2019-20 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA D-III AT-LARGE TEAMS
MINNEAPOLIS -- Augsburg University tied the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Denison University (Ohio) for the most honorees nationally selected to the 2019-20 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division III Men's At-Large team, it was announced on Wednesday. Auggie wrestlers
David Flynn (SR, Jordan, Minn./Jordan HS (Scott West)) and
Victor Gliva (SR, Farmington, Minn.) were named to the first team, while golfer
Brett Buckingham (SR, Glennwood, Minn./Minnewaska HS) was selected as a second-team honoree.
A first-team Academic All-America honoree in 2018, Gliva is the 15th Augsburg student-athlete to earn multiple Academic All-America honors from CoSIDA. Across all sports, Augsburg student-athletes have now been honored 48 times with CoSIDA Academic All-America honors since 1981, including 38 honors since 2000. Augsburg athletes earned five CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in the 2019-20 school year, the most in a single academic year in school history.
It's the second time in the last three years that Augsburg has had three Academic All-America men's at-large honorees. The men's at-large category includes student athletes from 12 men's sports: fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling.
An accounting major with a perfect 4.000 GPA, this is Gliva's second Academic All-America honor after being selected as a first-team honoree in 2018. Earlier this year, Gliva became the first-ever Augsburg student-athlete to win the prestigious NCAA Elite 90 award, given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at an NCAA national championship event, in three consecutive seasons. Gliva was a four-time National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Scholar All-American and earned both CoSIDA Academic All-American and Academic All-District honors in 2017-18. Gliva was a three-time All-American and a three-time NCAA regional champion. He finished his Augsburg career with a 114-27 record, with 35 pins, 10 technical falls and 19 major decisions.
Gliva qualified for his fourth NCAA tournament in 2019-20, going 25-5 with 11 pins and 1 technical fall, earning NWCA All-America first-team honors. In 2018-19, he went 28-7 with nine pins, three technical falls and six major decisions, finishing fifth at the NCAA tournament at 125 pounds. Gliva finished 29-8 in 2017-18 and 32-7 in 2016-17, finishing eighth at 125 nationally in first year. Gliva is one of only three Division III athletes, and just 13 student-athletes in all three NCAA divisions, to ever earn NCAA Elite 90 honors three times in a career.
A business management major with a 3.8604 GPA, this marks Flynn's first Academic All-America honor. Flynn is a three-time NWCA Division III Scholar All-American. He was the 2019 NCAA Division III national champion at 141 pounds, a three-time NCAA All-American and a four-time NCAA Regional champion. Flynn competed in three-and-a-half seasons at Augsburg, after transferring from D-I North Dakota State mid-season in 2016-17. He finished his college career with a 118-33 record (90-19 at Augsburg), with 41 pins (34 Augsburg), nine technical falls (5 Augsburg) and 17 major decisions (14 Augsburg).
In 2019-20, he went 17-3 with six pins, two technical falls and four major decisions to qualify for NCAA D-III national tournament for fourth time, earning NWCA All-America first-team honors. Flynn won the national title at 141 pounds in 2018-19, going 28-5 with 12 pins, one technical fall and four major decisions, coming from the No. 8 seed with wins over No. 1, No. 4 and No. 6 seeds in the tournament. In 2017-18, he went 20-6 and in 2016-17 finished with a 34-8 overall record. He placed third at 141 in 2016-17 with two pins in the national tournament.
Augsburg has now had 14 men's wrestlers earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in program history. Gliva is the fourth Auggie men's wrestler to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors twice, joining
Tony Valek (2011-12), Ryan Valek (2005-06) and Josh Cagle (1999-2000).
A marketing and management major with a 4.000 GPA, Buckingham is receiving his first CoSIDA Academic All-America honor, and he's the first men's golfer in Augsburg history to earn the honor. Buckingham earned GCAA Srxion/Cleveland Golf Division III All-America Scholar honors in 2018-19, was a two-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Elite 22 Award winner, and finished his career as a four-time Academic All-MIAC honoree. Earlier this spring Buckingham became just the 15th men's golfer in MIAC recorded history to earn All-MIAC honors all four years of his collegiate career. He was selected MIAC Athlete of the Week in both 2017-18 and 2018-19 and twice earned a spot on the MIAC All-Championship Team.
Buckingham finished his career with 74.9 stroke average and .817 (2,225-500) winning percentage, the best career stroke average for an Augsburg men's golfer since at least 1994-95. In 37 collegiate events, Buckingham earned medalist honors three times, top-5 finishes 13 times and top-20 finishes 20 times. Since 1994-95, he has four of the top-11 single-season stroke averages in program history. He led team in scoring average in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, while finishing second on the team in his first year. Buckingham was co-medalist at the 2017 MIAC Championships (219), finished in 4th place in 2018 (217), tied for 25th in 2019 (233) and tied for 30th in 2016 (236). He was a member of Augsburg teams that finished sixth in the MIAC meet in 2016, third in 2017, tied for second in 2018 and fourth in 2019.
The
Academic All-America program is administered by the
College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). 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, along with sports information directors in the various divisions. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in NCAA Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
The Division III Academic All-America program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the Division III Academic All-America teams program. This is the ninth year of the expanded Academic All-America program, with separate teams comprising NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, along with a College Division team of NAIA, Canadian and two-year schools.
Augsburg's All-Time CoSIDA Academic All-Americans:
David Flynn, men's wrestling (men's at-large), 2020 (first team)
Victor Gliva, men's wrestling (men's at-large), 2020 (first team)
Brett Buckingham, men's golf (men's at-large), 2020 (second team)
Booker Coplin, men's basketball, 2020 (first team)
Ashley St. Aubin, women's soccer, 2019 (second team)
Booker Coplin, men's basketball, 2019 (second team)
Christopher Lemke, football, 2018 (first team)
Ashley St. Aubin, women's soccer, 2018 (second team)
Nate Flynn, men's ice hockey (men's at-large), 2018 (first team)
Victor Gliva, wrestling (men's at-large), 2018 (first team)
Sam Bennyhoff, wrestling (men's at-large), 2018 (second team)
Christopher Lemke, football, 2017 (first team)
Nate Flynn, men's ice hockey (men's at-large), 2017 (second team)
Mary Cornelius, women's track and field/cross country, 2016 (third team)
Erika Allen, women's ice hockey (women's at-large), 2016 (second team)
Zach Swingen, football, 2015 (first team)
Chris DeVet, football, 2014 (first team)
Zach Swingen, football, 2014 (second team)
Lauren Rice, women's track and field/cross country, 2014 (first team)
Elianna Bier, women's swimming and diving (women's at-large), 2014 (second team)
Chad Thompson, football, 2013 (second team)
Chris DeVet, football, 2013 (second team)
Bri Dorale, softball, 2013 (first team)
Chad Thompson, football, 2012 (first team)
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)
(NOTE: Story includes information taken from Augsburg's 2020 Academic All-District release and previous Academic All-America releases.)
