Five Buffs named to Academic All-District At-Large First Team

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (May 19, 2022) – Milligan swimming and golf standouts, Maggie Blazo, Gabby MacPherson, Alayna Perryman, Wiktor Perkowski and Dane Rheinecker were named to the men's and women's 2021-22 Academic All-District® At-Large First Team for NAIA District 2 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Blazo, Perryman and Perkowski are all repeat Academic All-District First Team honorees. Blazo became Milligan's first-ever at-large Academic All-American in school history last summer and Perkowski was a First Team Academic All-American as an undergraduate at Union College.

Blazo closed her storied career as Milligan swimming's all-time leader in individual All-America honors with eight. In 2021-22, she collected six All-American relay honors and earned her final individual All-America award in the 200 yard freestyle, earning All-America status in five different events. After graduating from Milligan with a business administration degree last spring, she earned an MBA with a 4.0 perfect grade point average in 2021-22.

MacPherson, a nursing major with a 3.81 GPA, was the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Swimmer of the Year and earned All-America honors in the 1650 free, 200 fly and in all five of Milligan's relays at the NAIA National Championships.

Blazo and MacPherson led Milligan women's swimming to its first-ever AAC championship and a fifth-place showing at the NAIA National Championships.

Perryman repeats as an Academic All-District selection after another season as Milligan's top women's golfer. A returning NAIA and WGCA All-American, Perryman finished in the top-five in all nine of the Buffs' tournaments and claimed two tournament titles. She set the program's all-time 36-hole record (144) and earned Medalist honors at the Coastal Georgia Fall Invitational and was the medalist at the Buffs' home spring event, the Mountain Empire Intercollegiate. Perryman graduated in April with a degree in mechanical engineering after posting a cumulative GPA of 3.72.

Perkowski joined the Buffs' swim program as a graduate transfer from AAC member Union in 2021-22. He earned All-America honors in the 100 fly, 100 back and all five relays at the NAIA National Championships and helped Milligan to a fifth-place national finish. In his lone season with the Buffs, he set five individual program records and swam on all five of Milligan's record-setting relays. Perkowski earned his MBA from Milligan with a 3.96 GPA.

Rheinecker became the first men's golfer to earn Academic All-District applause after earning All-AAC First Team honors this year. He finished fourth at the AAC Fall Championship 10th at the AAC Spring Championship to help the Buffs to a runner-up finish at the AAC Spring Championship/NAIA Direct Qualifier. During the 2021-22 season, Rheinecker had six individual top-10s, three top-fives and two all-tournament nods. He helped the Buffs to the No. 33 spot in the Golfstat rankings and ranked in the top 150 men's players in the NAIA Golfstat rankings.

Academic All-District honorees are selected by Sports Information Directors within the institutions' district. NAIA District 2 includes schools from Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. To be nominated for the Academic All-America® program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore, hold a 3.30 or higher cumulative grade point average and be a starter or significant reserve.

All five honorees move on to the national Academic All-America ballot. NAIA At-Large Academic All-America® teams will be announced on June 14-15.