MANHEIM, Pa. – Four Southern Conference programs are among the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic Top 30, with Gardner-Webb leading the way in fourth place nationally. Additionally, 10 SoCon student-athletes were named NWCA All-Academic individually.

In the team standings, SIUE checked in at ninth, Chattanooga at No. 11 and Davidson at No. 19.

Head coach Daniel Elliott’s Gardner-Webb team finished ranked No. 4 nationally in 2014-2015, joining only Harvard and Brown as program’s who have earned a top-five finish in each of the past two seasons.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs posted a 3.352 GPA as determined by the ranking system. GWU finished with the nation’s third-best GPA in 2013-2014.

With a team GPA of 3.242, SIUE’s appearance in the top 10 is its first in school history. Cougars Jake Tindle and Jake Residori were among the 118 nationally who earned spots on the NWCA All-Academic Team.

Chattanooga posted a team GPA of 3.201 and saw three student-athletes merit individual honors in John Shrader, Jared Johnson and Sean Boyle. Chattanooga is the highest-ranking team on the list that also won its conference championship. It is the first time UTC has made the top 15 since finishing 12th in 2012. The Mocs were also No. 8 in the nation in 2011.

Davidson is appearing in the top 20 of the team rankings for the first time. The Wildcats put together a 3.114 GPA.

Appalachian State’s Dominic Parisi and Denzel Dejournette and The Citadel’s Joaquin Marquez, Matthew Frisch and Marshall Haas also earned spots on the All-Academic Team.

Each team's grade point average is determined using a system that includes 12 student-athletes from each program. A total of 10 spots were made up of wrestlers who participated in the conference tournament or NCAA qualifier event.

In order to earn the individual honor, a student-athlete must achieve a 3.2 cumulative GPA and win 60 percent of his total schedule or be an NCAA qualifier.