The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) is proud to announce its 2001 NWCA Division I wrestling academic teams.  Each year the NWCA honors its Academic Top Twenty-five Division I wrestling teams, as well as a First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention Team of Academic All-Americans.      Princeton University receives honors as the top-ranked academic team in   Division I, with a team GPA of 3.43.  The Tigers achievement is a repeat of their 2000 top ranking.  Stanford University ranks second with a 3.235 grade point average followed by Boston College (3.226), Harvard University (3.223) and Central Michigan (3.187).  Rounding out the top ten teams in order were: James Madison, Duquesne, Cleveland State, Cornell and Brown.  Team rankings are selected by taking the average GPA of each team's starting ten wrestlers along with two backups that wrestled in at least one varsity match.    The individual Academic All-American team is highlighted with three NCAA Champions and three runner-ups on the first team.  The first team is led by John Lockhart of Illinois, Adam Tirapelle of Illinois and Mark Munoz of Oklahoma State.  Lockhart, the NCAA Champion at 285lbs has a 3.45 GPA in Kinesiology.  The 149lbs Champion Tirapelle has a 3.02 GPA also in Kinesiology, while 197lbs Champion Munoz has a 3.41 GPA in Health Promotions.      The Illini paced the first team with three members including Matt Lackey.  Other members of the first team include Iowa's Jody Strittmater, Iowa State's Joe Heskett, Erick "Otto" Olson of Michigan, Nebraska's Brian Snyder and the Minnesota Duo of Brad Pike and Owen Elzen.  Munoz and Heskett are repeat members of the first team.    James Madison University placed the most wrestlers on the team with four followed by several teams with three members.  The team features wrestlers from 32 universities, 44 NCAA qualifiers, and 17 All-Americans.    Mike Moyer, Executive Director of the NWCA said, "The results of the 2001 NWCA Academic All-American Rankings simply validates the NWCA's belief that many of our nations top collegiate wrestlers are committed to a relentless pursuit of academic excellence. Many of these wrestlers will undoubtedly follow their predecessors footsteps in becoming tomorrows leaders."       
  
The NWCA Top 25 All-Academic Wrestling Team
  
1.   Princeton University              
3.430
  
2.   Stanford University               
3.235
  
3.   Boston College                    
3.226
  
4.   Harvard University                
3.223
  
5.   Central Michigan University       
3.187
  
6.   James Madison University          
3.166
  
7.   Duquesne University               
3.150
  
8.   Cleveland State University        
3.136
  
9.   Cornell University                
3.120
  
9.   Brown University                  
3.120
  
11.  Sacred Heart University           
3.089
  
12.  Columbia University               
3.070
  
13.  Lock Haven University             
3.024
  
14.  Penn State University             
2.998
  
15.  University of Iowa   
2.990
  
16.  The Citadel    
2.971
  
17.  Hofstra University   
2.949
  
18.  Nebraska University   
2.919
  
19.  University of Pennsylvania  
2.916
  
20.  Northwestern University  
2.910
  
20.  University of Michigan  
2.910
  
22.  Illinois University   
2.907
  
23.  Indiana University   
2.902
  
24.  Michigan State University  
2.894
  
25.  Northern Illinois University  
2.889
  
  

    
  
NWCA Academic All-Americans
  
First Team
  
Name   
School  
GPA 
Major   
Wrestling Honors
  
John Lockhart  
Illinois  
3.45 
Kinesiology   
NCAA Champion
  
Mark Munoz  
Okla. St.  
3.41 
Health Promotions 
NCAA Champion
  
Jody Strittmater  
Iowa  
3.28 
Biology   
2nd NCAA
  
Bryan Snyder  
Nebraska 
3.21 
Sociology  
2nd NCAA
  
Adam Tirapelle  
Illinois  
3.02 
Kinesiology  
NCAA Champion
  
Owen Elzen  
Minnesota 
3.32 
Health & Wellness 
3rd NCAA
  
Matthew Lackey  
Illinois  
3.27 
Sports Management 
3rd NCAA
  
Joseph Heskett  
Iowa State 
3.14 
Speech Communication 
2nd NCAA
  
Shane Roller  
Okla. State 
3.21 
Psychology  
3rd NCAA
  
Brad Pike  
Minnesota 
3.28 
Technical Education 
4th NCAA
  
Erick "Otto" Olson 
Michigan 
3.05 
Physical Education 
3rd NCAA
    
Second Team
  
Name   
School  
GPA 
Major   
Wrestling Honors
  
Witt Durden  
Oklahoma 
3.03 
Mathematics  
3rd NCAA
  
Zachary Breitenbach 
N.C. State 
4.0 
Computer Science 
NCAA Qualifier
  
Patrick Diaz  
James Madison 
4.0 
International 
Business 
NCAA Qualifier
  
Michael Fickell  
Penn  
3.2 
Finance   
5th NCAA
  
Jordan Webster  
Central Michigan 
3.86 
Undecided  
NCAA Qualifier
  
Matthew Picarsic  
Harvard  
3.93 
Economics  
NCAA Qualifier
  
Greg Schaefer  
Indiana  
3.77 
Education  
NCAA Qualifier
  
Paul Hynek  
Northern Iowa 
3.11 
Mathematics  
6th NCAA
  
Brett Faustman  
Central Michigan 
3.65 
Management Information 
NCAA Qualifier
  
Anthony Reynolds 
Sacred Heart  
3.70 
Chemistry/Mathematics 
3rd ECWA
          
Honorable Mention
  
Name   
School  
GPA 
Major   
Wrestling Honors
  
David Dietrich  
Drexel  
3.64 
Education  
NCAA Qualifier
  
Ty Morgan  
Central Michigan 
3.56 
Business   
NCAA Qualifier
  
Scott Brubaker  
James Madison 
3.56 
Finance   
4th CAA
  
Nathan Rickman  
James Madison 
3.62 
Integrated Science
& Technology 
2nd NCAA
  
Eric Owen  
Northern Illinois 
3.64 
Biological Sciences 
NCAA Qualifier
  
Francis Volpe  
Harvard  
3.56 
Economics   
NCAA Qualifier
  
Jeffrey Knupp  
Penn State 
3.5 
Chemical Engineering 
NCAA Qualifier
  
Brad Vering  
Nebraska 
3.09 
Accounting/Business 
7th NCAA
  
Dan Bednar  
Ohio  
3.48 
Chemical Engineering 
NCAA Qualifier
  
Ryan Kehler  
West