All of 91短视频鈥檚 ODAC-sponsored sports were represented on the All-Academic Team.聽 Men鈥檚 volleyball competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference and is not eligible for the ODAC team.

The ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the seventh consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the fourth year in a row.聽 With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only and Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only), 1,459 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2012-13 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.聽 He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.

Nels Akerson – Cross Country, Track & Field
Elizabeth Alderfer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Sonja Anderson – Field Hockey
Kayley Argenbright – Women’s Basketball
Trey Barrett – Men’s Basketball
Ruthie Beck 鈥� Softball
Jennifer Blankenship – Women’s Basketball
Jessica Blanks – Field Hockey
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Jonathan Bush – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Hannah Chappell-Dick – Cross Country, Track & Field
Hannah Clemmer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Melissa Cox – Field Hockey
Nicolette Cuevas 鈥� Softball
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Patty Danaher – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Alli Eanes – Cross Country, Track & Field
Katie Eckman – Cross Country
Ryan Eshleman – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Estrada 鈥� Baseball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Chantelle Garber – Field Hockey
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Patrick Graber – Cross Country, Track & Field
Derek Harnish – Men’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Ryan Henschel 鈥� Baseball
Brooke Hensley 鈥� Softball
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Holly Jensen – Women’s Soccer
Brianna Kauffman – Field Hockey
Janna Kaufman – Women’s Soccer
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Volleyball
Lanae Kreider – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jonathan Leaman – Men’s Golf
Parker Leap – Men’s Soccer
Mattie Lehman – Women’s Volleyball
Mollie Lehman – Field Hockey
Rachel Lehman – Women’s Volleyball
Lexi Link – Women’s Volleyball
Owen Longacre – Men’s Basketball
Karla Martin – Women’s Volleyball
Katie Martin – Women’s Volleyball
Phillip Martin – Track & Field
Ian Mast – Men’s Soccer
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Saralyn Mast – Cross Country, Track & Field
Brittany McDonaldson – Women’s Golf
Thomas Millary – Cross Country
Katie Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Michelle Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Kaitlyn Morris 鈥� Softball
Austin Mumaw – Men’s Soccer
Joel Murray – Men’s Golf
Dan Nafziger – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jolee Paden – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jesse Parker – Cross Country, Track & Field
Hannah Patterson – Track & Field
Alicia Poplett – Women’s Soccer
Jess Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Steph Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Sara Ritchie – Women’s Volleyball
Krista Rittenhouse – Cross Country, Track & Field
Adriana Santiago – Field Hockey
Meghan Schaefer – Cross Country
Juni Schirch – Cross Country, Track & Field
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Aaron Sloan – Track & Field
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Aaron Springer – Cross Country, Track & Field
Andre Swartzentruber – Men’s Golf
John Toney – Men’s Golf
Alena Yoder – Women’s Volleyball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Kegan Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Tyler Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey

Those honored from Eastern Mennonite were:

(Harrisonburg, Va./Westmont Hilltop), Sr., Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Elementary Education, 3.96 GPA.聽 Eanes peaked as a senior, setting all of her career best times and earning All-ODAC Second Team in cross country.

(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), Sr., Men’s Soccer – Back, Biology/Philosophy & Theology, 3.90 GPA.聽 Eshleman completed a stellar career in which he was a four-year starter as a center back.聽 He also scored his first goal this year.聽 He was given the 91短视频 President’s Award this spring and also earned ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year, NSCAA Scholar All-Region, CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, VaSID All-State First Team, All-ODAC First Team.聽 This is Eshleman鈥檚 third year on the Academic All-State Team.

(Broadway, Va./Broadway), Sr., Men’s Golf, Business Administration & Accounting, 3.95 GPA.聽 Leaman helped launch 91短视频鈥檚 golf program this year, and finished second on the team with an 83.3 round average.

(Telford, Pa./Christopher Dock), Sr., Men’s Basketball – Forward, History/Social Science (Secondary Education Licensure), 3.91 GPA.聽 Longacre earned a repeat spot on the Academic All-State Team, and averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in his second season as a starter for the Runnin Royals.

