Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Earn NWCA Team Academic Award, Hartman Named to Third All-Academic Team
5/20/2021 12:28:00 PM | Wrestling
MANHEIM, Pa. – The Bucknell wrestling team earned a National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Team Academic Award for being among the top-30 programs nationally in team grade point average.
As a team, the Bison ranked 10th with a 3.44 GPA, up from 13th with a 3.28 GPA a year ago. This is their third appearance in the national top 10, and they have now been slotted in the national 30 in seven of the past eight years.
In addition, Zach Hartman represented the Bison on his third career NWCA All-Academic Team. Hartman, a two-time All-American and the defending EIWA champion at 165 pounds, became the third Bison to capture this award three times.
The team GPA was determined using a system that included 12 student-athletes from each program. A total of 10 had to be wrestlers who competed in their NCAA tournament conference qualifier. Long Island University was the top team in the NWCA All-Academic Team standings; Bucknell was one of four EIWA programs to make this year's top 10.Â
Hartman was among 191 student-athletes who were honored on the 2021 NWCA All-Academic Team. To be eligible for this award, a wrestler had to either qualify for the NCAA Championships or win at least 60 percent of his bouts while competing in at least 60 percent of his team's schedule.
Bucknell has 10 NWCA All-Academic Team members, including five since the program was reinstated ahead of the 2006-07 season. Paul Petrov, a 2016 graduate, and Drew Phipps, a 2020 graduate, each captured this award three times while Jay Hahn was honored in 2011 and Garrett Hoffman in 2017. In 1995, Bobby Ferraro, Robert Renn, Ty Rothermel and Michael Rush were named to the squad; Phil Elliott was the first Bison to be recognized on the NWCA All-Academic Team, making the 1992 squad.
Players Mentioned
