BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Senior Dave Nakasone and sophomore Manuel Schubert have been named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division I All-Academic wrestling team, the NWCA announced on Thursday. Both wrestlers enjoyed success both on the mat and in the classroom in 2007-08 and are two of 88 Division I wrestlers named to the team. To be eligible wrestlers must have at least a cumulative GPA of 3.2 and be a NCAA qualifier or have been a starter and won 60 percent of his matches.
Schubert, a two-time recipient of the team’s Scholar-Athlete award, posted the third highest cumulative GPA on the All-Academic team, with a 3.98 in biology. The Westland, Michigan native has earned a perfect 4.0 in four of his first five semesters at Lehigh. On the mats, Schubert assumed the starting role at 184 in February and went on to qualify for the NCAA Championships, with a fourth place finish at the EIWA tournament. One of the most improved wrestlers on the team, Schubert has two more years of eligibility remaining for the Brown and White.
After earning his degree in finance in 2007, Nakasone decided to return to Lehigh for his final year of eligibility. That decision paid dividends, as Nakasone went on to win the EIWA Championship at 157, knocking off eventual national champion Jordan Leen of Cornell in the finals. Nakasone qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second straight year. In the classroom, Nakasone owns a 3.45 GPA as he works on his master’s in management science.
Nakasone and Schubert are the first Mountain Hawks to be named to the NWCA All-Academic team since Travis Frick, Brian LaMay and Jon Trenge all were recognized in 2005.
This year’s All-Academic team was composed of wrestlers from 48 schools including 27 All-Americans. Lehigh was one of 26 programs to have two student-athletes selected to the team. Duke and American tied for the top spot in the team GPA rankings with a 3.335.
Click here for a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
