CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State University wrestling team, and two of its student-athletes in particular, were honored for their academic success Thursday afternoon by the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

Cleveland State came in 20th in the NWCA's annual Top-30 Scholar All-American team standings. The Vikings posted a 3.2258 grade point average, their second highest among the years covered in the NWCA database. It marked the second time in the past four years that CSU had placed among the top 20 in this ranking.

Additionally, two Vikings—Ryan Ford and Armando Torres—were named NWCA Scholar All-Americans as individuals. The Vikings most recently had multiple individuals named Scholar All-Americans in 2016.

Ford owns a 3.75 cumulative GPA and is a five-time Dean's List honoree. He is an integrated social studies major seeking a license in education. After missing time early this past season, Ford finished with a 14-9 record at 165 pounds.

Torres owns a 3.91 cumulative GPA at CSU and is seeking a Master's degree in clinical mental health counseling. He led the team with 27 wins this past season, including racking up 14 bonus-point wins, all at 133 pounds.

Cleveland State's 3.2258 team GPA was the highest of all seven programs that previously competed in the Eastern Wrestling League. CSU had the third-highest GPA of the 15 schools that will compete in the Mid-American Conference, beginning with the 2019-2020 season.

The team GPA was determined using a system that includes 12 student-athletes from each program. A total of 10 of these came from the wrestlers that were entered in the NCAA tournament conference qualifier.

Cleveland State loses just one starter to graduation this offseason as it will return nine of the 10 student-athletes that competed in the recent conference tournament. The Vikings will also welcome back three starters from the 2017-18 season that redshirted in 2018-19, including 2018 NCAA qualifier Evan Cheek.