2009-10 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT MEN'S AT-LARGE TEAM
MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg College wrestler
Paul Bjorkstrand (SR, Burnsville, Minn.) was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V College Division Men's At-Large squad as a second-team selection, it was announced recently.
Bjorkstrand is a mathematics/computer science major with a 3.54 grade-point average, and the Academic All-District honor is the first of his career. He also earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-America honors in 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Returning to the Auggies this season after a year's absence, Bjorkstrand gained the starting spot at 133 pounds and reached the NCAA Division III national tournament for the first time. At the national tourney, Bjorkstrand won three matches, including two by pin, before losing in the national title match.
Bjorkstrand finished his senior season at 39-8, with nine pins, four technical falls and nine major decisions. Twenty-two of his 39 victories were bonus-point wins for the Auggies, as he captured five tournament titles in 2009-10. Bjorkstrand won 16 of his last 18 matches to close the season, and finished second at the Division III Great Lakes Regional to qualify for the national tournament. He finished his Auggie career at 102-35, with 25 pins, six technical falls and 18 major decisions.
Bjorkstrand was one of eight All-Americans for the Auggies, who captured their 11th NCAA Division III national championship in the last 20 seasons in 2010. Augsburg extended its streak of “trophy finishes” – finishing in the top four in the team race – to 22 straight years, the longest active streak of any NCAA wrestling program, regardless of division. Augsburg has finished fourth or better every year since 1989, and its 22-year streak is the second-longest top-four finish streak of any school in NCAA wrestling history, behind the 28 of Oklahoma State in Division I from 1929-59.
Augsburg finished 12-0 in dual meets in the 2009-10 season, its 11th unbeaten dual-meet record in school history, and won the NWCA Division III National Duals title and NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional title en route to the team national championship.
The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team is part of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Top student-athletes from non-Division I programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ontario and Manitoba are eligible for inclusion on the district team. Student-athletes must have a grade-point average above 3.30 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. College sports information directors in the district vote for the teams.
The men's at-large team awards student-athletes in 12 sports -- golf, rifle, volleyball, gymnastics, skiing, water polo, fencing, ice hockey, swimming, wrestling, lacrosse and tennis. First-team Academic All-District members advance to the Academic All-America ballot, voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members.
