CoSida Academic All-District Honors Ten Football Players
2016 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS
The Empire 8 football teams landed ten student-athletes on the CoSIDA Academic All-District™ team for outstanding academic achievements.
Each of these student-athletes earned recognition for their combined performances in the classroom and on the football field.
These honorees maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average while serving as a starter or impact contributor off the bench, and had to participate in at least half of their team's games.
Alfred junior linebacker
A.J. LiCata, senior nose guard
Zach Brinkley and senior free safety
Shyheim Wingate, Ithaca senior
Anthony Skretny and juniors
Tristan Brown and
Jordan Schemm and St. John Fisher's
Khari Demos,
DJ Logory,
Alec Mortillaro and
Wyatt Stehle all received First Team honors.
District 3 is made up of colleges and universities in New York State. As all-district honorees are is now eligible for consideration for CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-American honors. CoSIDA will announce its Division III Academic All-American teams Nov. 29.
LiCata, a finance major, has a cumulative GPA of 3.61; Brinkley, a materials science engineering major, has a 3.35 cumulative GPA; and Wingate, an accounting major, has a 3.55 cumulative GPA.
All three players are starters for an AU defense that allows just 284 yards per game, tops in the Empire 8 Conference and 27
th in all of Division III. The Saxons, 9-0 overall and 7-0 in Empire 8 play, are ranked 14
th in this week's D3football.com national Top 25 poll.
Skretny, a safety, business administration major and native of West Seneca, N.Y., has played in six games this season and has made 27 total tackles with an interception and pass breakup. His 27 tackles rank sixth on the defense, and he posted a season-best eight stops on September 3 against Union College.
Brown, a running back from Brooklyn, N.Y. and business administration major, leads Ithaca in rushing with 455 yards and four touchdowns on 107 carries. He posted back-to-back 100-plus yard games earlier this season against Utica (125) on October 1 and Hartwick (131) on October 8. Brown found the end zone twice in each game. Last season, he ran for a career-best 176 yards against Alfred.
Schemm, a cornerback/returner from Coral Springs, Fla. and business administration major, is one of the top kickoff and punt returners in the country. He averages 18.2 yards a return on punts and 26.7 yards in kickoffs. Schemm has one punt return for a touchdown this season, which was for 60 yards. Defensively, he has accumulated 29 tackles with 10 pass breakups, an interception and fumble recovery that was taken back 54 yards for a score.
Demos owns a 3.48 GPA while majoring in Communications/Journalism. The senior tackle has been in the starting lineup each of the last two seasons, while earning Empire 8 All-Conference honors in both campaigns. This season, Demos has helped Fisher average over 38 points per game, the highest-scoring offense in the Empire 8.
Logory is a Marketing major with a 3.53 GPA. The senior safety leads the Empire 8 Conference with 106 tackles and tied the Fisher single-game record earlier this year with 23 stops. He also ranks fifth in the Conference with 11 passes defended (one interception, 10 breakups).
Mortillaro, a D3football.com Preseason All-American, maintains a 3.42 GPA while majoring in Physics. He currently leads the Empire 8 Conference in passes defended (12 breakups, three interceptions), and ranks fourth at Fisher in career interceptions with 10.
Stehle, a Marcellus native, is a Finance major with a 3.30 GPA. The sophomore has nine catches for 157 yards this season. Stehle's four touchdown receptions are the most by any tight end in the Empire 8 Conference.