Bucknell University Athletics
Photo by: Jon Lambert
Bucknell Football Places League-Best 45 on PL Academic Honor Roll
2/1/2019 1:00:00 PM | Football
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – The Bucknell football team placed a league-best 45 student-athletes on the 2018 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, the league office announced Friday.
This was the third-straight year the Bison boasted at least 40 Academic Honor Roll members. This year's number represented over 54 percent of the team's roster and was headlined by senior All-American punter Alex Pechin and sophomore linebacker Rick Mottram, a 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 selection who earned a team-best 4.0 during the fall semester.
Bucknell placed nine more student-athletes on the Academic Honor Roll than second-place Holy Cross (36). The Bison and Crusaders were the only teams with at least 30 Academic Honor Roll honorees in 2018.
Earlier this off-season, Pechin became the Patriot League's fifth repeat Scholar-Athlete of the Year in conference history. The Biomedical Engineering/Management for Engineers double major was also recognized on the FCS Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team for the second year in a row and was selected as one of seven finalists for the organization's postgraduate scholarship. He was joined by Mottram, one of three Patriot League student-athletes who earned a perfect GPA this past fall, on the Academic All-Patriot League Team.
Pechin and Jordan, a Political Science/Sociology double major, captured a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll each of the past four seasons. Thirteen freshmen were among this year's honorees, putting them on track to accomplish the same success.
A year ago, the Bison set a new school record for the fifth season in a row by placing 48 student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. They had 46 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll members in 2016.
Simon Behr, So., Undeclared-Management*
Ryan Brida, So., Undeclared*
Max Bunzel, Fr., Undeclared-Management
Alan Butler, Sr., Economics*
Eric Butler, So., Undeclared*
Mike Caruso, Jr., Economics*
Grayson Cherubino, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
John Chiarolanzio, Jr., Accounting & Financial Management*
Sam Chitty, Jr., Economics*
Mike Colantuono, So., Undeclared
Sterling Deary, Fr., Undeclared
Dylan DeMarco, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
Tarrin Earle, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
Cinjun Erskine, Sr., Education*
Chad Freshnock, Jr., Political Science
Luke Hamper, Fr., Undeclared*
Alex Jordan, Sr., Political Science/Sociology*
Michael Killiri, Fr., Chemical Engineering
Maanik Lal, So., Undeclared-Management
Joe Lauro, Sr., Sociology*
Renn Lints, Fr., Undeclared
Erik Lukner, Jr., Anthropology
Dominic Lyles, Fr., Undeclared*
John McGuire, So., Undeclared*
Roger Mellado, So., Undeclared
Rick Mottram, So., Mechanical Engineering*
Clay Myers, So., Undeclared
Drew Newcomb, Sr., Economics*
Simeon Page, So., Undeclared*
Alex Pechin, Sr., Biomedical Engineering/Management for Engineers*
John Reedy, Jr., Economics*
Chanse Riley, Sr., Political Science*
Conner Romango, So., Undeclared-Management
Jacob Russ, Fr., Undeclared-Management
Noah Sansalone, Fr., Undeclared*
Joe Schiano, Sr., History
Daniel Sheehan, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
Jimmy Sheehan, Jr., Biology
Noah Stephenson, Jr., Political Science
Brice Sydnor, Sr., Political Science
Chandler Turner, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
Alex Twiford, So., Undeclared
Jake Wilson, Jr., Religion/Political Science*
Nick Zarkoski, Sr., Economics
This was the third-straight year the Bison boasted at least 40 Academic Honor Roll members. This year's number represented over 54 percent of the team's roster and was headlined by senior All-American punter Alex Pechin and sophomore linebacker Rick Mottram, a 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 selection who earned a team-best 4.0 during the fall semester.
Bucknell placed nine more student-athletes on the Academic Honor Roll than second-place Holy Cross (36). The Bison and Crusaders were the only teams with at least 30 Academic Honor Roll honorees in 2018.
Mottram, junior quarterback John Chiarolanzio, senior defensive lineman Alex Jordan and junior quarterback Jake Wilson all recorded grade point averages north of 3.90. Of the team's 45 honorees, 26 made the Bucknell Dean's List with a GPA of 3.50 or higher, helping their team register a combined GPA of 3.09 during the fall academic period.Incredibly proud of our league-best 45 @PatriotLeague Academic Honor Roll members!
