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| Ashton Gronewold |
Ashton Gronewold has reached first on a number of lists during his four-year career at the University of Missouri-Rolla, but the most recent is a first for the university's football program.
The senior wide receiver was named Friday as one of the six regional finalists for the Harlon Hill Award, the award given to the top player in NCAA Division II and the division's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. Gronewold is the first player from the Miner program to named as one of the regional finalists since the award's inception in 1986.
A total of 24 players nationwide made the regional ballots and the top two players from each region selected in the voting by sports informaton directors at the 150 schools that play football in Division II will be placed on the national ballot. The winner will be announced Dec. 14 in Florence, Ala., as part of the festivities associated with the NCAA Division II Championship game that will take place the next day.
Gronewold, who is currently ranked second in the nation in all-purpose yards and third in receptions per game, was the only wide receiver named as a regional finalist from the Southwest region. He joins the 2006 winner, Chadron State running back Danny Woodhead, Northwest Missouri State running back Xavier Omon, Abilene Christian running back Bernard Scott and pair of quarterbacks, Keith Null of West Texas A&M and Daniel Polk of Midwestern State on the regional ballot.
In the 2007 season, Gronewold has a total of 2,088 all-purpose yards which is one of the 26 school records he holds at UMR. He has 77 catches for 922 yards and 11 touchdowns, while returning kickoffs for an avearge of 28.6 yards per return which ranks among the top 20 in the country.
Last week, he broke the NCAA single-game record with 295 yards in kickoff returns and became the seventh player in Division II history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same game.
Gronewold enters Saturday's game at Kentucky Wesleyan as the holder of nearly every receiving, kickoff return and all-purpose yardage records in school history. He has totals of 268 catches for 3,621 yards and 50 touchdowns -- one of six players in Division II history with at least 50 touchdown receptions -- with a UMR record 1,819 kickoff return yards, 5,830 all-purpose yards and 55 touchdowns.
He currently ranks in a tie for eighth in Division II history for receptions, tied for fourth in touchdown catches and could reach the top 20 in receiving yards in Saturday's game.
In his 40-game career at UMR, Gronewold has 11 games with at least 200 all-purpose yards -- including a record 357 last week at Tiffin and 329 earlier this season against Arkansas-Monticello -- seven games with at least 10 catches and 18 games with 100 or more yards in receptions. He has scored a touchdown in 28 of his 40 career games.
The 357 all-purpose yards last week are the third-most by a player in Division II this year. He is currently averaging 208.8 all-purpose yards and 7.7 receptions per game. He has been named three times as the Great Lakes Football Conference's "Offensive Player of the Week" during the 2007 season.
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