbielski holding a 3.47 GPA in environmental studies, both at Bucknell. Bowman, a history major, has a 3.57 GPA, while teammate Cerra has a 3.5 GPA at Colgate. Redd, a three-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection, is a finance major with a 3.45 GPA at Fordham. Georgetown’s McLaughlin is a NFF & College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Scholarship recipient, holding a 3.72 GPA in economics with a minor in business administration. Novacki, a finance major, carries a 3.52 GPA, while Williamson has a 3.48 GPA in economics at Georgetown. Ford carries a 3.64 GPA in economics at Holy Cross. Albershardt, a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection has a 3.61 GPA as an economics major at Lafayette, while teammate and senior defensive tackle Andy Labudev has a 3.60 GPA in international affairs. Lehigh’s senior offensive lineman Micah Tennant carries a 3.90 GPA as a mechanical engineering, while teammate and senior defensive lineman Jimmy Mitchell holds a 3.39 GPA in economics.
To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key player in his/her sport. Freshmen or students in their first academic year at their school are not eligible for the honor.
The Corvias Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each individual sport comprises the pool of nominees for the Corvias Patriot League Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards. Those honors, bestowed upon one male and one female are awarded over the summer.
Corvias Patriot League Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Jake Wieczorek, Holy Cross (Sr., WR)
Football Academic All-Patriot League Team
Jack Horan, Bucknell (Jr., WR)
Andrew Podbielski, Bucknell (Jr., TE)
Jonah Bowman, Colgate (Sr., PK)
Josh Cerra, Colgate (So., P)
Makay Redd, Fordham (Sr., PK)
Jim McLaughlin, Georgetown (Jr., WR)
Phil Novacki, Georgetown (Sr., DL)
Jelani Williamson, Georgetown (Jr., DB)
Luke Ford, Holy Cross (Sr., DB)
Jake Wieczorek, Holy Cross (Sr., WR)
Collin Albershardt, Lafayette (Sr., DL)
Anthony Labudev, Lafayette (Sr., DT)
Jimmy Mitchell, Lehigh (Sr., DL)
Micah Tennant, Lehigh (Sr., OL)