NCAA Division III lists its mission statement as placing “the highest priority on the overall quality of the educational experience and on the successful completion of all students’ academic programs.”

Men’s soccer players Louis Joslyn and Josh Harry have both followed through on that mission statement, being named to the Academic all-District 8 First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Joslyn, a senior midfielder majoring in mathematics and computer science, earns his third honor and currently carries a 4.0 GPA.

For Harry, a junior defender majoring in athletic training with a 3.88 GPA, it is his first honor on the Academic All-District 8 First Team.

“It’s a great honor,” Harry said. “Anytime you are considered academically in the same sentence as Louis Joslyn you know you’re doing something right.”

“It’s very satisfying,” Joslyn said. “I worked pretty hard and focused a lot on my studies. I would say an award like this is even more satisfying than an athletic award. Academics is very important and this shows that the determination outside athletics and shows what Division III is about.”

Joslyn and Harry were both team captains and one of seven players to start all 21 games for the Storm this year, but they didn’t let the demands on the pitch get in the way of their studies – something that takes a lot of discipline and late nights.

The Simpson men’s soccer team was the only team to have two representatives on the 13-player squad, comprised of Division III schools throughout the United States and Canada.

It’s no surprise though, with head coach Rick Isaacson making a concerted effort to recruit players with a high IQ.

“I think it says a lot about the kind of person Rick recruits,” Harry said. “He puts an emphasis on high IQ guys in hopes that it translates into the soccer field.”

“I think we definitely take our academics seriously,” senior captain forward Marcus Varnum said. “Yeah, we are going to be on the road with athletics and putting time into soccer, but we have to find that proper balance. I think we do that really well.”

For Joslyn, finding that proper balance was key and getting a planner for the first time in his college career was essential this season.

“This year it’s been to get a planner,” Joslyn said. “With all that’s going on in grad school applications, research, soccer and coursework I’ve definitely had to stay organized this fall.”

Joslyn is on course to graduate this spring and hopes the grad school applications will land him a spot studying in the biomedical sciences or neuroscience department.

After having a summer research experience at the University of Michigan this past summer, Joslyn has his eyes on Michigan, Washington University in St. Louis or other schools in the Midwest.

Harry intends on heading to physical therapy when he graduates next year.

Being First Team balloters, Joslyn and Harry will wait and see if they’re selected to the CoSIDA Academic all-America Team ballot, electing players to first, second and third-team status.

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