EMU puts six on VaSID Academic All-State Team

Six EMU student-athletes have been named to the Academic-All State Team by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID). A total of 198 student-athletes representing 33 colleges and universities across the state were recognized.

Those honored from Eastern Mennonite University were:

Beck Hoskins (Danville, Va./Westover Christian Academy), senior, volleyball/softball, social work major, 3.98 GPA. A dual-sport athlete during her three year career as a Royal, Hoskins was able to make an impact on the volleyball court and softball field. A middle-blocker on the court, Hoskins averaged 1.18 Kills/Set while totaling 154 blocks in three seasons. After being named to the softball All-ODAC Third Team her freshman season, she finishes her career with a .319 batting average and 31 stolen bases.

Elizabeth Nisly (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton), junior, cross country/track & field, writing studies and Spanish, 3.99 GPA. Nisly claimed a spot on the All-ODAC Second Team in Cross Country after finishing 12th with a season best time of 23:46 at the Championship meet back in October. At the year-opening Bridgewater XC Challenge, Nisly won the women’s 4k race by more than 14 seconds with a time of 16:43.

R.J. Ocampo (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial), Sr., volleyball, biology, 3.91 GPA. Ocampo was a regular on the Continental Volleyball Conference All-Academic Team and also played in Brazil in the summer of 2018 as a member of the USA D-III Volleyball Team. He played in 108 matches for the Royals and leaves with the No. 5 spot on the EMU Career Blocks list, racking up 302 blocks.

Erik Peachey (Lititz, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), Sr., soccer, Aaccounting & business administration, 3.87 GPA. Peachy took on a leading role as captain while finding his way into the starting lineup. He scored a career high three goals while leading the team in assists with four in his senior season.

Leah Wenger (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), Jr., soccer, psychology and music performance (vocal), 3.95 GPA. Wenger has started 40 games as the goalkeeper through her first three years in the women’s soccer program. This past season she finished tied for 7th in the ODAC with 74 saves.

Maria Yoder (Manheim, Pa./Hempfield), Sr., volleyball, biology, 3.98 GPA. A four-year starter on the women’s volleyball team, Yoder was named twice to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and was a regular on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. Yoder finishes at No. 8 on the EMU Career Sets Played list at 378, with her versatility pushing her to just outside of the top-10 in career totals for each of kills, blocks and service aces.

To be eligible for Academic All-State, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average, and be a sophomore or higher.

VaSID is comprised of sports information or athletics communications professionals from intercollegiate institutions throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Membership is open to any individual affiliated with one of the state’s institutions at the NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, USCAA, NJCAA, community college and independent levels.