(Willow Street, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), Sr., Men’s Soccer – Midfielder, Health & Physical Education, 4.0 GPA.聽 Mast was a vital part of the midfield for the Royals, starting 17 games and playing in all 20.

(Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg), Sr., Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Biology/Psychology, 3.97 GPA.聽 Nafziger had another banner year, claiming All-ODAC First Team in cross country and setting a program record on Peak View鈥檚 8k course at 26:55.07.聽 He also set four new 91短视频 records during the indoor track season: 1000m (2:35.32), mile (4:26.77), 3000m (8:55.45), and distance medley relay (10:37.15).

To earn VaSID Academic All-State honors, a student-athlete must have achieved at least a 3.25 grade point average and be at least a sophomore.聽 Each school in the state is allowed six nominees.

VaSID is comprised of sports information or athletics communications professionals from intercollegiate institutions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Membership is open to any individual affiliated with one of the state’s institutions at the NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA and community college levels, provided that individual’s area of responsibility lies within the realm of sports information.

91短视频 students that participated included: Allison Bontrager, from Wellman, Ia.; Allison Eanes, from Harrisonburg, Va.; Laci Gautsche, from Archbold, Ohio; Owen Longacre, from Telford, Pa.; Rebecca Stoesz-Nagy, from Harrisonburg, Va.; and Amber Shelly, special from Bluffton, Ohio.

“I cannot imagine a more inspiring event to ignite the passion and spirit of our future teachers than the Teachers of Promise Institute,” said , assistant professor of teacher education at 91短视频.

The two-day workshop featured sessions on 鈥淐reating Cultural Connections鈥� and 鈥淓ngaging Learners in Active Lessons.鈥�

“Being surrounded by the best educators in the state, as well as a few nationally recognized teachers, brought the kind of positive energy and elevation to the teaching profession that it deserves,” said Gautsche. “I am more excited than ever to begin my teaching career!”

(Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) again led the 91短视频 women.聽 She started with the leaders and spaced only shortly behind, crossing sixth in 24:07.52.聽 She was just a step out of fifth place, taken by Washington and Lee’s Casey Mackintosh in 24:06.15.聽 Bridgewater senior Olivia Mills won the individual title by ten seconds, crossing in 23:07.

Chappell-Dick earned a spot on the All-ODAC First Team with her finish.聽 Her time was also more than 45 seconds better than her time on the same course at the season-opening ODAC Preview Meet, when she won the meet in 24:53.

Senior (Harrisonburg, VA/Westmont Hilltop) also claimed a league honor, being named All-ODAC Second Team by taking 13th.聽 She crossed the finish line in 24:50.95.

(Mt. Pleasant, PA/Mt. Pleasant Area) was just a couple of spots behind, taking 16th in 25:01.97.聽 She was only six seconds away from 14th and the final spot on the Second Team.聽 (Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) finished 20th with a clocking of 25:16.63.聽 (Goshen, VA/Goshen) rounded out the scoring for the Lady Royals, crossing 39th overall in 26:43.94.

(St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Odgen) battled illness throughout her run but was still 48th with a time of 27:21.06.聽 (Harrisonburg, VA/Spotswood) was one spot behind her in 27:32.71.

(Gap, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) shaved two and a half minutes off her ODAC Preview time and crossed in 28:59.74.聽 (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) had a time of 29:27.32.

Eastern Mennonite took fourth as a team with 92 points, slightly behind Lynchburg in third with 85.聽 The team score was hampered especially by Paden’s illness, as well as 2011 All-ODAC Second Teamer (Quarryville, PA/Solanco) missing the meet with an injury.

Washington and Lee had all five of their scorers in the top nine to run away with the team title at 29 points.聽 Bridgewater had the top two finishers and took second with 51 points.

The women will now have a week off to get healthy and train for the South/Southeast Regional, which is Nov. 10 in Emory, GA.

