DANBURY, Conn. – Grove City senior linebacker and Karn City graduate Luke Salerno was named an All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III First-team selection last week.
(Photo of Luke Salerno. Photo courtesy of Grove City Athletics)
Salerno led the Presidents’ Athletic Conference with 110 total tackles this season. He also ranked second in the league with a team-high four forced fumbles. Salerno also paced Grove City with 10 tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks.
An All-PAC honoree, Salerno closed the regular season with five tackles for loss in a 63-0 win at Thiel in the 36th Mercer County Cup game. He started the first two games of the season at inside linebacker before moving back to his natural position of outside linebacker for the final nine games of the season. Salerno served as a team co-captain this fall.
Salerno was one of three Wolverines honored by the ECAC.
Senior running back Wesley Schools was named the Division III Offensive Player of the Year, and junior wide receiver Cody Gustafson (captured second-team All-ECAC.
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year and an American Football Coaches Association First Team All-American this season, Schools leads NCAA Division III with 27 rushing touchdowns this season. He ranks third nationally with 1,788 yards this season. Both totals rank third in Grove City’s single-season record book.
Schools recorded eight 100-yard games this season, including a 324-yard, five-touchdown outing October 19 at Waynesburg. Seven days earlier, he stormed through the Westminster defense for 191 yards and four touchdowns in Grove City’s 43-41 road victory at Memorial Field.
Schools then capped his senior season November 23 by rushing for 165 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-38 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the ECAC Division III James Lynah Bowl.
A two-time first-team All-PAC selection, Schools led the conference in rushing for the second consecutive season this fall. He concluded his career with 5,698 rushing yards and 66 rushing touchdowns. He ranks second all-time at Grove City in both categories, trailing only former All-American R.J. Bowers (1997-2000).
D3football.com honored Schools as a First Team All-South Region selection last week. D3football.com honored Schools prior to the 2019 season as a Preseason All-American.
A 2019 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American, Gustafson caught 61 passes for 1,246 yards and 13 touchdowns. He set Grove City’s single-season receiving yardage record this season, breaking his own record of 1,224 yards in 2018.
Gustafson closed the 2019 season November 23 by catching 13 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns in the James Lynah Bowl against R.P.I. Gustafson set Grove City’s single-game record for receiving yardage that day. He also set Grove City’s single-game regular-season receiving yardage record October 12, when he gained 211 yards on six catches at Westminster.
Gustafson owns Grove City’s career records in receptions (195), receiving yards (3,280) and touchdown catches (33). Gustafson is a two-time First Team All-PAC honoree. He led the conference in yards per catch this year, averaging 20.4.
Grove City finished 9-2 this season, tying the program record for wins in a season. The Wolverines are 17-5 over the last two seasons and have won consecutive ECAC James Lynah Bowls.
