November 9, 2007
Five Gorillas Earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Honors
PITTSBURG
-- Five members of the Pittsburg State University football team earned
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII honors from the College Sports
Information Directors of America today (Nov. 9).
Senior defensive back Nick Dellasega,
junior tailback Caleb Farabi and senior offensive lineman
Zac Robinson earned first-team All-District honors, while
senior tight end Brian Barta and sophomore defensive
lineman Brock Lohr received second-team honors.
Pitt State’s first-team selections are now
eligible for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors. The ESPN The
Magazine Academic All-America® team for football will be announced
Nov. 29.
Dellasega, a Pittsburg native, has a 3.977 GPA
as an accounting major. He has started all 10 games for the Gorillas,
recording a team-leading 78 tackles and registering five pass breakups.
Dellasega garnered second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America®
honors as a junior in 2006.
Farabi, also from Pittsburg, has a 3.771 GPA as
a management major. He has started all 10 games for Pitt State, carrying
the ball 238 times for 1,331 yards and 19 touchdowns on the season. Farabi
garnered first-team all-district honors after receiving second-team recognition
in 2006.
Robinson, a Jenks, Okla., native, has a 3.605
GPA as a plastics engineering major. He earns first-team all-district
honors for a second straight season. Robinson has started all 10 games
at offensive tackle for the Gorillas helping Pitt State average 34.9 points
and 441.3 total yards per game.
Barta, a native of LaCrosse, Kan., has a 3.363
GPA as a management major. He also earns second-team all-district honors
for a second year. Barta has started all 10 games for the Gorillas and
he’s caught five passes for 51 yards and one touchdown.
Lohr, from Goodland, Kan., has a 3.513 GPA as
a communication major. He has started all 10 games for Pitt State, recording
18 tackles with 4.5 TFLs and 1.0 quarterback sack.
Student-athletes must
meet four criteria to earn ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors:
1) must have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or better, 2) must have at least
two terms of attendance at the institution, 3) must be at least a sophomore
in athletic eligibility, 4) must be a starter or key reserve in their
respective sport.
The All-District selection is determined by voting
of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). District
VII is comprised of NCAA Division II and Division III and NAIA institutions
from the states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming and the Canadian provinces of Alberta
and Saskatchewan.
Since January 2000, Pitt State has produced 40
ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® student-athletes -- the second-highest
total among all Division II institutions and the eighth-highest total
among all colleges nationwide.