The . Each of the seven Royals runners improved their time from the ODAC Preview Meet on the same course.

Each of 91短视频鈥檚 sports was represented on the ODAC All-Academic Team except for men鈥檚 volleyball, which competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference.聽 The CVC will also release an all-academic team later this summer.

The full ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the sixth consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the third year in a row.聽 With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only, Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only, and Shenandoah University for field hockey and track & field only), 1,350 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2011-12 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.聽 He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

For more information, visit the ODAC鈥檚 home on the Internet at聽. 聽Don鈥檛 forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook (click聽) and follow聽聽on Twitter.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.聽 to see the full list of the ODAC All-Academic Team.

Nels Akerson – Cross Country
Elizabeth Alderfer – Cross Country
Laura Beckler – Women’s Soccer
Bradley Billings 鈥� Baseball
Jennifer Blankenship – Women’s Basketball
Rachel Breeden 鈥� Softball
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Bethany Crouse – Women’s Soccer
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Erica Detweiler – Women’s Soccer
Allison Eanes – Cross Country
Katie Eckman – Cross Country
Ryan Eshleman – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Estrada 鈥� Baseball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Lynae Fry – Women’s Volleyball
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Brooke Hensley 鈥� Softball
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Phillip Jordan 鈥� Baseball
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Soccer
Justin King 鈥� Baseball
Lanae Kreider – Women’s Soccer
Valerie Landis – Field Hockey
Mattie Lehman – Women’s Volleyball, Softball
Owen Longacre – Men’s Basketball
Jenna Longenecker – Field Hockey
Becca Longenecker – Field Hockey
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Thomas Millary – Cross Country, Track & Field
Michelle Miller – Women’s Soccer
Katarina Napfel 鈥� Softball
Peter Nelson – Cross Country
Cara Paden – Women’s Soccer, Track & Field
Jesse Parker – Cross Country, Track & Field
Stephanie Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Andy Richter 鈥� Baseball
Sara Ritchie – Women’s Volleyball
Bryce Shank – Men’s Soccer
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Amber Shelly – Women’s Soccer
Aaron Sloan – Track & Field
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Raquel Stoltzfus – Women’s Soccer
Scotty Tiosso – Men’s Soccer
Jon Trice 鈥� Baseball
Keri Weaver – Cross Country
Kori Wenger – Women’s Soccer
Taylor Wenger – Women’s Soccer
Camille Williams – Field Hockey
Roberto Wingfield – Cross Country
Bianca Ygarza – Women’s Basketball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Marla Young – Women’s Basketball
Kelsey Zook – Women’s Soccer
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey
Marla zumFelde – Women’s Basketball

presented the awards, which are based on academic achievement, athletic contribution, Christian commitment, leadership, campus involvement and service, as the culmination of the evening.

Richter, a major with a 3.64 GPA, was a four-year pitcher for the baseball team and plans to work in a sales or marketing position.聽 He was consistently on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference All-Academic Team and 91短视频鈥檚 Dean鈥檚 List.聽 Besides baseball, his campus life was filled with leadership on , 91短视频 Royals Society and the .聽 He also volunteered at numerous places off campus.

鈥淵ou are not an athlete just when you鈥檙e in season 鈥� you鈥檙e an athlete year round,鈥� Richter explained in how he balanced his demanding schedule at 91短视频.聽 鈥淏aseball provided me with the discipline I needed to enjoy a busy, but incredibly rewarding college career.鈥�

Young, a captain with the women鈥檚 basketball team, was also on the Dean鈥檚 List and ODAC All-Academic Team, holding a 3.71 GPA with a major in and minor in .聽 She was a four-year member of Royals Society, helping with prospective students, as well as being a member of the .聽 Young was also a youth leader at her church and volunteered with a local food bank and the fall back-to-school backpack drive.

