COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Fort Lewis College punter Frank Atherton was named to the Capitol One Academic All-Super Region 3 football team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Committee announced last Friday.

“We are extremely lucky to have Frank grace our program our first two seasons here,” said second-year FLC head coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval. “He is one of those few young men that has personal resolve to be a great player, teammate, and student. He even has tutored guys on our team. Frank's character undoubtedly is the reason why he is so successful. He is a great role model for what we want all of our student-athletes to strive to more like on and off the field.”

Atherton, a 6-foot-3, 170-lb. senior from Hawaii Prep in Kamuela, Hawaii, carries a perfect 4.00 grade point average in Exercise Science-Exercise Specialist option. No stranger to academic awards, his is a two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic performer (2010, 2011), was named to the CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District 7 second team in 2010, and a two-time D2 Athletic Directors Association/WeatherPORT Academic Achievement Award recipient (2009, 2010).

Atherton averages 38.1 yards on 74 punts this year and has pinned the opponents inside their own 20-yard line 20 times while recording just five touchbacks. He also has eight rushing yards on one carry. He averaged 41.3 yards per punt a year ago.

Nominations and voting for the Capitol One Academic All-America® programs are conducted by CoSIDA members. There are separate teams for NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, plus a College Division, which includes NAIA and junior college.

Academic All-Super Region teams are chosen in each of four super regions, with those on the All-Super Region first teams placed on the national ballot for Capitol One Academic All-America® consideration.

The complete Capitol One Academic All-Super Region 3 football team includes:

Pos., Name, School, Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major
QB, Clay Garcia, Colorado Mines, Gr., Alamosa, Colo., 3.91, Material Mechanics
WR, Ryan Forney, Indianapolis, Gr., Crown Point, Ind., 3.50, MBA
WR, Tyler Purcell, Ohio Dominican, Sr., Franklin, Ohio, 3.61, Business Administration
TE, Brian Leonhardt, Bemidji State, Jr., Blaine, Minn., 3.68, Business Administration
RB, Mike Noffsinger, Ohio Dominican, Sr., West Branch, Mich., 3.72, Business Administration
RB, Josh Renel, Wayne State, Sr., Rochester Hills, Mich., 3.63, Marketing
OL, Matt Mankoff, Colorado Mesa, Jr., Denver, Colo., 3.93, Business Administration
OL, Sean McGowan, Chadron State, Sr., Lakewood, Colo., 3.90, Biology
OL, Andrew Mansaray, Indianapolis, Gr., Fort Wayne, Ind., 3.87, MBA
OL, Matt Theis, St. Cloud State, Sr., Eden Valley, Minn., 3.76, Accounting
OL, Ben Vulhop, Ohio Dominican, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio, 3.79, Biology
K, David Nadeau, Minnesota-Duluth, Sr., White Bear Lake, Minn., 3.67, Civil Engineering
DB, Nick Andreas, Augustana, (S.D.), Sr., Lakeville, Minn., 3.62, Biology
DB, Trent deBraga, Colorado Mesa, Jr., Fallon, Nev., 4.00, Criminal Justice
DB, Pat Kane, Walsh, Sr., Bolivar, Ohio, 3.99, Chemistry and Pre-Med
DB, Brody Scheff, Bemidji State, Sr., Waconia, Minn., 3.65, Business
LB, Mike Dum, Indianapolis, Sr., Indianapolis, Ind., 3.73, Finance
LB, Lee Meisner, Colorado State-Pueblo, Sr., Sterling, Colo., 3.91, Business Management
LB, Casey Popenfoose, Upper Iowa, Sr., Huntley, Ill., 3.98, Physical Education
DL, Jacob Clark, Michigan Tech, Jr., Lansing, Mich., 3.96, Civil Engineering
DL, Matthew Schwartz, St. Cloud State, Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn., 3.84, Finance
DL, Lincoln Smith, Northern State, Sr., Phillip, S.D., 3.97, Management
DL, Garrett Wilcox, Ohio Dominican, So., Streetsboro, Ohio, 3.73, Business Administration
P, Frank Atherton, Fort Lewis, Sr., Kamuela, Hawaii, 4.00, Exercise Science