Two Football Tigers Earn Academic All-District Honors
Nov. 5, 2009
Columbia, Mo. – Two University of Missouri standout football student-athletes were rewarded today for their efforts in the classroom, as each was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team for CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) District 7.Senior offensive lineman Kurtis Gregory and sophomore placekicker Grant Ressel were cited for their outstanding academic achievements, with Gregory landing a spot on the All-District 1st-Team, while Ressel made the All-District 2nd-Team. Based on attaining All-District 1st-Team status, Gregory now has a chance at winning Academic All-America honors. Voting for national honors begins next week, with winners to be announced Nov. 24th, after voters consider all-district members in eight districts across the nation. Gregory is in his third year as a standout starter on the Tiger offensive line, and is already in his second year of graduate school after earning his undergraduate degree in just three years (May, 2008). The Blackburn, Mo. native is working on his graduate degree in agricultural systems management and was honored for his GPA of 3.48. Gregory is scheduled to make his 37th consecutive game this Saturday when Mizzou takes on Baylor at Faurot Field at 1:07 p.m.
Gregory is also one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which honors the nation’s top student-athletes in the categories of classroom, character, community and competition. Nationwide balloting is underway to determine the winner. Fan balloting is available on the award’s official Web site, http://www.seniorCLASSaward.com, as well as through text messaging. Fans can text “F4” to 74567 to vote for Gregory. These votes will be combined with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award. As of Nov. 5th, Gregory currently leads the fan voting portion, with 25.4%, and he’s followed by Eric Decker of Minnesota (2nd – 19.0%) and Tim Tebow of Florida (3rd – 12.6%). Gregory is making his second appearance on the Academic All-District 1st-Team, matching the same honor he earned as a sophomore in 2007. He is looking to become the first Tiger football player to earn 1st-Team Academic All-American honors since former punter/kicker Adam Crossett attained that status in 2007. Ressel won 2nd-Team Academic All-District status for his 3.64 grade point average in biological sciences. In just his first year as a starting placekicker, Ressel has already established himself as one of the most accurate kickers in the nation. He enters Saturday’s game against Baylor tied for best field goal accuracy rate in the country, at 93.3% (14-of-15). Ressel is also a perfect 23-of-23 on point after tries this year. Here’s a quick look at MU’s all-district winners:
Name Honor Major - GPA Hometown Kurtis Gregory (Grad. – OL) 1st Team Agriculture Systems Mgmt. – 3.48 Blackburn, Mo. Grant Ressel (Soph. – PK) 2nd Team Biological Sciences – 3.64 Jackson, Mo. |
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