17 state wrestlers earn Academic All-American recognition
Eighteen Connecticut high school students including 17 wrestlers have been recognized as Academic All-American athletes by the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA). Over 140 athletes from 32 states are being honored including 72 seniors, 45 juniors, 17 sophomore and six freshmen.
“This year’s Academic All-American are the epitome of what a student-athlete is. Not only do they excel on the playing field, mat, court, or track but they also excel in the classroom” NHSCA Executive Director Bobby Ferraro said. “These student athletes are leaders in and out of the classroom and are the future leaders of tomorrow. We are proud to deem them Academic All Americans”.
These student athletes averaged a 3.9 GPA. All honored Academic All Americans will be recognized in the National High School Sports Hall of Fame Museum, which is currently in the planning stage.
This year, Arizona led the way with 29 Academic All Americans. Connecticut followed with 18.
NHSCA 2013 All-American Academic Team
Seniors, Class of 2013
Clay Callahan, wrestling, Foran-Milford: Clay wrestled for coach Frank Peters and currently has a 3.4 GPA and is ranked 96th in his class of 254. He won back-to-back Class M titles the past two seasons at 145 and 152 pounds. Clay was second in the State Open at 152 this season. He has a career record of 132-31.
Allen Currier III, wrestling, Hall-West Hartford: Allen wrestled for coach Anthony Weber and currently has a 4.2 GPA. He placed fourth in the Class LL tournament this year at 145 pounds. He has a career record of 103-45.
John DePasquale, wrestling, Simsbury: John wrestled for coach Ernie Goodwin. He currently has a 3.8 GPA and a 1240 SAT score. He placed fifth at 138 pounds in the Class LL tournament in February.
Benjamin Durst, wrestling, Simsbury: Ben wrestled for coach Ernie Goodwin. He currently has a 4.2 GPA and a 1400 SAT score. Ben finished second in Class LL at 120 pounds this year and was fifth at the State Open. As a junior, he was third in Class LL at 113 and fifth at the State Open. He has a career record of 142-23.
Christian Kaljulaid, wrestling, Simsbury: Christian wrestled for coach Ernie Goodwin. He currently has a 3.7 GPA and a 1290 SAT score. Christian finished second in the Class LL tournament twice at 285 pounds in 2013 and 2012. He plans to attend Union College and study engineering.
Tobias Lichtenstein, wrestling, Hall-West Hartford: Tobi wrestled for coach Anthony Weber. He currently has a 3.6 GPA and an ACT score of 30. Tobias was a state champion this year for Hall at 285, winning the Class LL tournament. He finished second at the State Open. He plans to attend Wesleyan University where he will compete in football and wrestling.
CJ Luth, wrestling, Foran-Milford: CJ wrestled for coach Frank Peters. He currently has a 3.6 GPA and is ranked No. 70 in his class of 254. This year, CJ won the Class M title at 138 pounds, captured the State Open title and finished fourth in New England. As a junior, CJ won the Class M title at 126 and was fourth at the State Open. He has a career record of 155-21.
Dylan Martel, wrestling, Griswold: Dylan wrestled for coach Dana Cooke. He currently has a 3.7 GPA and is ranked No. 9 in his class of 151. In four years, he placed in the top four of his weight class each in year in the Class S tournament. He won two state titles as a sophomore in 2011 at 103 pounds and a junior at 113 pounds. He was third at 120 this year and fourth at 103 as a freshman. He has a career record of 134-42. He plans to study civil engineering in college.
Matthew McAllister, wrestling, Bacon Academy: Matt wrestled for coaches Michael Voiland and Mike Morris, Jr. He currently has a 4.0 GPA and is ranked No. 23 in his class of 264. Matt won the 2013 State Open championship and Class M at 126 pounds and was third at the State Open in 2012. He finished with a career record of 135-26.
Benjamin Morales, wrestling, Ledyard: Ben wrestled for coach Steven Bilheimer. He currently has a 3.7 GPA. Benjamin won the Class M title at 220 pounds this year and was fourth at the State Open. As a junior, he was sixth in Class M at 285. He plans to attend Springfield College and major in physical education
Connor Oakes, wrestling, Plainville: Connor wrestled for coach Rusty Spence. He currently has a 4.0 GPA and is ranked No. 11 in his class of 188. He finished 6th in Class S at 152 pounds this winter. Connor plans to attend the University of Maine to further his education.
Patrick Sawicki, wrestling, Bacon Academy: Patrick wrestled for coaches Michael Voiland and Mike Morris, Jr. He currently has a 3.4 GPA and an SAT score of 1600. Patrick is a two-time state place winner, finishing second at 220 pounds at the State Open in 2013 and third at at the Class M championship meet. As a junior in 2012, Patrick finished second in Class M at 220 and fourth in the State Open. He plans to further his education at Eastern Connecticut State University.
Juniors, Class of 2014
Alyssa Brehler, cross country, track and field, Griswold: Alyssa competes for coach Mike Flynn. She currently has a GPA of 4.0 and is ranked No. 2 in her class of 148. This season as a junior, she was 19th in Class SS in cross country for the state champion Wolverines. As a sophomore in 2010, she won the Class SS championship in cross country, took 19th at the State Open and finished 12th in New England.
David Colvin III, wrestling, Old Saybrook/Westbrook: David wrestles for coach Eric Manuel. He currently has a GPA of 3.5. David has won two Class S championships at 132 pounds in 2012 and 138 pounds this past winter. In March, he finished fourth at the State Open at 138 pounds. He has a career record of 101-19.
Howard Kilpatrick III, wrestling, Bacon Academy: Howard wrestles for coaches Michael Voiland and Mike Morris, Jr. He currently has a 3.7 GPA. He won the State Open and Class M championship at 132 pounds in 2013 and was fifth at the Open and second in Class M as a sophomore in 2012 at 126 pounds. He has a career record of 90-13.
Devon MarcAurele, wrestling, Ledyard: Devon wrestles for coach Steven Bilheimer. He currently has a 3.9 GPA and is ranked No. 9 in his class of 242. Devon won the Class M championship at 106 pounds in 2012 and was second at 120 this past season. He has a career record of 99-12.
Mike Rose, wrestling, Old Saybrook/Westbrook: Mike is from Old Saybrook High and wrestles for coach Eric Manuel with OSW. He currently has a 3.8 GPA. He finished fourth at 145 pounds in the Class S championship this season.
Sophomore, Class of 2015
Michael Lapia, wrestling, Stratford: Michael wrestles for coaches Dan German and Mike Roy. He currently has a GPA of 3.4 and is ranked No. 16 in his class. He placed sixth in Class M at 120 pounds this year and has a career record of 49-27.
