NORTHFIELD, Minn. – For the second consecutive year, eight members of the Carleton College football program were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® Team.
 
Seniors Michael Carey and Isaac Simons took home Academic All-District recognition for the third consecutive year while senior Chris Elliott; juniors Declan Schwab and Zehou Ben Zhao; and sophomores Jack Curtis, Rye Storrs, and Luke Sugalski each picked up the award for the first time.
 
Each school can nominate a select number of student-athletes that meet the following criteria:
• at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (a plateau these eight Knights easily surpassed).
• compete in at least 90 percent of the institution's games or start at least 66 percent of the contests.
• at least a sophomore academically and athletically.

A committee of CSC members selected Carey, Curtis, Elliott, Schwab, and Simons for advancement to the Academic All-America® ballot where first-, second-, and third-team honorees will be announced in January following voting by CSC members.
 
Carey, a chemistry major with a biochemistry minor, not only starred in the classroom but also on the field as he earned All-Region recognition from D3football.com, becoming only the second defensive lineman in team history to secure that award. He earned All-MIAC recognition for the second straight season as his 9.0 sacks (7 solo, 4 assisted) easily led the conference and ranked him third in the region and 25th across NCAA Division III.
 
Carey tied for eighth in NCAA Region 6 with 11.5 tackles for loss while pacing defensive linemen and ranking sixth among all players in the region with 3 forced fumbles during the regular season. His 51 tackles were second-most among defensive linemen in the MIAC and led Carleton D-line for the third consecutive year. He has 144 career tackles with 19.0 sacks in three seasons (Carleton did not play in 2020 due to the CoVID-19 pandemic).
 
Simons earned D3football.com All-Region recognition for the third consecutive season and is the only linebacker in program history to earn that award once, let alone three times. An economics major, he is a three-time All-MIAC First Team selection.
 
Simons was 1 of only 5 players across Division III with at least 90 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 2. 0 interceptions during the regular season. He was fourth in the region and 47th in the nation with his 93 tackles, and he had six games with double-digit stops. He tied Carey for eighth in the region with 11.5 tackles for loss. Simons concluded his time at Carleton with 294 career tackles, 17th among active D-III players and seventh in recorded team history.
 
Elliott and Schwab were key cogs in the Knights' offensive line, a unit that surrendered only 11 sacks all season—tied for program's fewest allowed over the last 20 seasons—on a whopping 443 pass attempts, the third-highest figure in team history.
 
Elliott, a statistics major, started 20 games over the last two seasons and received All-MIAC honorable mention in 2023. Schwab, a biology major, stepped into the lineup this fall and started all 10 games. Their work in the trenches helped Carleton score on 87.8 percent (36-of-41) of its red zone drives, including a pair of game-ending drives when the Knights were in victory formation.
 
Zhao, a computer science major, played in all 10 games, including 7 starts. He primarily served as a blocking tight end but contributed four catches for 33 yards and two first downs.
 
In his first year as the Knights' starting quarterback, Curtis turned in one of the best seasons ever by a Carleton signal caller. He completed a school-record 266 passes as he totaled 2,702 yards and 28 touchdowns with both of those figures ranking as the second-highest single-season totals in program history.
 
Despite not having an all-conference wide receiver on the team, Curtis still finished the regular season inside the NCAA Division III top-30 for completions (sixth at 26.6/game), passing TDs (19th), total offense (22nd at 298.4 yards/game), and passing yards (26th). He was also among national leaders in passing efficiency (134.0), yards per attempt (6.4), yards per completion (10.2), and points responsible for (168).
 
Storrs saw playing time at tight end in all 10 games, including 7 starts. He finished third on the Knights with 27 receptions and had three touchdown receptions with 242 receiving yards. After Carleton scored a touchdown in the closing seconds at Concordia-Moorhead, it was Storrs whose number was called when the Knights went for a two-point conversion and secured the 36-35 road win. The following week against St. Olaf, he burst onto the scene with seven catches for 79 yards including a 14-yard touchdown reception as the Knights kept possession of the Goat Trophy. Storrs' best statistical game came at MIAC runner-up Gustavus Adolphus with a 7-reception, 95-yard day including a 28-yard touchdown grab.
 
Sugalski started all 10 games on the defensive line, finishing with 13 tackles, a sack, and a team-best two fumble recoveries. Both of those turnovers led directly to Carleton touchdowns in victories over St. Olaf and St. Scholastica.
 
Carleton finished the year with a 7-3 record, marking the first time in the program's 140-year history that the Knights posted back-to-back-to-back seasons of at least seven victories.