BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference recently announced the spring honorees of the HCAC All-Academic awards for the 2018-19 school year. Twenty-six Bluffton University athletes were recognized for their efforts in the classroom.
Seniors Jonah Eckert (Terre Haute, IN/West Vigo) and Maelinn Delong (Archbold/Bryan) were recognized for the third straight year. Dakota Frost (Edgerton/Hicksville) and Alexis Cash (Gaines, MI/Lake Fenton) all notched their second consecutive honor while senior Joshua Ehlers (Defiance/Tinora) and juniors Justin Kauffman (Smithville) and Ciana Hostetler (Sugarcreek/Garaway) were also recognized. Sophomores Bailie Barrington (Waynesfield/Waynesfield-Goshen), Kimberly Hetrick (Fremont/Ross) and Stephanie Fox (Pickerington/Central) were all recognized in their first year of eligibility.
Baseball had five members receive Academic All-Conference honors. Jordan Stutzman (Millersburg/West Holmes) earned his third straight HCAC All-Academic honor in three years of eligibility. Parker Reynolds (Avon) was honored for the second straight season while fellow junior Adam Duncan (Northwood/Lake) took home his first academic award. Sophomores Jacob Latkofsky (Temperance, MI/Ida) and Garrett O'Reilly (Galena/Orange) earned Academic All-HCAC in their first season of eligibility.
Seniors Kelsey Reeder (Galion/Northmor) and Casey Clark (Lima/Central Catholic) were both recognized following their final season with the Beavers. It marked the third straight honor for Reeder and the second for Clark. Juniors Courtney Jasinski (Englewood/Northmont) and Caylin Morstadt (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) have been honored for both of the seasons in which they were eligible. Fellow junior Megan Hill (Arcadia) joined sophomores Brianna Baker (Defiance/Ayersville), Sydney Bowen (Convoy/Crestview), Riley Langstaff (Findlay), Katie McCord (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) and Taylor Steinke (Findlay) as first-time honorees.
Sophomore Julian LaVallee (Jefferson/Jefferson Area) is the first Academic All-HCAC for Beaver golf since the program was re-ignited in 2017.
To be named All-Academic HCAC, a student-athlete must have completed a full year at the institution, be a varsity athlete and carry a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 through the semester preceding the end of the season.
Bluffton University is a liberal arts residential campus with 39 undergraduate programs, adult degree completion programs in organizational management and human resource management and master's degree programs in education, organizational management and business administration. Founded in 1899 and affiliated with Mennonite Church USA, Bluffton is located in northwest Ohio. The institution has a growing enrollment of more than 1,100 students and 16 NCAA Division III athletics teams. Bluffton's hundred-year legacy is expressed today in its enduring values of discovery, community, respect and service that are woven into the academic program and campus life. Bluffton students go into the world prepared for life as well as for their chosen vocation.
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