2011 CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT AT-LARGE TEAMS (CoSIDA)
MINNEAPOLIS -- Three Augsburg College student-athletes were named to the 2011 Capital One Academic All-District College Division Men's At-Large teams, it was announced on Thursday.
Augsburg wrestler
Tony Valek (JR, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) was named to the 10-member first team, while men's hockey players
Jim Jensen (SR, Plymouth, Minn./Osseo HS) and
Joel Sauer (SR, Madison, Wis./Memorial HS) were named to the 14-member second team. It is the first Capital One Academic All-District honor for each student-athlete.
Valek earned All-American honors for the second time in his career at the
NCAA Division III National Championships in March with a second-place finish for the second straight year at 149 pounds, part of Augsburg's second-place national team finish at the championships in La Crosse, Wis. Valek qualified for the national tournament for the third straight year in 2011.
Valek earned the tournament's award for most pins in least time, with three pins in 11:30 in the tournament. He finished his junior season at 37-6 and is 102-24 in his career.
An accounting major with a 3.94 grade-point average, Valek also earned
National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-America honors for the second straight year, part of an Augsburg squad that finished fifth nationally in the Division III Scholar Team Award race with a 3.4947 team grade-point average.
The academic honor caps a career season for Sauer, a men's hockey forward who was named to the American Hockey Coaches Association/Reebok Hockey Division III All-America Team as a second-team West Region honoree in March. He was also named to the All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference squad for the second straight year, after earning All-MIAC honorable-mention honors in 2009. Sauer is an accounting/finance major with a 3.78 grade-point average.
Sauer finished the 2010-11 season as the MIAC's scoring champion,
leading the league in overall points (39) and
points in conference games-only (24). Sauer tied for the league lead in overall assists (25) and was fourth in overall goals (14), while in league play, he stood third in assists (15) and fifth in goals (9).
Among NCAA Division III players nationally, Sauer finished 12th in points per-game (1.50) and 12th in assists per-game (0.96). He had a goal or assist in 23 of Augsburg's 26 games this season, including a late-season streak of 10 games in a row. In 100 career games, Sauer finished with 52 goals and 57 assists for 109 career points.
A men's hockey forward, Jensen earned a spot on the All-MIAC honorable-mention squad for the second time in his career. He is an accounting/finance major with a 3.84 grade-point average.
Jensen collected 25 points in his senior season (eight goals, 17 assists), ranking 12th among MIAC players in overall points and 12th in overall assists. He ranked 17th in points in conference games-only (15) and 13th in conference-only assists (10).
Jensen played 103 games in his Auggie career, with 35 goals and 58 assists for 93 career points. He had a goal or assist in 18 of his 26 games played this season.
The Capital One Academic All-District team is part of the Capital One Academic All-America program, administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The men's at-large team covers student-athletes in 12 sports -- fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
Top student-athletes from non-Division I programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ontario and Manitoba are eligible for inclusion on the Academic All-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.
First-team Academic All-District members advance to the Academic All-America ballot, voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members. The Academic All-America men's at-large team will be announced on June 7.
