Neugebauer honored twice as DWU lands six total on All-GPAC list

MITCHELL, S.D. – For the second-consecutive season, senior Spencer Neugebauer (Mitchell, S.D.) was named to the Great Plains Athletic Conference Team for offense and special teams, while five total players of the Dakota Wesleyan University football team were tabbed to the All-GPAC Team, it was announced by the conference Wednesday.

 Along with Neugebauer, it was Dominick Warmbein (Sioux Falls, S.D.) making the All-GPAC Second Team Defense, as Samuel Kretschmar (Huron, S.D.), Jacob Zamora (Sylmar, Calif.) and Hayden Schmidt (Plankinton, S.D.) were each tabbed to the All-GPAC Honorable Mention Defense.

 Although he had a breakout year in 2019, Neugebauer followed up his junior campaign with an even more impressive senior season. He ranked top-10 nationally in eight different categories and led the NAIA in three areas. He was first in the country in all-purpose yards (1,353), receptions per game (8.0) and total receptions (72). The senior wide receiver also ranked fifth in all-purpose yards per game (150.3), fifth in total kick-off return yards (411) and was sixth in total receiving yards (772).

 As if that were not enough, he also checked in at seventh in the NAIA in scoring with 68 points. In his illustrious career, Neugebauer finished with 42 games played, 186 receptions, 2,469 receiving yards, 13.3 yards per reception, 4,830 all-purpose yards and 115 all-purpose yards per game.

 The Mitchell native finished fourth in program history in career receiving yards, fourth in career receptions and tied for third in single season receptions. This marks his fifth overall All-GPAC honor in his career after making the All-GPAC Offense and Special Teams last season and the All-GPAC Offense his sophomore season.

 For Warmbein, this was his first All-Conference honor of his career following an impressive outing in 2020. He ranked fifth in the conference with 0.8 sacks per game, eighth with 5.5 sacks on the season and tied for eighth with 1.2 tackles for loss per game. He also finished 12^th nationally in sacks per game and 13^th in total sacks.

 Warmbein anchored the DWU defensive front as he finished with 33 tackles on the season and 8.5 tackles for loss this season. Arguably his best game of the season came against the University of Jamestown as he tallied six total tackles, five solo tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

 Leading the team in tackles was Kretschmar as he finished with a solid senior campaign. He accumulated 58 total tackles on the season, including 27 solo tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. This marks his first All-GPAC selection of his career as well. Kretschmar recorded his most impressive outing of the year at Doane University where he finished with 11 tackles, including five solo tackles.

 Pacing the defensive backfield in his first season with the Tigers was Zamora. The 6-2 cornerback led the team with three interceptions on the season and was third in the GPAC in total interceptions. His three interceptions was also good for seventh nationally. Zamora had a breakout game against Doane as he recorded a pair of interceptions, one to seal the victory, along with two pass deflections and a tackle for loss.

 Joining Zamora in the backfield was Schmidt as he was tabbed to the All-GPAC Honorable Mention Defense for the first time in his career. He finished fifth on the team with 35 total tackles and tallied two interceptions, six pass deflections, one fumble recovery and 0.5 tackles for loss. His two interceptions on the season ranked 32^nd in the NAIA. Schmidt's best game was the season finale as he recorded an interception, two pass deflections and four total tackles.

 The Tigers completed the 2020 season with a 4-5 record, riding a three-game win streak to complete the year.