Thursday, March 27, 2008

FOUR MORAVIAN STUDENT-ATHLETES NAMED TO LANDMARK CONFERENCE WINTER ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM

MADISON, NJ --- Senior Mark Franzyshen (Somerset, NJ/Immaculata HS) and sophomores Michael Blenk (Inwood, NY/Lawrence HS), Jessica Foran (Annandale, NJ/Rutgers Prep HS) and Jessica Posimo (Philadelphia, PA/St. Basil Academy) from Moravian College have been named to the 2008 Landmark Conference Winter All-Academic Team announced Thursday.

The Landmark Conference has selected 32 student-athletes for the 2008 Winter Landmark All-Academic Team. Two male and two female athletes from each of the eight Landmark institutions were selected for the team which honors athletes who have excelled athletically and academically. Nominees could compete in any of the Landmark winter sports and must be a sophomore or older with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

The Winter All-Academic Team features 16 seniors, 13 juniors and three sophomores. In addition all six winter sports sponsored by the Landmark Conference is represented with at least one student-athlete. The Landmark Conference will select an All-Academic Team for each of the three athletics seasons during the year.

Blenk, pictured at right, helped Moravian win the Landmark Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship with several top-four finishes. He won the triple jump with a leap of 13.53 meters (44 feet, 4 ¾ inches), and that performance earned him first-team All-Conference honors.  Blenk was third in the long jump and fourth in the 55-meter hurdles at the Landmark meet, and he also competed in the 2008 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, helping the Greyhounds to a runner-up finish. Off the track Blenk is a sociology major.

Foran, pictured at left, was the leading scorer for the Moravian women’s basketball team which earned spots in the Landmark Conference and ECAC Division III postseason.  The Greyhounds were 16-11 on the season. She scored 12.9 points per game and also ranked among the Division III leaders in free throw percentage despite missing five games with an injury early in the season opener. Foran is studying business at Moravian.

Franzyshen, pictured at bottom right, was a pivotal piece in a Moravian men’s basketball team that earned its first NCAA Tournament berth in 25 seasons while posting an 18-9 record. He was a second-team All-Conference selection while averaging 13.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Franzyshen will graduate with a degree in social studies and secondary education and was a Landmark Academic Honor Roll pick this winter.

Posimo , pictured at left, helped the Moravian women’s track and field team win the first Landmark Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship. She captured three first-place finishes at the championship meet, winning the 55-meter hurdles in 8.79 seconds, the long jump with a leap of 5.29 meters (17 feet, 4 ¼ inches) and the triple jump at a distance of 10.59 meters (34 feet, nine inches) while adding three more top-four finishes.  Posimo also won the indoor pentathlon with a school record 3,170 points while helping Moravian to it’s first-ever ECAC Division III Championship. Posimo was a member of the Landmark Winter Academic Honor Roll and is a biochemistry major.