Nov. 8, 2007
WACO, Texas -- Baylor sophomore linebacker Joe Pawelek was named first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced Thursday. Pawelek, a product of Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, Texas, earned academic all-district in his first season of eligibility. He is now eligible for Academic All-America honors; that team is announced in late December.
This is the fifth consecutive season in which Baylor has produced an academic all-district honoree and the fourth time in the last five years that the Bears have produced a first-team selection. Daniel Sepulveda was a second-team selection as a sophomore in 2004 and earned first-team honors during his junior (2005) and senior (2006) seasons. In 2003, John Martin was a first-team pick, while Stephen Sepulveda was named second team.
A 2006 Freshman All-American, Pawelek is second on Baylor's squad with 91 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss this season. He also has 2.0 sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, three fumbles forced and two fumbles recovered. Pawelek ranks sixth in the Big 12 Conference and tied for 56th nationally with 9.1 tackles per game.
Pawelek was one of only four sophomores on the 24-member team; he joined Jordan Peterson (Texas A&M), James Truxillo (Louisiana-Lafayette) and Andrew Sendejo (Rice), all of whom are defensive players.
Baylor returns to action Saturday, traveling to Norman, Okla., for a 5:30 p.m. CST game against No. 4 Oklahoma at Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on FSN.
2007 CoSIDA / ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT VI FIRST TEAM
Pos. Student-Athlete School Class Major
QB Paul Smith Tulsa Senior Communication
WR Grant Walker Texas Tech Senior Business Management
WR Zack Sledge SMU Senior Finance
TE Nick Cleaver New Mexico State Senior Marketing
RB Bio Bilaye-Benibo Rice Senior Political Science
RB Jake Ebner Houston Junior Finance / Marketing
OL Dallas Griffin Texas Graduate Business / Finance
OL Vince Natali New Mexico Graduate Business Administration
OL Cody Wallace Texas A&M Senior Kinesiology
OL Mitch Enright SMU Junior Marketing
OL David Ballard McNeese State Junior General Studies
DL Nick Clark Texas State Senior Mathematics
DL Derek Lokey Texas Senior Sport Management
DL Brian Flagg Arkansas State Junior Engineering
DL Wes Day Louisiana Tech Junior Biology
LB Cody Kase New Mexico Senior Business Administration
LB Joe Pawelek Baylor Sophomore Finance
LB Nelson Coleman Tulsa Graduate Management
DB Brant Linde McNeese State Junior Accounting
DB Jordan Peterson Texas A&M Sophomore Sport Management
DB James Truxillo Louisiana-Lafayette Sophomore Criminal Justice
DB Andrew Sendejo Rice Sophomore Kinesiology
PK Ryan Bailey Texas Junior Advertising
P Thomas Morstead SMU Senior Mechanical Engineering
