Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Four Warriors named to Academic All-MAC football squad

Sr WR John Sibel (Image: John Green)
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Adding to the growing list of accolades for the 2014 Lycoming College football team, senior running back Criag Needhammer (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn), senior wide receiver John Sibel (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury), senior linebacker Kyle Sullivan (Coatesville, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) and junior wide receiver Ryan Umpleby (Forest Hill, Md./Fallston) have all repeated on the Academic All-Middle Atlantic Conference squad, the conference office announced on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Sr RB Craig Needhammer
(Image: John Green)
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award. The award is voted on by the conference's18 sports information departments.

Needhammer, a physics major that was named a Second Team Capital One Academic All-American last week, was named to the D3football.com All-East Region second team yesterday. Needhammer finished third in the MAC with 1,242 rushing yards and second with 13 touchdowns. His 186.7 all-purpose yards per game led the conference and are sixth nationally. He posted the first two 300-all-purpose-yard games in program history as a senior. The team captain rushed for a school-record 299 yards in his last game at FDU-Florham, breaking Josh Kleinfelter's record of 3,664 career rushing yards with his final rush – that 50-yard touchdown that made it 45-27 with 2:47 remaining – giving him 3,713 career yards.

Sr LB Kyle Sullivan
(Image: John Green)
Sibel, a history major, appeared on the verge of a breakout senior campaign, but an injury took him off the field in week seven. Still, he caught 26 passes for a career-high 370 yards and three touchdowns. A great possession receiver, Sibel finished his career with 95 catches for 1,094 yards and seven touchdowns, becoming the 21st player in school history to notch 1,000 receiving yards in a career.

Sullivan, a business marketing major, picked up honorable mention all-conference honors for the second time in his career, as he finished with 51 tackles and three tackles for loss. He also notched an interception against Susquehanna and posted a career-high 13 tackles against Widener.

Jr WR Ryan Umpleby
(Image: John Green)
Umpleby, a business administration major, enjoyed a breakout year as a junior en route to First Team All-MAC and D3football.com All-East Region third team honors. He finished second in the MAC and 24th nationally with 1,022 yards. He was third with 66 receptions and 10 touchdowns. He became the first Warrior in school history to post two 200-yard receiving games in a career, as he notched 203 against Widener and a school-record 228 against Lebanon Valley.

The Warriors finished 8-2 and in third place in the Middle Atlantic Conference under seventh-year head coach Mike Clark.