Saturday, May 4, 2013

Four Warriors earn membership into the Hampshire Honor Society

#19 Wesley Strayer Sr TE Enola, Pa. / East Pennsboro HS
Wesley Strayer was one of four Warriors to earn membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society.
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – After recording a school-record 15 selections to the Middle Atlantic Conference Honor Roll, the Lycoming College football team also set another record for Hampshire Honor Society selections, with four seniors earning membership into the prestigious club, the National Football Foundation in Dallas, Texas, announced on Thursday, May 2. The four honorees are Zach Klinger (Halifax, Pa./Halifax Area), Jamie Reitzi (Middletown, Pa./Middletown), Parker Showers (Aspers, Pa./Biglerville) and Wesley Strayer (Enola, Pa./East Pennsboro).


In order to be eligible for membership into the honor society, a player must be a starter or significant reserve on the team as a senior, maintain a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout his entire course of undergraduate study and meet all NCAA-mandated progress toward degree requirements and graduation.

Klinger, who won the David G. Busey Award for academic and athletic achievement as a junior, was a two-year starter at quarterback for the Warriors. A three-time MAC Academic Honor Roll honoree as a biology major, Klinger started all 10 games for the Warriors as a junior, completing 51.3 percent of his passes and passing for 1,394 yards. He passed for 11 touchdowns and was picked off just three times, the fewest for a Lycoming quarterback since 1959. In his two years as the team’s starter, he posted a 14-6 overall record.

Reitzi, a linebacker that started for one season, finished his career with 83 tackles, including 3.0 tackles for loss. As a sophomore, he posted a career-high 50 stops. He added 20 more as a junior and made 13 stops as a senior. The biology major was also a three-time member of the MAC Academic Honor Roll.

Showers, who earned Lycoming’s David G. Busey Award for athletic and academic achievement as well as the team’s MVP and Special Teams Player of the Year awards, continued a string of six straight All-MAC nods as a second-team pick. The fast, powerful back moved all the way from sixth to fourth in the MAC after notching a career-high 188 rushing yards against Misericordia in the season finale. The team captain finished the season with 76.50 yards per game and added eight touchdowns, helping him gain 1,977 career yards on 438 carries, finishing ninth in school history in both rushing yards and with 18 rushing touchdowns. As a special teams player, Showers also earned second team all-conference honors as a senior. One of the most explosive kick returners in the country, Showers finished 14th in the nation at 26.82 yards per return. He set the school’s kickoff career return yardage in the game against Lebanon Valley, earning him MAC Special Teams Player of the Week. He finished the season with 456 yards on just 17 returns, six yards from the school’s single season record, and he posted three 40-yard returns on the season. The accolades continued for his efforts off the field for the business management during his senior year, as he was named a William V. Campbell Trophy semifinalist, to the Capital One Academic All-District IV team and to the MAC Academic Honor Roll for the third time in his career.

Strayer, a one-time member of the MAC Academic Honor Roll, became a key member of the Warriors’ offense as a blocking tight end as a senior. A four-year member of the team, the psychology major made a huge impression with the only catch of his career, notching a one-yard touchdown reception against Widener.

The Warriors finished 8-2 overall and 8-1 in the MAC to finish second in the league under fifth-year head coach Mike Clark.

Lycoming College Football
Hampshire Honor Society Members
2011 – Dan Cassidy, LB
2011 – T.J. Chiarolanza, K
2011 – Matt Landseidel, OL
2012 – Tim Okken, OL

2013 – Zach Klinger, QB

2013 – Jamie Reitzi, LB

2013 – Parker Showers, RB

2013 – Wesley Strayer, TE