CHICAGO - Capital University sophomore
Garrett Bennington was among 13 placekickers nationally to be recognized by The Fred Mitchell Award for their excellence on the field and in the community during the month of September.
Bennington, a sophomore from Cambridge, Ohio, was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week following the Crusaders 37-21 win at Wilmington on September 26. He made three first half FG's and was 4 of 4 on PAT's in the win.
Bennington has been to the success of the Capital football team this season which is off to a 3-0 start (2-0 in OAC play) and is ranked No. 22 in this week's D3Football.com Top 25 Poll and No. 25 in the AFCA Top 25 Poll. He leads the Conference and is second in the country in FG's made per game (6-for-8 on the year). Bennington also averages 60 yards per kickoff and is part of a special teams unit that has the Conference's second best kickoff coverage with opponents starting at the 26 yard line on average. He also joined 90 of his fellow teammates at the Marc Levison Run/Walk volunteer on September 6 to raise awareness and funding for Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) research for the Columbus Children's Research Institute.
The Crusaders remain on the road for its next game this week against OAC foe Marietta. The game will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and fans can follow the action with FREE live stats and live audio at www.CapitalCrusaders.net.
Bennington joined a list of NCAA Division II and III placekickers which included Alex Beard (Quincy University), Tyler Cannon (Eastern New Mexico University), Jay Carpenter (Mount Union College), Zack Harris (Wittenberg University), Nick Hope (Wayne State College), Jon Koenig (Bloomsburg University), Tyler Lomnicki (Elmhurst College), Tyler McNamara (Bentley University), Andrew Rogowski (Ithaca College), Gareth Rowlands (Tusculum College), Jeff Schebler (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater) and Justin Trumble (Grand Valley State University). The recipient of the inaugural Fred Mitchell Award will be announced in mid-December based on performance on the field and in the community. Details are provided at http://www.fredmitchellaward.com/.
Starting with the 2009 college football season, the annual Fred Mitchell Outstanding Place-Kicker Award (also known as the Fred Mitchell Award, http://www.fredmitchellaward.com/ in development) will be provided to the nation's top collegiate place-kicker among the approximately 150 Division II and 240 Division III football teams. The Award is named for Fred Mitchell, the record-setting place-kicker, Wittenberg University Athletic Hall of Famer, author, philanthropist and Chicago Tribune sports columnist. The recipient of the Fred Mitchell Award will be chosen based on excellence on the football field and in the community.
The school of the Award winner will receive scholarship funds and the Fred Mitchell Award trophy will be presented on February 22, 2010 at the National Football Foundation Chicago Metro Chapter Awards Ceremony at Halas Hall. Further details about the Awards Ceremony are at http://www.nffchicagoawards.eventbrite.com/.