Thursday, December 14, 2017

Wagner becomes Lycoming’s 26th Academic All-American

A LycomingFootball.com Photo
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Senior Erik Wagner (Warriors Mark, Pa./Tyrone Area) is the fourth Lycoming College football player to earn First Team College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American honors, as the tight end is the 26th athlete at the college to earn the honors, the organization announced on Wednesday, Dec. 13.


A LycomingFootball.com Photo
Wagner, a team captain, was a two-year starter for the Warriors at tight end. This season, he notched a career-high eight receptions for 42 yards and he was also the team's top special teams’ tackler, with six stops. He finished second on team with nine special teams tackles in 2016.

A two-time MAC Academic Honor Roll pick as a biology major, the high school quarterback played multiple positions in his career for the Warriors, including safety and linebacker before finding a home as a tight end during his junior year.

Wagner is the football team’s ninth Academic All-American, joining Tom Vanaskie (DB, 1974), Paul DeJoseph (DB, 1980), Mike Kern (DL, 1985), Jeff Mahalik (DB, 1992), Mitch Marzo (LB, 2000), T.J. Chiarolanza (K, 2010), Craig Needhammer (RB, 2014), and Austin Mital (OL, 2016).

A LycomingFootball.com Photo
Wagner is the Warriors' second Academic All-American in the calendar year, as senior Brandon Conrad(Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg Area) earned third-team honors in the at-large sports category in the spring. He is only the eighth student-athlete in program history to earn First Team Academic All-American honors and is the first since wrestler Isaiah Britton earned the honors in 2011.

To be eligible for the Academic All-American award, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

The Warriors finished 4-6 overall and 4-5 in the MAC, tying for sixth, under 10th-year head coach Mike Clark.