SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Seven members of the Union College football team was recognized for their play on the field and success in the classroom with spots on the 2024 Academic All-District Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators and announced on Tuesday.
Junior
Isaiah Russell earned a second straight spot on the team, while senior
Aidan Donnelly; juniors
Guy Bellingrath,
Cam Fries and
Ryan Mulderig; and sophomores
Jordan Black and
Alex Carucci were all recognized for the first time.
To be nominated for College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must compete in 90 percent of or start at least 66 percent of an institution's games, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher, and reach sophomore athletic and academic standing at the school. Academic All-District honorees are considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America ballot.
Donnelly and Fries both made contributions from the tight end position on the season. Donnelly started eight of his nine appearances and caught once pass while playing a key role in run and pass blocking, while Fries played in all 10 games and accounted for three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground. Carucci and Bellingrath both played key roles in the defensive backfield for the Garnet Chargers, with Carucci recording 20 tackles and Bellingrath chipping in eight tackles and one interception that he ran back for a touchdown against Utica University.
Russell started all 10 games at wide receiver and ranked third on the team with 226 receiving yards on 16 catches, an average of 14.1 yards per reception. Black ranked fourth on the team with 59 tackles, including five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, starting all 10 games between linebacker and the defensive line. Mulderig served as the team's primary kickoff specialist, averaging 55.8 yards per kick and also adding four tackles on special teams.
With the seven honors, Union student-athletes have now earned 237 Academic All-District honors since 2001. The football team leads all Union programs with 42 honorees over that time.
