Spartanburg, S.C. ? Chattanooga’s Javier Maldonado and Stephen Hromado, UNC Greensboro’s Jeff Hedges and Davidson’s Ben Altman were named to the NWCA All-Academic Team. Davidson and The Citadel were ranked in the top 30 in the team category according to the NWCA.
Maldonado was named Southern Conference student-athlete of the week for February 26 and has a 3.57 grade point average in Health and Exercise Science. Maldonado had an overall record of 16-7 and was undefeated in Southern Conference matches. He won the Southern Conference Championship at 125-pound weight class and qualified for the NCAA Championship.
Hromada, a senior from Wheatley Heights, N.Y., has a 3.25 grade point average and a master’s degree in Education. Hromada placed third at the Southern Conference Championship and had a 15-8 overall record with 10 decision, two major decision and three technical falls.
Hedges a senior from UNC Greensboro, was named Southern Conference student-athlete of the week for February 12 and has a 3.46 grade point average in sports medicine. Hedges posted a 28-11 overall record and went undefeated in Southern Conference matches. Hedges won the Southern Conference Championship at 133-pound weight class and qualified for the NCAA championship.
Altman, a sophomore from Wilmington, Del., had a 3.76 grade point average and majoring in mathematics. Altman had a 24-11 record with three pins and placed second in the Southern Conference Championships. Altman was named student-athlete of the week twice for the weeks of December 5 and February 20.
Individually, wrestlers must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, been an NCAA qualifier or won 60 percent of his total schedule and must have competed in at least 60 percent of said schedule. A wrestler may also qualify for the All-Academic team with a 3.0 cumulative having been named an NCAA All-American.
Davidson’s wrestling team ranked 11th on the All-Academic team with a combined team grade point average of 3.082. The Citadel was also ranked in the NWCA All-Academic team at No.19 with a grade point average of 2.963.
For teams to be eligible for consideration, teams comprise 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.