YORK, PA – The York College wrestling team nabbed yet another post season honor following the 2008-2009 campaign as the Spartans have finished 11th in the nation this season in the Scholar Academic Team national standings. Eleven members of the Spartan squad posted a cumulative 3.357 grade point average, good for the 11th-place ranking.
    As a team, the Green and White have made themselves a fixture in the Scholar Academic Team rankings. The Spartans have finished in the top-20 in each of the past four seasons, coming in 12th, 8th, 18th, and 11th starting in the 2005-2006 season.
    In addition to their academic excellence, the Green and White are ranked #29 in the nation according to the most recent NWCA Brute-Adidas Division III Rankings. The Spartans finished the dual meet season with a record of 15-12-1.
    “Our guys work so hard both on the mat and in the classroom,” Spartan head coach Tom Kessler said. “We as a coaching staff want to make sure that our student-athletes get the best of both worlds in regards to sport and school. They understand how important academics are and make that a key focus.”
    Kyle Flickinger (New Oxford, Pa./Bermudian Springs), Gary Heckler (Laurel Springs, N.J./Highland Regional), Matt Volpe (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield), Albert Gleichauf (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena), John Niedrich (Freehold, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy), Matt Heisey (Harrisburg, Pa./Cedar Crest), James Laughlin (Hanover, Pa./South Western), Shane Cooley (Wrightsville, Pa./Eastern York), Jason Ecklof (Howell, N.J./Howell), Tom Fitzpatrick (LaPlata, Md./LaPlata), and Chris Elliott (Crofton, Md./South River) were all selected to represent the Spartans on the Scholar Team squad for their high academic achievements.
    Senior co-captains Niedrich and Flickinger are among the most decorated Spartans to find their names on the list. Niedrich was chosen as a Scholar All-American following the 2008 season while Flickinger was a 2007 All-American and a Metropolitan Conference finalist this year.