MANHEIM, Pa. – The Thiel wrestling team was recently honored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) for its academic success following the conclusion of the 2012 season.

The Tomcats finished seventh among the 25 ranked Division III wrestling programs with a team grade-point average of 3.417. Ninth-year head coach Craig Thurber has led the Tomcats to three-straight NWCA Academic Awards, finishing 16th in 2009-2010 and seventh following both the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons.

The team GPA is calculated as an average of the top ten student-athletes in each program. At least six of the ten student-athletes chosen must have competed in the NCAA qualifying tournament, and the other student-athletes must have competed in at least 50 percent of the team's scheduled contests.

Corey Brown (Greenville, Pa./Reynolds) and Matt Lowry (Smithfield, Pa./Albert Gallatin) also earned Scholar All-American honors for the Tomcats.

Brown, receiving the honor for the third-straight year, became the programs first-ever four-time All-American with an eighth-place finish at the 2012 Division III Wrestling Championship. A two-time Midwest Regional and four-time Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champion at 133 pounds, Brown capped off a terrific Tomcat career with a 39-4 season record and a 109-27 career mark. He is only the fifth Thiel wrestler to eclipse 100 career victories.

Brown has twice earned a spot on the PAC Academic Honor Roll and has been named to the College's Dean's List in each of his seven semesters at Thiel.

Lowry, earning Scholar All-American recognition for the second-consecutive season, wrestled to a sixth-place finish at 165 pounds at the Midwest Regional Championships for the second-straight year. He closed out the season with a 16-8 record and finished his career 58-25.

Lowry has been named to the PAC Academic Honor Roll twice and has earned Dean's List recognition after each of his seven semesters.

Wrestlers can qualify as a Scholar All-American in one of three ways, all of which require a GPA of 3.2 or higher in the previous two semesters. They must be a national qualifier with a win/loss record of .500 or better, a regional place winner with a win/loss record of .500 or better while competing in at least 50 percent of his team's competition dates, or have a win/loss record of .670 or better while competing in at least 50 percent of his team's competition dates.