Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 6/30/16
From Press Release
Senior-to-be Marc Bushong (Washington Township-NJ) was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men’s Lacrosse Performer of the Year as he was one of 12 local student-athletes to be honored by the daily publication on its all-area teams.
The top performer and team is voted upon by the sports information offices of the 28 area institutions from Divisions I, II, and III in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be in at least his or her second year at the institution and hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better.
He is the second Griffin to be honored as its performer of the year. Former Griffin great, Rachel (Fein) Hering won the award three-straight years for women’s tennis from 2011-13.
Bushong was selected to the 2016 Colonial States Athletic Conference First Team and finished the season fourth in the CSAC in ground balls per game (85/5.67) and fifth in caused turnovers per game (27/1.80), leading the Griffins in both categories. The junior started all 15 games, helping Gwynedd Mercy to a 10-5 record and a berth in the CSAC Championship game.
He is Gwynedd Mercy’s program record holder for caused turnovers in a career (71), season (27) and game (5)—all set this year—and owns 211 ground balls through 45 career appearances for the Griffins.
The Sewell, N.J. native is currently pursuing a degree in radiologic technology from Gwynedd Mercy and is a member of Chi Sigma Alpha, the student-athlete honor society.
Head coach Dana Lindstrom was more than ecstatic about the honor for Bushong. “Marc has been honored the past three seasons by the coaches in our conference as a first-team all-conference selection for his play on the field. This award highlights the hard work and dedication that he puts into his academics. The program that he is in requires him to be at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital 40 hours a week. Most days Marc comes straight from the train station to practice or weight room. He is a great example of what the student athlete experience is all about and his ability to manage his time and excel both in the classroom and on the field is truly impressive. He is a great example for our players.”
Joining Bushong on the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Men’s Lacrosse team is Saint Joseph’s teammates Chris Blewitt and Pat Swanick, Haverford’s Eric Caliendo, Chestnut Hill’s Alec Dambach, Tyler Gehlhaus of Eastern, Cabrini’s Ethan Heisman, Widener teammates Mark LaVine and Tim Taylor, Swarthmore’s Cam Marsh, Devin McNamara of Villanova, and Ursinus’ Brian Neff.
