CL native Austen named Academic All-American

Concordia University junior men's golfer Mark Austen (Chisago City, Minn.) has been named a 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division II At-Large Second Team student-athlete, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) today. ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA AT-LARGE TEAMS Austen carries a 3.98 cumulative grade point average while pursuing a major in information & technology management. Austen is Concordia's first Academic All-American from either golf program. He is one of just eight golfers at the Division II level to be named to an Academic All-America team. There are three teams for the at-large program, consisting of: swimming, tennis, wrestling, golf, volleyball, skiing and lacrosse.

Only three men's golfers made Academic All-America First Team, while Austen is joined on the Second Team by two other men's golfers with two more being named to the Third Team. He is the only NSIC men's golfer to be named an Academic All-American. There were three other student-athletes from the NSIC to be named Academic All-America First Team, two wrestlers from Augustana and a swimmer from St. Cloud State. Minnesota State had a an Academic All-America Third Team wrestler as well. Austen was a key part of the Concordia University lineup that advanced to the program's second-ever NCAA Regional Championship tournament during the 2011-12 season. He produced a 79.45 season average over 20 rounds of play throughout the season, adding a top-5 finish and a pair of finishes in the top-10. He shot one of the team's +1 or better rounds, firing a 73 in the second round of the Wayne State Spring Invite, a day after carding a 74 (+2) at the event for his top two rounds as a Golden Bear. The 147 performance netted him a second place finish and solidified his spot on the lineup throughout the spring championship season.