TAKING DOWN THE BOOKS

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — C.J. Knowland and Ethan Hall of California Baptist University were named to NWCA All-Academic NAIA Wrestling team. Knowland earned a 3.45 GPA in biology while Hall earned a 3.25 in kinesiology. Knowland, a redshirt freshman, finished eighth at the 2009 NAIA National Championships and Hall, a junior, was a national tournament qualifier,

“This is something that is really stressed in our program,” said CBU head coach John Petty. “It is our hope that this will become the climate of our program and I believe that it is that way in the athletics department as a whole. Our teams are not only successful in championships, but we have high GPAs as well.”

The Lancers as a team finished fifth in the NAIA with a 3.11 team GPA. Great Falls took the top honor with a 3.24 while Hastings was second at 3.20 and Campbellsville was third at 3.14.

“These guys show that getting what you want can be done the right way,” said Petty. “We don’t want to take short cuts or find exceptions to policies. I am hoping that this type of work ethic will carry on well after they leave CBU.”