WRE | #RIT places record 25 on ECWC All-Academic Team https://t.co/Ub0boW0107
— RIT Athletics (@RITathletics) March 22, 2022
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - A school record 25 members of the RIT wrestling team earned 2021-22 Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference All-Academic Team honors, the ECWC announced March 22.
It is the fourth-straight season the Tigers have led all ECWC member institutions in selections.
These honors coincide with the conclusion of the 2021-22 wrestling season. Five ECWC teams competed at the National Championships with RIT earning the top team finish (seventh place). Kaidon Winters (157 pounds) was the top individual finisher from the ECWC finishing in second. In total, six wrestlers from the conference earned All-American honors with half coming from RIT. In addition to Winters, Zach Stedeford (174 pounds) and Austin Lamb (165 pounds) also earned podium appearances in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, last weekend.
Seven RIT seniors were selected as All-Academic and included: Joe Brillo, Christopher Horton, Ian Houck, Calik Kennedy, Jake Warner, Alex Prunoske and Stedeford.
Rounding out the upperclassmen were seven juniors and included: Lamb, James Ost, Nathan Parker, Ben Dougherty, Colby Giroux, Mi-Andre Hughes, and Joshua Sam.
Five members of the sophomore class made the cut for the second time and included: Michael Glynn III, Matthew Grant, Liam Strouse, Clay Rankin, and Josh Post.
RIT newcomers to the ECWC All-Academic list were Nate DeGroff, Johnathan Freebern, Josh Harkless, Rishabh Jajoo, Lee Rubin, and Robert Horan.
Houck and Horton are four-time recipients of the award. Bourgeois, Giroux, Lamb, Ost and Parker are all three-time selections.
In addition to the record number of RIT All-Academic recipients, the Tigers also had its best finish at the NCAA Nation Championships with 37 team points and achieved a program-first final four appearance at the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals this past season.
All-Academic Team recipients must have a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average or higher (through the last eligible grading period of the current academic year), or have maintained a 3.30 GPA or better over the past two completed semesters. Wrestlers must also have competed in three separate events during the season in order to gain consideration. Freshmen and transfers that have been enrolled full-time for at least one semester are eligible to receive this honor.
The conference honored 93 wrestlers for 2021-22, marking the fourth-consecutive year that the ECWC All-Academic team topped the 50-mark and second-straight year with over 90 honorees.
A complete list of All-Academic selections along with ECWC team results and All-Americans from the 2022 NCAA Championships can be found here.