FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
2013 D3football.com All-America Teams
Dec. 21, 2013 - The North Central College football program has been honored with five selections to the 2013 D3football.com All-America Teams. This year's selections were announced Friday evening as part of D3football.com's pregame broadcast of the NCAA Division III national championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, in Salem, Va.
North Central defensive back Shane Dierking was named to the All-America First Team, while quarterback Spencer Stanek and defensive end Alex Tripp were selected to the Second Team. Linebacker Nick Slezak was picked for Third Team accolades and offensive lineman Jace Werkheiser received Honorable Mention status.
The five selections give the Cardinals their largest representation on the All-America teams since D3football.com instituted their awards in 1999. North Central had three selections to the 2010 and 2011 All-America squads.
Dierking was selected as the D3football.com North Region Defensive Player of the Year and the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Defensive Player of the Year this season. He intercepted eight passes, tying North Central's single-season record, and broke the Cardinals' career record with 16 total interceptions. His 77 tackles this season ranked second on the team and gave him 206 for his career, which ranks 10th all-time in North Central history. He saw action in all 51 of the Cardinals' games the past four seasons.
Stanek is now an All-American for the second time this season, having also been named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches' All-America Team earlier in the week. He finished the 2013 campaign as the Cardinals' all-time single-season leader in completions (264), completion percentage (.710), passing yards (3,495) and passing touchdowns (43) while throwing only two interceptions in 372 attempts. He ranked second nationally in touchdown passes and passing efficiency (187.0) while ranking fourth in completion percentage. Stanek finishes his career as North Central's all-time leader in passing efficiency (166.1) and completion percentage (.655) while ranking second in completions (546), attempts (833), yards (7,549) and touchdowns (75). He also rushed for 864 yards and 13 TDs. Stanek was a First Team CCIW selection and the CCIW's Art Keller Offensive Player of the Year this season and was named to the D3football.com All-North Region Second Team.
Tripp, a First Team All-CCIW and All-North Region selection, ranked third on North Central's roster with 71 tackles this season while also recording 13.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 quarterback sacks. He is tied for fourth in school history in career sacks (21) and ranks ninth all-time in tackles for loss (33.5).
Slezak led the Cardinals with 127 tackles (the fourth-highest single-season total in school history) and 20.5 tackles for loss (the second-highest total all-time) in his first season at linebacker in 2013. He established a new North Central single-season record with 21 tackles in the Cardinals' 41-40 loss at the University of Mount Union in the national semifinals Dec 14. Slezak was a First Team All-CCIW and Second Team All-North Region honoree. Werkheiser, a First Team All-CCIW and Second Team All-Region selection in each of the past three seasons, has been the Cardinals' starting left tackle since the start of the 2011 campaign, anchoring a line which has protected three of the top four highest yardage-gaining offenses in North Central's history.
The Cardinals had five of the CCIW's six selections to the All-America teams this season. Augustana College linebacker Erik Westerberg also made the First Team.
North Central finished the 2013 season with a record of 13-1, setting a new program record for single-season wins, and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Football Championship for the first time while tying a CCIW record by winning the conference title for the eighth consecutive year.
