Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information

Westfield State University junior linebacker Troy Cutter (Lunenburg, Mass.) and sophomore defensive back Greg Sheridan (Burlington, Mass.) have been named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-District ® football team.

Cutter and Sheridan were selected to the District I squad that encompasses NCAA Division III colleges in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. The prestigious scholar-athlete team was selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
 
The Academic All-District ® squad includes student-athletes from Middlebury, WPI, MIT, Amherst, Springfield, Nichols, Western New England and Castleton State. Cutter and Sheridan were two of the four players from the MASCAC honored; the other two were Massachusetts Maritime Academy's Brandon Rodrigues (placekicker) and John Moriarty (offensive lineman).
 
Cutter is a criminal justice major and owns a 3.58 cumulative grade point average. He leads the Owls this season with 64 tackles, including 46 stops, and has three interceptions. He was the team's third leading tackler in 2012 and received the team's 12th player award.

Sheridan, a history major with a 3.91 grade point average, is also a key member of the 2013 team that is ranked nationally in red zone defense (11th), total defense (28th), rushing defense (24th), and turnover margin (11th). He is the team's fifth leading tackler (51 total, 40 solos) and has three interceptions and five pass breakups.

"This is a great honor for Troy and Greg and we congratulate them on their outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments," said Westfield State athletics director Richard Lenfest. "To have two players from Westfield on this academic team is quite and accomplishment."

Thirteen Westfield State student-athletes have earned Academic All-District ® honors in the past five years. Other Owls honored were: Julia Warner (volleyball), Rachel Cardin (cross country/track and field), Brittanie McGregor (women's soccer), Jess Habif (women's soccer), Amanda Gricus (track and field), Josh Blair (baseball), Rachel Dionne (lacrosse/cross country), Stephanie Bartkus (volleyball), Alicia Gardner (softball), Kerry Arouca (track and field/cross country), and Kate MacLellan (soccer).

As first-team All-District selections, Cutter's and Sheridan's names have been forwarded to the Academic All-America selection committee, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected. The Academic All-District ® teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada.

To be eligible for Academic All-America ® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution, and be nominated by his/her sports information director.