The Kalamazoo College men's lacrosse team had two individuals selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, as announced on Tuesday (May 23). The student-athletes selected were Sam Hughes and Colby Skinner. The sports that fall under the at-large category include beach volleyball, bowling, crew/rowing, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, and water polo.
To be selected for the award, the student-athlete must be a starter or an important reserve with at least a 3.50 cumulative GPA, have played at least 50% of their team's competitions, and be at least a sophomore academically and athletically.
Hughes played in nine games this season with eight starts and was the leading face-off man for the Hornets. In 203 tries, he won 80 face-offs and collected 30 ground balls in the process. In addition, he forced two turnovers and took four shots, with two being on goal. His best game came in the regular season finale against Trine, helping the Hornets clinch an MIAA Tournament berth for the first time in program history. He won 14 of 26 face-offs with seven ground balls. Majoring in business, Hughes has a 3.55 cumulative GPA.
Skinner was a long-stick midfielder for the Hornets and appeared in 14 games with seven starts. Defensively, he collected 34 ground balls and forced 17 turnovers for Kalamazoo. In addition, he added an assist on the offensive side with seven shots, including two on goal. His best game came against Benedictine, totaling five ground balls and two caused turnovers. Skinner is also majoring in business and has a cumulative GPA of 3.82.
Now that the two student-athletes have made the district team, they will move on to the CSC Academic All-American ballot, which will be announced in June.