AUSTINTOWN, Ohio – Capital University football players Marty Assmann and Pete Ankrom were each named to the Ohio Athletic Conference All-Academic Team for the second consecutive season on Wednesday following a recent vote conducted amongst the faculty athletics representatives from the conference.
To be eligible for OAC All-Academic honors, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA and be a starter or key reserve while being enrolled in at least his second year of participation in that sport.
Assmann (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley HS) led Capital in passing and total offense this season despite playing in just six games due to injury. The 6-2, 185-pound junior quarterback completed 89-of-158 passes for 1,332 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 94 yards and one touchdown of his own. Overall, this season the Crusaders produced the third best passing offense in the OAC at 226.9 yards per game. Capital averaged 24.0 points per game and scored on 84.8 percent of its opportunities in the red zone while surrendering the fourth fewest number of sacks in the OAC. Assmann was a OAC All-Academic pick in football in 2007 as well as an All-OAC selection in Track & Field while competing in javelin during the 2007 season.
Ankrom (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield North HS) was also tabbed as the Gene Slaughter Award as the OAC’s top linebacker this season and was honored as an OAC All-Academic Team pick in 2007. The 6-0, 200-pound senior led the Crusaders and ranked third in the OAC with 98 total tackles (63 solo, 35 assisted), which was the most tackles by a Crusader linebacker since Ron Swearigin posted 103 during the 2003 season. He added 3.5 sacks for a loss of 25 yards, 13.5 tackles for loss (48 yards) and one interception that he returned for 21 yards.
Capital finished with a 5-5 overall record in 2008 under the direction of first-year head coach Jim Bickel. The Crusaders placed fifth in an Ohio Athletic Conference that sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. CU has produced eight straight non-losing seasons and a 62-25 (.713) overall record along with 22 All-America selections since 2001.