April 24, 2006

The day after Bucknell was crowned the 2006 Patriot League Golf Champion and Bison junior Charlie Waddell (Wilmette, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) the individual winner, the League office announced the All-League team.

The Patriot League Men's Golf All-League team is made up of the top ten finishers at the championship with the first five being named to the first-team and the second five earning second-team honors. This year due to a tie for fifth there are six members on the first team and four on the second.

Joining Waddell on the first team was Army senior Austin Luher (Vancouver, Wash./Vancouver) and sophomore Joey Cave (El Cajon, Calif./Saint Augustine), Lehigh senior Jason Moloney (Plainsboro, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro), Colgate sophomore Richard Hayes (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) and Navy sophomore Chris Renninger (Darenstown, Md./Sidwell Friends).

This season marks the third consecutive year in which Waddell earned All-League status and second straight year winning the individual title. Luher and Cave were the only other members to earn All-League honors on the first team being named to last year's team.

The second-team consisted of Navy junior Bryan Stoniecki (Montgomery, Ill./Oswego) and freshman Ryan Wielgus (Bethesda, Md./Winston Churchill), Lafayette senior Tom Palmer (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) and Army sophomore Pat Beverly (Humble, Texas/Humble).

On the second team only Beverly had previously earned All-League status.

At Sunday's championship, additional awards were handed out to Wielgus (Rookie of the Year), as well as Bucknell's Jim Cotner (Coach of the Year).

Bucknell now awaits its draw for the 2006 NCAA Men's Golf Championship. The Bison captured their first League title at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Club with a 44-over par 896.

The Patriot League, which was founded on the principles of admitting athletes who are academically representative of their class, is in its second decade of academic and athletic excellence. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of the undergraduate experience. The Patriot League, which began as a successful Division I-AA football conference in 1986 and became an all-sport conference in 1990, includes American, Army, Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy as full members and three associate members. These institutions are among the oldest and most prestigious in the nation and their alumni have played leadership roles in the shaping of our country. In the most recent NCAA Graduation Rate Report of student-athletes, the Patriot League ranked FIRST among NCAA Division I conferences.