2012 CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA DIVISION III AT-LARGE TEAMS (CoSIDA)


The award is the 24th CoSIDA Academic All-America selection for Augsburg in school history and 11th since 2005. It is the ninth time an Auggie has earned earn CoSIDA Academic All-America first-team honors, and the 10th time an Auggie wrestler has earned the CoSIDA Academic All-America award in program history.

Valek is the first Augsburg student-athlete ever to be named as a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree twice. Valek joins his older brother Ryan Valek '06, also a three-time wrestling All-American, as one of six Auggies to earn Academic All-America honors twice in their careers, along with men's soccer player Alex Hildebrandt (2008, 2009), wrestler Josh Cagle (1999, 2000), football player Scott Hvistendahl (1997, 1998) and women's track and field athlete Karen Sterner (1986, 1987).

Valek is an accounting and general management major with a 3.8667 grade-point average. He was named as the winner of Augsburg's Senior Honor Athlete award -- the highest student-athlete honor the college gives -- at the 2012 Auggie Awards in April.

Valek earned the third All-America honor of his career in March with a third-place finish at the 2012 NCAA Division III National Championships at 149 pounds, finishing with a 34-1 record. Of his 34 victories, 29 were bonus-point wins (15 pins, two technical falls, 12 major decisions).

Valek finished his four-year career with a 136-25 record, with 87 bonus-point victories (60 pins, six technical falls, 21 major decisions). A four-time national tournament qualifier, Valek finished as national runner-up at 149 pounds in both 2011 and 2010. He was a part of Auggie teams that won the NCAA Division III national championship in 2010, while placing second nationally in 2009, 2011 and 2012.

In May, Valek was named to the Capital One Academic All-District men's at-large team for the second straight year. He earned National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Scholar All-America honors his final three seasons, and was named as the recipient of the NCAA Elite 89 Award as the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average at the 2012 NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championships.

The Capital One Academic All-America program is administered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Fifteen student-athletes were named to the Academic All-America Men's At-Large first team, with a total of 45 student-athletes honored on three teams. The Academic All-America Men's At-Large program includes 12 men's sports -- fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.

Top student-athletes, who have already earned Academic All-District first-team honors, are eligible for inclusion on the Academic All-America team. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their current institutions, have a grade-point average above 3.30 (4.0 scale) and have outstanding athletic credentials. The Academic All-America ballot is voted on by a committee of CoSIDA members.

This is the first year of the expanded Academic All-America program, as CoSIDA has moved from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non-Division I), doubling the number of scholar-athletes honored. The teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools. More than 14,000 student-athletes have earned Academic All-America honors since the program was established in 1952.

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Augsburg College's All-Time CoSIDA Academic All-Americans:
Tony Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2012 (first team)
Tony Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2011 (first team)
Alex Hildebrandt, men's soccer, 2009 (second team)
Alex Hildebrandt, men's soccer, 2008 (third team)
Nick Manders, men's soccer, 2007 (second team)
Andrew Neumann, football, 2006 (second team)
Ryan Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2006 (first team)
Riley Conway, men's track and field/cross country, 2005 (second team)
Mark Matzek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2005 (first team)
Ryan Valek, wrestling (men's at-large), 2005 (third team)
Darren Ginther, baseball, 2005 (first team)
Brent Peroutka, football, 2001 (second team)
Josh Cagle, wrestling (men's at-large), 2000 (first team)
Brian Jones, wrestling (men's at-large), 2000 (second team)
Josh Cagle, wrestling (men's at-large), 1999 (second team)
Jim Peterson, wrestling (men's at-large), 1999 (second team)
Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1998 (second team)
Ted Schultz, football, 1997 (first team)
Scott Hvistendahl, football, 1997 (second team)
Dan Lewandowski, wrestling (men's at-large), 1997 (second team)
Andrea Haight, softball, 1991 (second team)
Karen Sterner, track and field (women's at-large), 1987 (second team)
Karen Sterner, track and field (women's at-large), 1986 (first team)
Paul Elliot, football, 1981 (only one team selected)