PRESQUE ISLE – Three Northern Maine Community College student athletes – two soccer players and a member of the golf team – have been honored for their achievements in their respective sports and in the classroom.
Parker Brown and Lucas Ireland, both of Mapleton and both members of the NMCC Falcons men’s soccer team, and Zachary Dinsmore of Caribou, who played this fall on the NMCC golf team, were named to the All-Academic Teams in their respective sports by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.
To be selected to the All-Academic Team for a two-year institution, student athletes must play in a sport recognized by the USCAA, be in their second year and attain a grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
Brown, a senior in the electrical construction and maintenance program at NMCC, joined the Falcon soccer squad for the first time this year. The 2008 Presque Isle High School graduate played soccer and ran track for four years in high school, as well as played for two years on the Wildcat basketball team. The recent honor came as quite the surprise to the student athlete.
“I didn’t even know that this honor existed before I heard that I had been named to the All-Academic Team. It gives us the opportunity as students to be recognized for doing well both in the classroom and on the soccer field,” said Brown. “I enjoy playing soccer and am happy I can represent the college by making it on this national list.”
Brown and Ireland are among an elite group of 29 men’s soccer players from across the country, and the only two in Maine, named to the USCAA All-Academic Team for soccer this fall. In addition to the All-Academic honor, Ireland was the only player from New England named to the USCAA Men’s Soccer All-American Honorable Mention list. This is the second year he is honored by the national organization.
“It’s nice to see our hard work being recognized,” said Ireland of his awards. “It’s a really great honor to be acknowledged for a second year and to make the list with my peers from other schools across the country, many that have a significantly larger student base than we do.”
Ireland, a 2008 graduate of Presque Isle High School, played on the Wildcat soccer, basketball and baseball teams throughout his high school career. He will graduate from NMCC this coming May with both an associate degree in residential construction and a certificate in computer-aided drafting.
The only golfer from New England named to the USCAA All-Academic Team is Zachary Dinsmore of Caribou. He is among only nine student-athletes from across the country to receive the honor.
Dinsmore is a senior in the electrical construction and maintenance program at NMCC. The 2008 graduate of Caribou High School played on the Viking baseball team, including a year as captain, and also was on the CHS golf team.
“This is great. I’ve always taken both academics and athletics seriously growing up. It is an honor to be named to this list,” said Dinsmore.
NMCC is one of nearly 70 small colleges and universities from throughout the United States that participate in the USCAA. The national organization exists to provide quality athletic competition on a regional and national level for smaller institutions of higher learning and their student-athletes.
The USCAA offers the opportunity for the student-athlete to develop the mind, body, and spirit through athletic competition by promoting integrity, leadership, scholarship, and values of life. The organization believes in striving to place the pursuit of education as one of the main priorities of student-athletes.
The goal of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association is to provide opportunities for small colleges to compete on an equal level of competition with schools of like size and athletic programs. The association seeks to conduct national championships, name All-Americans, scholar athletes, and promote USCAA member schools.
Contributed photo
AWARDED – From left, Parker Brown and Luke Ireland, both from Mapleton, and Zach Dinsmore of Caribou were NMCC student-athletes named to the All-Academic Teams in their respective sports by the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.
