Skully, Sankal Named Academic All-District

College of Wooster softball player Kim Skully (Brooklyn Hts., Ohio / Cuyahoga Heights) and baseball player Jake Sankal (Mentor, Ohio / Mentor) were selected to their respective sport’s ESPN The Magainze Academic All-District Team, it was announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Skully earned first-team honors and is now eligible for Academic All-American® consideration, while Sankal received second-team recognition.

Skully, a junior outfielder majoring in biology, was Wooster’s top offensive player again, compiling a .389 batting average (42-for-108), which ranked seventh-best in the North Coast Athletic Conference, with eight doubles, three home runs, and 21 RBI. She led the team in all of those categories, as well as in on-base (.455) and slugging percentage (.546). Skully, already a two-time all-NCAC player (second-team as a freshman, honorable mention as a sophomore), also scored 21 runs and swiped seven stolen bases, while helping the Fighting Scots to a 17-21 record.

A three-time member of the Dean’s List, in addition to being active in the biology club and as a training room assistant, Skully is the first Wooster softball player to be named academic all-district. She is the daughter of Ray and Nancy Skully of Brooklyn Hts., Ohio.

Sankal is having another standout season on the diamond. The senior centerfielder was second-team all-NCAC last year and appears to be headed towards more postseason accolades, currently carrying a .361 average (60-for-166) with 13 doubles, a team-high four triples, five home runs, and 31 RBI. He ranks among the conference’s leaders (top-10) in runs scored (36), hits, doubles, triples, slugging percentage (.578), and walks (21). A team co-captain, Sankal has led the Scots to a record of 34-9, which they hope is enough to earn an at-large bid to next week’s NCAA Div. III Tournament.

A history major with a minor in studio art, Sankal was one of eight Wooster student-athletes recognized in the year-ending issue of Sports Illustrated for their volunteer work at Every Woman’s House. He is the son of John “Spark” and Jill Sankal of Mentor, Ohio.

The Academic All-District Teams are determined by CoSIDA after a review of nominations of key players with a minimum 3.20 cumulative GPA from the college division (NCAA Div. II and III, and NAIA) in Wooster’s five-state district (Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee).