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South Easton, Mass. – American International graduate student wide receiver Travis Poole (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was named the 2008 Northeast-10 Football Most Valuable Player as voted by the conference head coaches.

Poole helped lead the Yellow Jackets to their first-ever Northeast-10 Regular Season Championship with a perfect 7-0 in conference play. Poole currently leads the conference in receiving yards with 1,119 and in touchdown receptions with 14. He has also accumulated 1,162 all-purpose yards which puts him in the top five in the Northeast-10. Poole is ranked fifth among the Division II leaders in yards per game (111.9) and 16th in scoring. In addition, he was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the first time in his collegiate career.

Southern Connecticut State University sophomore running back John Wiechman (Buxton, Maine) was selected the 2008 Northeast-10 Offensive Player of the Year. In his second season of collegiate play, Wiechman had a breakthrough year as he finished second in the Northeast-10 in rushing with 961 yards. He’s currently ranked eighth in total offense and leads NE-10 rushers in scoring with 15 touchdowns. Wiechman is also ranked among the national leaders in scoring (11th) and rushing (21st). In addition, he was named to the All-Northeast First Team.

Wiechman’s teammate junior linebacker Jerome Pinckney (Ellenwood, Ga.) was voted the 2008 Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Pinckney is second on the team with 57 tackles, 7.5 in which were for a loss. He has also collected 1.5 sacks and forced and recovered two fumbles. Pinckney is part of a defensive unit that has allowed a league best 17.3 points per game and has held opponents to only 161 yards passing per game and 101.8 yards per game on the ground. He was also awarded his first-ever selection to the All-Northeast-10 First Team.

The honors continue for Southern Connecticut as senior center Ed Peters (Roseland, N.J.) was named the 2008 Northeast-10 Offensive Lineman of the Year. Peters has helped the Owls’ top ranked offense to a conference best 34 points per game. Southern Connecticut is second in the NE-10 in pass offense with 249 yards per game as well as rush offense with 196 yards per game. Peters was selected to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the second straight season. He was selected to the All-Northeast Second Team in 2006.

American International senior defensive linemanJean Simeon (Atlantic City, N.J.) was named the 2008 Northeast-10 Defensive Lineman of the Year. Simeon has caused havoc to opposing quarterbacks this year as he currently has 5.5 sacks which is ninth best in the conference and 41 total tackles. He’s ranked fourth in the NE-10 in tackles for a loss with 11. Simeon is part of a Yellow Jackets’ defense that has held opponents to 17.4 points per game and has held opposing offenses to only 62.9 yards on the ground. Simeon was named to the All-Northeast-10 First Team for the first time in his collegiate career.

Saint Anselm College freshman quarterback Marc Wilson (Farmington, Conn.) was selected the 2008 Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year. Wilson made a huge splash for the Hawks in just his first year of collegiate play. He is currently the only Northeast-10 player to rush for over 1,000 yards this season (1,214) and became the first 1,000 yard rusher in Saint Anselm history, breaking their old single-season mark of 951 yards. In addition, Wilson also has thrown for 849 yards after completing 45.7- percent of his passes and has thrown for six touchdowns. He was also selected to the All-Northeast-10 All Rookie Team.

American International head coach Art Wilkins and Southern Connecticut head coach Rich Cavanaugh were voted the 2008 Coaches of the Year by their peers. This is the first time both coaches have received coach of the year honors. Wilkins guided the Yellow Jackets to the 2008 Northeast-10 Regular Season Championship with a perfect 7-0 mark and 9-1 overall. American International will be making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament when they host Seton Hill University on Saturday.

Cavanaugh led the Owls to an 8-2 overall record and 6-1 mark in Northeast-10. Southern Connecticut will be making their fourth straight NCAA appearance on Saturday when they travel to West Chester, Pa. to face West Chester University in a first round contest.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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