2001-02 WIAC Wrestling Headlines La Crosse's Cudd Named Academic All-America RELEASED: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 La Crosse, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse senior wrestler Brady Cudd of River Falls, Wis. has been named to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America College Division At-Large First Team. Cudd is one of 15 student-athletes named to the first team in voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The at-large squad includes all male athletes from Division II, Division III and NAIA institutions from the sports of ice hockey, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball and wrestling. A chemistry major and mathematics minor, Cudd maintained a 3.93 grade point average. He earned a $5,000 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and has been accepted to the University of Minnesota Graduate School and is enrolled in the Medicinal Chemistry Program in the School of Pharmacy. A two-time NCAA Division III All-American, Cudd was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant, which waves tuition costs at the University of Minnesota. The NIH is a member of the Department of Health & Human Services. Cudd also earned the Roberta A. and William W. Allen Chemistry Graduate Study Incentive Scholarship at UW-La Crosse. Cudd finished second at 141-pounds at this year's NCAA Division III Championship for his second career All- American recognition. He placed fifth in 2001. A transfer from the University of Wisconsin, Cudd wrapped up his two-year La Crosse career with a 57-9 record, including 32-4 this year. He is also a two-time National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-American. The Verizon Academic All-America Teams are selected by a vote of the 1,800-member CoSIDA. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Sports information directors nominate eligible athletes from their schools who are named to district teams prior to being voted upon the national level. # # # # # La Crosse's Cudd Earns NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship RELEASED: Monday, May 20, 2002 La Crosse, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse senior wrestler Brady Cudd of River Falls, Wis. has earned a $5,000 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. He is one of 58 winter athletes from across the country to receive the honor. A chemistry major and mathematics minor, Cudd maintains a 3.93 grade point average. He has been accepted to the University of Minnesota Graduate School and is enrolled in the Medicinal Chemistry Program in the School of Pharmacy. "This is such a great honor for me," said Cudd. "I've really enjoyed being at UW-L the past two years and I wish I had been here for five years. The wrestling team is a real family. We're working for the same cause and we have so much support amongst the team." "I think wrestling has helped me academically," added Cudd. "It requires structure to succeed and I think it made it easier to do well in school." "The university and the team are very proud of Brady, " said UW-L head coach Tim Fader. "The postgraduate scholarship is a very prestigious award. This is an illustration of what we want to accomplish at UW-L. Brady came in and excelled both on and off the mat." A transfer from the University of Wisconsin, Cudd wrapped up his two-year UW-L career with a 57-9 record, including 32-4 this year. He is also two-time National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-American. Cudd was awarded a National Institutes of Health grant, which waves tuition costs at the University of Minnesota. The NIH is a member of the Department of Health & Human Services. Cudd also earned the Roberta A. and William W. Allen Chemistry Graduate Study Incentive Scholarship at UW-L. The NCAA awarded 58 postgraduate scholarships of $5,000 each to 29 men and 29 women who participated in winter sports, which included men's and women's basketball, fencing, men's and women's gymnastics, men's and women's ice hockey, rifle, skiing, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's indoor track and field and wrestling. Cudd was one of 10 Division III male athletes to earn the winter postgraduate scholarship. In addition to the winter sport honorees, the NCAA also awards 116 postgraduate scholarships to student-athletes participating in fall and spring sports in which the NCAA conducts championships, for a total of 174 postgraduate scholarships annually. To qualify for a NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.200 (on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part- time graduate student. # # # # # Three Earn Verizon Academic All-District Men's At-Large Honors RELEASED: Monday, May 20, 2002 Madison, Wis.--Three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) student-athletes have been named to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-District V Men's At-Large Team. UW-La Crosse's Brady Cudd earned first team honors, while UW-Eau Claire's Matt Oglesby and UW-La Crosse's Josh Habeck were second team selections. Cudd, a senior from River Falls, Wis., is majoring in chemistry with a minor in mathematics and carries a 3.93 grade point average. He has been accepted to the University of Minnesota Graduate School and is enrolled in the Medicinal Chemistry Program in the School of Pharmacy. Cudd finished second at 141-pounds at this year's national championship for his second career All-America accolade. He placed fifth in 2001. A transfer from the University of Wisconsin, Cudd wrapped up his two-year La Crosse career with a 57-9 record, including 32-4 this year. He is also two-time National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-American. Habeck, a senior wrestler from Schofield, Wis., is a double major in accounting and finance, maintaining a 3.52 grade point average. He was a Verizon Academic All-District First Team selection last year and received the WIAC's Max Sparger Wrestling Scholar-Athlete Award earlier this year. Habeck earned All-America honors this year with a third-place finish at 133-pounds. It was his second career All- America honor after also placing third in 2001. He is La Crosse's career wins leader with a 125-29 mark, including 37-5 this year. He is a three-time National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-American selection (1999, 2001, 2002). Oglesby, a senior swimmer from Lake Geneva, Wis. (Big Foot H.S.), is majoring in biology with a 3.27 grade point average. Earlier this year, he earned the WIAC's Max Sparger Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete Award. Oglesby was a 19-time All-American for the Blugolds and capped off a spectacular career by becoming the 100 backstroke national champion. His time of 49.00 seconds set a school record and fell just short of the NCAA Division III national record of 48.61. With 26 career top-three finishes at the WIAC Championships, Oglesby won a combined 16 league titles competing individually and in relay competition. A total of 11 student-athletes were named to the first team, while 10 earned second team honors. Individuals earning first team recognition will advance to the national ballot. The at-large squad includes individuals from the sports of ice hockey, swimming, tennis and wrestling. # # # # # Habeck and Cudd Selected To Compete In Don Gable Classic RELEASED: Friday, March 15, 2002 La Crosse, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse seniors Josh Habeck of Schofield (D.C. Everest) and Brady Cudd of River Falls (H.S.) have been selected to participate in the 2002 Dan Gable Wrestling Classic March 29 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Both wrestlers earned NCAA Division III All-America honors this year. Cudd placed second at 141-pounds, falling 12-8 to Upper Iowa's Jesus Wilson. Cudd went 3-1 at the championships and wrapped up his UW-L career with a 57-9 record. It was his second career All-America honor after finishing fifth last season. He finished 32-4 this year. After losing his first match of the tournament, Habeck came back to win five straight matches to earn third-place at 133-pounds for his second career All-American honor. He finished his career as UW-L's career wins leader with a 125-29 mark, including a 37-5 record this year. Habeck finished third at the national championships for the second consecutive season. He went 13-6 in four career national championship appearances. Habeck pinned Mike Waldron of Lycoming at 4:40 for third-place. UW-L finished fourth as a team at the 2002 championships. Cudd and Habeck are the first UW-L wrestlers to ever compete in the Gable Classic. Cudd faces Chad Erickson of the University of Minnesota while Habeck takes on Jacob Ramos of Augustana College (S.D.) at this year's Gable Classic. This year's classic, “Spirit of the Heartland” – A Wrestling Tribute to America's Heroes, features the best collegiate wrestlers in the nation. Eleven NCAA Division I wrestlers are expected to compete in the fifth annual classic.