4/8/08

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Lycoming senior defensive end Ryan Yaple (Stillwater, Pa./Northwest) has been awarded the All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year award by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). The 2008 award honors 239 student-athletes from 165 schools for their dedication to strength training and conditioning.

Following the 2007 football season, Yaple was named honorable mention All-America by D3football.com. He also earned first-team All-Middle Atlantic Conference and first-team
Division III All-Eastern Region.

Yaple ranked second in the NCAA Division III with 14 quarterback sacks. He also compiled 19.5 tackles for loss in 2007, which placed him in the top-ten nationally. He had 44 tackles for the season, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Perhaps Yaple’s biggest game of the year came against conference opponent Albright, when he totaled six tackles, including 3.5 sacks.

Last April, Yaple won Lycoming’s Iron Warrior of the Year contest for the second straight season. The inter-squad competition decides the team’s “best all-around athlete” through six events: bench press, squat lift, shuttle run, broad jump, vertical jump and 40-yard dash. The system is set up to reward all-around athletes, not just the fastest or the strongest.

Lycoming assistant coach Raymond Ross nominated Yaple for the 29th annual NSCA
All-American Athlete of the Year award.