May 3, 2000

RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State junior Zach Breitenbach, who earned All-ACC honors at 184 pounds this past season, has been named a first-team Academic All-American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).

Breitenbach, a zoology major, carries a 3.992 overall grade-point average, the highest GPA of any of the 56 individual wrestlers who earned a spot on the Academic All-America team or were honorable mention, as selected by the NWCA. Breitenbach is a repeat honoree, having been named NWCA Academic All-American a year ago as well.

With Breitenbach leading the way, the NC State wrestling team ranked 23rd nationally among all NCAA Division I programs with a team GPA of 2.8883. Breitenbach was the only Atlantic Coast Conference wrestler named either first- or second-team Academic All-American, and NC State was the only ACC school ranked among the top 25 teams academically.