COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John’s University senior wrestler Chris Sandy (Spirit Lake, Iowa.) was named to the Capital One Academic All-District men’s at-large first team on Thursday, May 19.
Sandy and the other Capital One Academic All-District first-team selections are eligible for the Capital One Academic All-America team, which is scheduled to be announced Tuesday, June 7.
A National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) All-American Scholar, Sandy completed his senior season at Saint John’s with a 21-7 record at 141 pounds. He won the Great Lakes Regional to earn a trip to the NCAA Division III Championships. Sandy posted six pins and was nationally ranked three times during the 2010-11 season.
A history major with an emphasis in pre-law, Sandy has a 3.98 GPA and will attend the School of Law at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., this fall. He was named the Division III recipient of NCAA’s Elite 88 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 88 championships. Sandy was also selected to receive a $7,500 postgraduate scholarship from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) earlier this month.
In order to be eligible for Academic All-District and Academic All-America recognition, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore, maintain a minimum 3.30 cumulative GPA and is a starter or key reserve on his or her team. The men’s at-large category includes student-athletes that participate in fencing, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, men’s volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
The Johnnies finished sixth out of 60 teams at the 2011 NCAA Division III Championships in March. SJU tied with Augsburg and Wisconsin-La Crosse with the second-most All-Americans (5). Both the number of All-Americans and the team’s finish are program bests.