Koleske Named First Team CoSIDA Academic All-American

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, December 3, 2019 | Men's Soccer
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College senior goalkeeper Josh Koleske has been named to the first team of the 2019 NCAA Division III College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America men's soccer team.

Koleske, an Appleton native, holds a perfect 4.00 grade point average while majoring in biology. Koleske finished the 2019 season with a 7-2-3 record in 15 matches this season, totaling a 0.78 goals against average with three shutouts. He was a first-team All-Midwest Conference choice in 2019 after being named second-team All-MWC in 2016 and 2017. Koleske was a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree in 2018.

A three-time winner of the MWC Elite 20 Award for men's soccer, Koleske holds the St. Norbert career record for shutouts with 17 and finished with a record of 41-10-6. A past vice president of the St. Norbert Pre-Health Club, Koleske is also a peer buddy in Best Buddies. He has also worked as a certified nursing assistant and went on an international medical mission to the Dominican Republic in January 2019.

Koleske plans on attending medical school following graduation.

The Green Knights finished 16-5-3 in 2019, which including winning the Midwest Conference Tournament championship. St. Norbert advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, with Koleske posting a shutout in a first-round scoreless tie against Ohio Northern University. After advancing via a shootout, the Green Knights then fell to Final Four-qualifier Calvin University in the second round.

Koleske has continued the St. Norbert men's soccer program's excellence in the CoSIDA Academic All-America program. In addition to his second-team selection last year, Koleske is joined by men's soccer Academic All-America honorees Adam Winters (2003, first team), Andrew Winters (2005 and 2005, first team), Amir St. Clair (2007, second team), John Cremer (2008, first team) and Thomas Gritton (2014, second team).

Since the inception of the CoSIDA Academic All-America program in 1952, 55 St. Norbert College student-athletes have been selected for 77 awards. St. Norbert has 26 overall first-team Academic All-Americans, with those 26 garnering 36 first-team awards.

To be eligible for national or regional selection, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.0, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his current institution and be nominated by his sports information director. The Academic All-America team is selected after All-District teams are picked from eight geographic regions nationally.