鈥淏eing a student-athlete has taught me to be mentally and physically strong in seemingly impossible situations,鈥� said Young, who suffered a long-lasting shoulder injury her freshman season.聽 鈥淕od used basketball as the framework that I could grow in my relationship with Him, share my talents with others, and now go on to pursue a career in physical therapy.鈥�

The Athletic Department staff also voted for Athlete of the Year winners.聽 Mitchell Leap (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) claimed the men鈥檚 honor with Bianca Ygarza (Conestoga, PA/Penn Manor) taking the women鈥檚.

Leap led the men鈥檚 soccer team in scoring for the fourth straight season, netting ten goals, which was also third-best in the conference.聽 He had five game-winning goals and was named All-ODAC First Team.聽 Leap graduates fourth in 91短视频 history with 35 career goals and fifth with 80 career points.聽 Ygarza was a dynamic presence as a power forward for the basketball women, earning a spot on the All-ODAC First Team as a sophomore.聽 She led 91短视频 with 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and was second in the ODAC in field goal percentage and free throws.

Also at the banquet, Newcomer of the Year Awards were given to Jenessa Derstine (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) in field hockey and Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, FL/Pace) in baseball.

Derstine, an attacker for the Lady Royals, led the team with 29 points this year.聽 She scored ten goals and assisted on nine others.聽 Her speed helped ignite 91短视频鈥檚 offense and landed her on the All-ODAC Third Team.聽 Rodriguez batted .374 with 28 runs and team highs of four homeruns and 41 RBIs.聽 His RBI total was third in the ODAC during the regular season and the third baseman was named All-ODAC Second Team.

As part of the dinner and banquet, four seniors gave short reflections on their time playing a sport at Eastern Mennonite: Valerie Landis (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown) from field hockey, Justin King (Lititz, PA/Warwick) from baseball, Pete Nelson (Harrisonburg, VA/Christopher Dock) from track and cross country, and Brent Yoder (Sarasota, FL/Sarasota Christian) from soccer.

King uniquely talked about playing four years of a collegiate sport even though the experience was not living up to the ideas he had beforehand.

鈥淚 have learned a lesson I would have not chosen to learn on my own, because it was painful,鈥� said King.聽 鈥淭hrough the ups and downs, the wins and losses, I have had to rely on God as my source of hope and strength when I was weak, discouraged, or overwhelmed.聽 The Apostle Paul says it best in 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, 鈥楾hree times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.聽 But he said to me, 鈥楳y grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.鈥欌�欌��

Landis was the lone senior on the field hockey team this fall and stepped into a leadership role which was not natural to her.聽 She said that will help her as she leaves college.

鈥淚 recognize that I am going to be a new member of a completely different team after graduation,鈥� Landis explained. 聽鈥淲hat I have learned over the past four years is that I can鈥檛 let my age or lack of experience hinder me from being responsible or taking initiative. 聽God has granted each of us the experience of being part of a team and it is my hope that we are able to leave this community as an athlete and a graduate and apply those interpersonal skills learned on either the court or field and apply them in the next stage of life, appropriately and meaningfully.鈥�

Dr. Ronald Stoltzfus, Faculty Athletic Representative, and Dr. Nancy Heisey, Undergraduate Academic Dean, presented the Academic Achievement Awards to each team鈥檚 individual with the highest GPA.聽 Those awards went to: Richter and Brad Billings (Selinsgrove, PA/Selinsgrove) in baseball, Jennifer Blankenship (Bassett, VA/Bassett) in women鈥檚 basketball, Owen Longacre (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) in men鈥檚 basketball, Nels Akerson (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) in men鈥檚 cross country, Alli Eanes (Harrisonburg, VA/Westmont Hilltop) in women鈥檚 cross country and track, Jenna Longenecker (Lancaster, PA/Conestoga Valley) in field hockey, Bryce Shank (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) in men鈥檚 soccer, Erica Detweiler (Hickory, NC/Fred T. Foard) in women鈥檚 soccer, Aaron Sloan (Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) in men鈥檚 track, and Kendall Garber (Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) in men鈥檚 volleyball.

The evening included a special mention of , a senior student worker with the athletic events staff, who had passed away from cancer just a week prior to the banquet.