Gomez and Kendle named to NWCA All-Academic Team

As a team, Spartans earn spot as Top 30 All-Academic Team

6/5/09 - Michigan State wrestlers Rex Kendle and Franklin Gomez have been named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division I All-Academic team. This year's All-Academic team consists of 73 individuals from 45 schools.

As a team, the Spartans earned a spot in the NWCA All-Academic Top 30 teams list. For teams to be eligible for consideration, the team GPA is comprised of 12 student-athletes, including the 10 wrestlers that were the entries in the NCAA tournament conference qualifier. If teams had less than 10 entries for their respective qualifier, they may fill those spots with wrestlers that competed in at least one varsity dual during the season.

"One of our goals this season was to improve our academic standing," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "I hope to continue that trend and move up in the academic rankings."

Gomez became MSU's 25th National Champion this season when he captured the title at 133 pounds. He finished his junior season with a 27-2 mark, having won his final 14 matches of the year. Gomez is a human resources major with a 3.1 GPA.

"This honor for Franklin makes his NCAA Championship even more special," Minkel said. "Not only is he a champion, he's an honor student as well and that is fantastic."

Kendle, a senior, earned his first-career bid to the NCAA Championships this year at 165 pounds. The biological sciences major graduated with a 3.6 GPA and finished his career with a record of 64-48.

"Rex did a marvelous job as a senior and had another great year on mat and in the classroom," said Minkel.

Individually, wrestlers must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, been an NCAA qualifier or won 60 percent of his total schedule. The other way to qualify for the All-Academic team is have a 3.0 cumulative GPA and earn All-America honors.

NWCA ALL-ACADEMIC BY TEAM
Rank/School/Team GPA
1 American University, 3.2839
2 Harvard University, 3.2585
3 Stanford University, 3.2574
4 Duke University, 3.2331
5 Davidson College, 3.1727
6 Utah Valley University, 3.1623
7 Northwestern University, 3.1613
8 Brown University, 3.1466
9 Princeton University, 3.1099
10 Cornell University, 3.0978
11 Northern Illinois University, 3.0724
12 Columbia University, 3.0658
13 South Dakota State University, 3.0626
14 Penn State University, 3.0599
15 University of Oklahoma, 3.0435
16 George Mason University, 3.0432
17 Binghamton University, 3.0152
18 Oklahoma State University, 3.0132
19 California State University-Bakersfield, 3.0036
20 Liberty University, 2.9826
21 Drexel University, 2.9772
22 United States Air Force Academy, 2.9754
23 Campbell University, 2.9694
24 Lock Haven University, 2.965
25 Michigan State University, 2.9498
26 University of Michigan, 2.9489
27 Iowa State University, 2.9266
28 Eastern Michigan University, 2.9041
29 Hofstra University, 2.8909