Kearney, Neb - Nebraska-Kearney wrestlers Matt Malcom and Josh Portillo have been named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District Men's At-Large team as selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America).

Malcom (Glenwood, Ia.) and Portillo (Clarion, IA) made the District VII team which is made up schools from the MIAA, NSIC (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conf.) and GAC (Great American Conf.). The "at-large" designation covers a variety of sports from all three seasons with both now moving on to the national ballot where they could earn Academic All-American honors. Sports information directors from within each District nominate and vote on the makeup of the teams.

The pair didn't initial make the team when it was announced on Thursday, May 16, but an error in voting allowed them to be added a day later. Current Loper head coach Dalton Jensen (2012) and Mark Fiala (2014) are UNK's only CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in wrestling.

Malcom went wire-to-wire this year 157 pounds, winning the national title and ending his year on a 20-match winning streak. The MIAA's Most Dominant Wrestler, he ended up his second season at UNK with a 29-5 mark that include six falls, seven tech falls and eight majors. Finally, Malcom out scored his competition 50-7 at the NCAA Championships and maintains a 3.76 GPA in Elementary Education.

Portillo, the 2019 D2 Wrestling Elite 90 Award winner, was national runner up at 125 pounds. Having a 3.97 GPA in Health & P.E./Interscholastic Coaching, he went 32-7 this winter and was among the national leaders in tech falls with 13. The South Dakota State transfer is a two-time All-American as is Malcom.

Among the other wrestlers to make the cut was Bennington native Brett Velasquez (St. Cloud State) and Brandon Ball from Fort Hays State.