Jeremy Meier is the first player in school-history to earn D3football.com All-Region First Team status
2012 D3football.com All-East Region Teams
Utica, NY (12/4/2012) – A school-record three Utica College football players were recognized on the 8th annual D3football.com 2012 All-East Region Team released Tuesday. Senior wide receiver
Jeremy Meier (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) was a first team selection, while senior quarterback
Andrew Benkwitt (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) and senior tight end
Matt Dunn (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) were both second team picks.
Meier is the first player in school-history to be selected to the All-East Region First Team and these three players join a
select group of just four other Utica College football players to be honored as an All-East Region selection in the eight year history of the D3football.com award. Dunn is making his second straight appearance on the All-East Region second team.
Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools. A record 928 players were nominated nationwide. All-Region teams were selected in balloting by sports information directors in each region and D3football.com staff. All players nominated for All-Region are eligible to be considered for the D3football.com All-America Team.
Utica College's D3football.com All-East Region History
|
2012 |
Jeremy Meier (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) |
1st Team Offense - Wide Receiver |
|
2012 |
Andrew Benkwitt (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) |
2nd Team Offense - Quarterback |
|
2012 |
Matt Dunn (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) |
2nd Team Offense - Tight End |
|
2011 |
Matt Dunn (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) |
2nd Team Offense - Tight End |
|
2011 |
Seth Mitchell (Fonda, NY/Fonda-Fultonville) |
Honorable Mention - Special Teams |
|
2010 |
None |
None |
|
2009 |
None |
None |
|
2008 |
Ben Atwood |
2nd Team - Special Teams |
|
2008 |
Pete Vano |
3rd Team Defense - Cornerback |
|
2007 |
None |
None |
|
2006 |
Marcus Maroney |
3rd Team Defense - Safety |
|
2005 |
None |
None |
Meier, who was also an all-conference first team selection this year, will graduate as the most accomplished receiver in program-history. He is making his first appearance on the all-region team This past season he led the Empire 8 in touchdowns (15), receptions (73), yards (1,212), yards per game (121.2), and yards per catch (16.6). He also became the first Pioneer in school history to record over 1,000 yards (1,212) receiving in a single-season and also broke the college's all-time record in yards (2,472) and receptions (187). Meier will graduate as the College's all-time leading scorer with 194 career points scored. He scored a school-record 32 career touchdowns. His yards, receptions, and touchdown catches this past year were both single-season records for UC.
Senior quarterback
Andrew Benkwitt (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck), who was named the Empire 8 Offensive Player of the Year a few weeks back, will graduate as the College's most prolific and decorated passer in program-history. Benkwitt, a second team selection, is making his first appearance on the all-region team. #5, who started every game of his career at the quarterback position (40 consecutive games started), broke 18 different individual school-records during his tenure. He also played a part in 20 different team records this past year. Benkwitt, who is a criminal justice major here at UC, finished his senior campaign (regular season) ranked 11th nationally in total offense per game and 25th nationally in passing efficiency. He guided the Pioneers' offense to a national ranking of eighth in passing offense, 23rd in total offense and 47th in scoring offense.
Dunn finished his career as the most successful tight end in school-history, ranking fourth all-time with 1,569 career receiving yards. He is also one of six players in school-history to catch over 100 balls. He ranks third all-time with 123 catches. He is also tied for third all-time with 12 touchdown catches. He is a two-time Empire 8 All-Conference First Team selection and he had 42 catches for 612 yards and four TDs this past season. He averaged 61.2 yards per game and 14.57 yards per catch while starting all ten games for the Pioneers.
Meier, Dunn and Benkwitt have helped to transform the landscape of Utica College football over the course of the last four years. This past season they helped guided the program to new heights, as UC tied the school-record for wins in a single-season (6) and the Pioneers set a new record for Empire 8 Conference victories (4). They helped give UC a legitimate shot at an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament as they played nationally-ranked Salisbury in Week 9 with a chance at the Conference title hanging in the balance. Headed into their week 9 contest the Pioneers were receiving votes in both the AFCA and D3football.com national polls for the first time in program-history.
--- www.ucpioneers.com ---
