Release courtesy of Al King, Assistant Athletic Director, Media Relations, Ashland University
Chicago -- Ashland University senior Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) is one of 50 kickers on the 2011 Fred Mitchell Award Watch List. A year ago, Berkshire was a finalist for this national award.
The Mitchell Award is presented to the nation’s top collegiate place kicker among more than 750 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, III, NAIA and junior college teams. The award is named for Fred Mitchell, a record-setting kicker from Wittenberg University. The award will be presented in mid-December. The Mitchell Award evaluates kickers on performance on the field and community service. The award was first presented in 2009.
This year’s Watch List includes 15 FCS kickers, 20 kickers from NCAA Division II, 11 from Division III, three from NAIA and one from the junior college ranks.
In 2010, Berkshire was named first team All-GLIAC as a kicker and punter and he was second team all-region as a kicker. He scored a team-leading 96 points. Berkshire was 16-of-23 on field goal tries and 48-of-50 on extra point attempts. He was 20th in the country in scoring and sixth in Division II in field goals per game.
Berkshire owns the two top scoring totals for kickers in Ashland history. He is second in career kick scoring (248). This season will be Berkshire’s fourth as the starting kicker. In addition to those duties, a year ago he set a school, single-season record for punting average (43.5 ypg.). Berkshire had eight points of 50 or more yards and his longest punt measured 68 yards. Berkshire kicked a 50-yard field goal last season and was 6-of-9 on field goal tries of 40 yards or longer.
This summer, Berkshire was the kicker on the United States team that won the gold medal at the International Federation of American Football Senior World Championship.
Berkshire and the Eagles open the season on Thursday, Sept. 1, at Bloomsburg. That game will feature two of the top kickers in the country as Bloomsburg kicker Daniel Fisher is also on the Mitchell Watch List. Fisher is a sophomore who scored 85 points last season. He was 20-of-23 on field goal attempts and 25-of-26 on extra point tries.