— Bucknell Football (@Bucknell_FB) February 1, 2019
Story: https://t.co/Gu756ljGXc | #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/SWUoZ9sEse
Earlier this off-season, Pechin became the Patriot League's fifth repeat Scholar-Athlete of the Year in conference history. The Biomedical Engineering/Management for Engineers double major was also recognized on the FCS Athletics Directors Association Academic All-Star Team for the second year in a row and was selected as one of seven finalists for the organization's postgraduate scholarship. He was joined by Mottram, one of three Patriot League student-athletes who earned a perfect GPA this past fall, on the Academic All-Patriot League Team.
Pechin and Jordan, a Political Science/Sociology double major, captured a spot on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll each of the past four seasons. Thirteen freshmen were among this year's honorees, putting them on track to accomplish the same success.
A year ago, the Bison set a new school record for the fifth season in a row by placing 48 student-athletes on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. They had 46 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll members in 2016.
To qualify for the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll, student-athletes must have achieved a minimum 3.20 GPA during the semester in which their team competed. A total of 215 football players were honored this season. The following are the Bucknell football team's 2018 Patriot League Academic Honor Roll members:
P.J. Barr, So., UndeclaredSimon Behr, So., Undeclared-Management*
Ryan Brida, So., Undeclared*
Max Bunzel, Fr., Undeclared-Management
Alan Butler, Sr., Economics*
Eric Butler, So., Undeclared*
Mike Caruso, Jr., Economics*
Grayson Cherubino, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
John Chiarolanzio, Jr., Accounting & Financial Management*
Sam Chitty, Jr., Economics*
Mike Colantuono, So., Undeclared
Sterling Deary, Fr., Undeclared
Dylan DeMarco, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
Tarrin Earle, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
Cinjun Erskine, Sr., Education*
Chad Freshnock, Jr., Political Science
Luke Hamper, Fr., Undeclared*
Alex Jordan, Sr., Political Science/Sociology*
Michael Killiri, Fr., Chemical Engineering
Maanik Lal, So., Undeclared-Management
Joe Lauro, Sr., Sociology*
Renn Lints, Fr., Undeclared
Erik Lukner, Jr., Anthropology
Dominic Lyles, Fr., Undeclared*
John McGuire, So., Undeclared*
Roger Mellado, So., Undeclared
Rick Mottram, So., Mechanical Engineering*
Clay Myers, So., Undeclared
Drew Newcomb, Sr., Economics*
Simeon Page, So., Undeclared*
Alex Pechin, Sr., Biomedical Engineering/Management for Engineers*
John Reedy, Jr., Economics*
Chanse Riley, Sr., Political Science*
Conner Romango, So., Undeclared-Management
Jacob Russ, Fr., Undeclared-Management
Noah Sansalone, Fr., Undeclared*
Joe Schiano, Sr., History
Daniel Sheehan, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
Jimmy Sheehan, Jr., Biology
Noah Stephenson, Jr., Political Science
Brice Sydnor, Sr., Political Science
Chandler Turner, Fr., Undeclared-Management*
Alex Twiford, So., Undeclared
Jake Wilson, Jr., Religion/Political Science*
Nick Zarkoski, Sr., Economics
* Bucknell Dean's List
Players Mentioned
TE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
CB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DE/LS
/ Football
CB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
FB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
S
/ Football
QB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR/LS
/ Football
DE
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
S
/ Football
LB
/ Football
P/K
/ Football
TE/FB
/ Football
S
/ Football
S
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
S
/ Football
P/K
/ Football
TE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DL
/ FootballHoly Cross at Bucknell Saturday Softball Doubleheader Highlights 3-21-2026
Sunday, March 22
Army West Point at Bucknell Women's Lacrosse Game Highlights 3-21-2026
Saturday, March 21
In The Herd: Patriot League Opener Preview And Angelina Seropian Feature
Thursday, March 19
In The Herd: Army Game Preview And Katie Browne Feature
Thursday, March 19