By: Casey Kropka
AUSTIN, Texas – Mount Union seniors
Jeff Joseph (Beloit / West Branch) was named second team and
Justin Knoch (Canton / GlenOak) was named third team 2022-23 CoSIDA Academic All-America® Division III Men's Track and Field/Cross country Team selected by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
Joseph, a Multi-Platform Software major with a 3.93 grade-point average from Beloit, Ohio earns his first Academic All-American award.
Joseph qualified to three separate cross country Division III National meets as an individual and was with the team this past year. He has finished runner-up three times in the OAC Cross Country championships.
He is a three-time Academic All-OAC honoree as well as a two-time United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Academic award winner.
Knoch, a chemistry major with a 3.7 grade-point average from Canton, Ohio earns his first Academic All-American award as well.
Knoch is the part of the back-to-back Outdoor 4x400-Meter Division III Champions which includes the Division III record in the 4x400-Meter relay set this past season at the Championships.
He also has a runner-up finish in the 4x400-Meter relay this year for the Indoor nationals and a sixth-place finish in the 4x400-Meter relay in the 2021 Outdoor Championships.
Knoch is a three-time Academic All-OAC honoree as well as a two-time United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Academic award winner.
This is the second time Mount Union has had two athletes on the All-American team with the other time coming in 2015.
To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution and be nominated by his sports information director.
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 15,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America Teams program, please visit https://collegesportscommunicators.com/index.aspx