Senior John Blankenship (174 lbs.) earned first-team honors for the third consecutive year, and junior D.J. Sims (285 lbs.) became a two-time second-team choice when the 2016-17 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Division II All-Academic Wrestling Teams were released …. (Full NWCA Release)

The 2016-2017 Division II All-Academic Wrestling Team consists of 182 student-athletes from 46 universities and colleges.  Thirty-eight members were named to the first team, 62 members to the second team, and 82 were named as honorable mention.  The University of Indianapolis placed five members on the first team, while Fort hays State (KS) University, Ashland (OH) University, and Mercyhurst University all placed three wrestlers on the first team.
 
Seven student-athletes were named to the team for the fourth time.  They were John Blankenship (Pitt-Johnstown), Brent Fickel (Ashland), Michael Labry (Ashland), Colbey Vance (Upper Iowa), Lincoln Monroe (Upper Iowa), Josh Berg (St. Cloud State), Jonathon Inman (Fort Hays State).
 
Blankenship, an Honorable Mention NWCA All-Academic Team selection as a red-shirt freshman in 2014, garnered spots on the First Team the last three seasons.  Blankenship placed sixth at the National Tournament in 2015 to become an All-American and qualified for the National Tournament in both 2016 and 2017.  He has a 3.47 overall GPA in Engineering.
 
Sims, a junior two-time National Qualifier, was a First-Team NWCA All-Academic Team selection in 2016 and a Second-Team choice in 2015 and 2017.  Sims currently has a 3.22 overall GPA in Business.
 
University of Indianapolis recorded the highest team grade point average (GPA) in the Twenty-fourth Annual Division II All-Academic Wrestling Team competition and has won the Academic National Championship.  This is the second time Indianapolis has achieved this honor, and their GPA is the third highest ever recorded. Twelve other NCAA II schools have also won the National Championship.  They include the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Fort Hays State University, the University of Mary, Colorado School of Mines, Truman State University, West Liberty University, Minnesota State University-Mankato, California Baptist University, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Mercyhurst University, and Western State University.  Nine of the top twenty teams came from the Central Region, four came from the Midwest Region, five came from the West Region, and two came from the East Region. The Team GPA is calculated by averaging the cumulative grade point averages of ten wrestlers from each team of which eight of those wrestlers must have competed in their team's NCAA II National Qualifying Tournament.
 
In order for a student-athlete to be nominated to the Division II All-Academic Team, he needed to have a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale.  He must also be in at least his second full year at his school, be a varsity  member on his team or a key reserve, demonstrate a degree of skill and have a minimum of two letters of recommendation (academic advisor and coach) submitted on his behalf.