February 4, 2010

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Link to CoSIDA/ESPN Release

LAURINBURG, N.C.—St. Andrews Presbyterian College junior Zack Garst has been selected to the 2010 ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District Team for men’s basketball as announced by the Academic All- America® Committee on Thursday.

Zack Garst

Garst was voted to the District 3 College Division First Team of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America ® Program, as voted upon by Sports Information Directors who are members of College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The six-foot, eight-inch forward – the only Conference Carolinas men’s basketball player to make the 2010 All-District Team – has had an outstanding junior year dominating on the court and excelling in the classroom at St. Andrews.

“Zack exemplifies everything that we search for when recruiting to our program,” said SAPC head coach Richie Schueler. “On the basketball court, he has consistently improved each season. But, more importantly, he’s an unbelievable student and strong leader. Zack has been tremendous in helping us set the tone for the direction we want our program moving in. I’m very proud of him.”

In a Royal Blue & White uniform, Garst has been a team leader for the Knights leading the team in points (13.5), rebounds (10.3), and field goal percentage (58.2%). Garst, the only player in the league averaging a double-double, has racked up an impressive 10 double-doubles in 19 games this season.

Garst leads Conference Carolinas and ranks 17th nationally with 10.3 rebounds per game. He also ranks in the top-20 of the league in field goal percentage, blocks, and points.

Garst was named the Conference Carolinas Player of the Week on December 8, 2009 and was the SAPC Knights Award recipient for men’s basketball in 2009.

Academically, Garst continues to shine sporting an impressive 3.80 grade point average (GPA) as a Business Administration major. Last semester Garst balanced academics with athletes perfectly earning a 4.0 GPA in the fall semester while taking 21 credit hours.

The Huntersville, N.C., native is a Dean’s List student-athlete at St. Andrews, who has been a Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll honoree every year of his collegiate career. Garst represented St. Andrews at the NCAA Division II National Leadership Convention in Orlando, Fla.; was nominated and awarded a member of “Who’s Who Among Students”; and invited to join “Emerging Leaders” on the SAPC campus. Garst is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Three Academic All-District teams are chosen in each district, with those on the All-District first teams placed on the national ballot for Academic All-America® consideration. There is a University Division (Division I programs) and a College Division (DII, DIII, NAIA, NJCAA programs) for men's and women's basketball.

Garst will find out if he is voted to the Academic All-America® team on Wednesday, February 24.

			2010 Academic All-District Men's Basketball Team District 3
University Division - First Team
Name	School	Dist.	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
Logan Johnson	COASTAL CAROLINA	III	Sr.	Knoxville, Tenn.	3.56	Business management
Jake Robinson	WESTERN CAROLINA	III	Sr.	Canton, N.C.	3.40	Finance
Nick Schneiders	SOUTH CAROLINA-UPSTATE	III	Sr.	Rietberg, Germany	3.71	Graphic design
Tanner Smith	CLEMSON	III	So.	Alpharetta, Ga.	3.36	Marketing
Tyler Zeller	NORTH CAROLINA	III	So.	Washington, Ind.	3.46	Undeclared
College Division - First Team
Name	School	Dist.	Yr.	Hometown	GPA	Major
Zack Garst	ST. ANDREWS PRESBYTERIAN	III	Jr.	Huntersville, N.C.	3.80	Business administration
Ben Goetsch	WASHINGTON & LEE	III	Sr.	Timonium, Md.	3.42	German/economics
Max Hoggard	WEST FLORIDA	III	Sr.	Micanopy, Fla.	3.87	Sports management
Kevin Kline	SHENANDOAH	III	Jr.	Waynesboro, Pa.	3.40	Business administration
Michael Vidal	LYNN	III	Jr.	Miami, Fla.	3.61	Business management