Brian
Thomas Wahl, Claremont Mckenna, Class of 2019
Second Team, Division III All
American by American Football Coaches Association
Second Team, All-West Region from
D3Football.com
First Team All SCIAC
Dec 10, 2018 CLAREMONT, Calif. -
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior offensive lineman Brian Wahl was named a
second-team Division III All-American by the American Football Coaches
Association, the organization announced on Monday.
Wahl adds the award to a
growing list of postseason accolades, which has also included a
first-team All-SCIAC selection, and a second-team All-West Region honor
from D3football.com.
During the 2018 season, Wahl was part of an offensive line that
dominated games to lead CMS to its first SCIAC title since 1987. The
Stags ranked second in the nation in time of possession during the
regular season at over 36 minutes per game (third after an NCAA
Tournament game with Whitworth), and helped pave the way for junior
running back Garrett Cheadle to rush for 1,305 yards, second in program
history for a single season, including a single-game school record 274
in a win over Whittier (Cheadle also missed most of the last two games
with an injury, preventing him from a chance at the single-season
record).
Wahl was also named the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week for his role
in helping CMS to a 20-10 road win over Redlands, which turned out to
be the difference in CMS earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament (the
Stags and Redlands tied for the SCIAC title at 6-1, with the
head-to-win resulting in the tiebreaker). In that game, the Stags
rushed for 187 yards against a Redlands team that was only allowing 33
yards per game, including a fourth-quarter touchdown drive that lasted
for over 10 minutes (10:14) to help seal the win.
That wasn't the only long drive that the offensive line produced in key
situations. CMS killed the final 9:29 of game clock before taking a
knee inside the 10-yard line to finish off a 17-10 win over Cal
Lutheran, and then killed the final 6:35 of a home win over Whittier.
Then, with the chance to clinch the SCIAC title and NCAA bid on its
home field, CMS kept the ball for over 43 minutes in a 16-9 win over
Chapman, keeping the Panthers offense (38 points per game coming in)
off the field.
A four-year member of the CMS offensive line, Wahl appeared in 35 games
in his career, starting every game he played in over the last three
seasons. He was a two-time All-SCIAC selection and is part of the
winningest class in program history, as the Class of 2019 won 25 games
over their four years, including seven-wins seasons as freshmen,
sophomores and seniors. Wahl and the senior class also left a legacy by
earning the program's first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament bid this
past fall.
Interview After D3
Playoffs November 10, 2018
Interview After Whittier
Game October 27, 2018
Dec 04, 2018 CLAREMONT, Calif. -
Senior linebacker Mitchell Allan, junior running back Garrett Cheadle
and senior offensive lineman Brian Wahl were named to the
D3football.com All-West Region Second Team, the website announced this
morning.
The three honorees marks the most that the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
football team has ever had on the D3football.com All-West Region team,
which began in 2005. The 2015 squad had two honorees, cornerback Victor
Bunce (first team) and defensive lineman Paul Slaats (third team).
Allan, a four-year starter and two-year captain for the Stags, was also
named the SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the defense
with 78 tackles from his middle linebacker position. After yielding 45
points in the season opener to Puget Sound, Allan and the defense held
their opponents to 10 points or less six times over the last nine
regular season games, including a 20-10 road win at Redlands that
decided the SCIAC title (when Redlands scored their touchdown in the
final minute) and a 16-9 win over Chapman that clinched an NCAA bid for
the Stags.
Cheadle, the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year finished this season
with 1,305 yards, placing him second all-time in program history,
behind only the 1,486 yards that Chris Dabrow rushed for in 1987. He
was the first Stag to cross the 1,000-yard barrier since Ryan Gocong in
2002, and broke the single-game rushing record for the program with 274
yards in a 34-21 win over Whittier. Cheadle had a chance to break the
single-season rushing record, but carried the ball for the last time
early in the second quarter of the regular season finale against
Pomona-Pitzer, due to injury. Cheadle appeared in the CMS NCAA
Tournament game at Whitworth, but only for the first few plays as a
decoy before coming out of the game for good.
Wahl was a key member of a veteran offensive line that helped pave the
way for Cheadle's rushing onslaught this season. CMS finished the
regular season ranked second nationally in time of possession per game
(36:05) while churning out over 200 rushing yards per contest (205.6),
ending with 190.3 after the NCAA Tournament game (when the Stags went
to a passing offense in the absence of Cheadle and sophomore running
back Jordan Leonard). Wahl was named the SCIAC Offensive Player of the
Week after helping the offensive line put together a 10:14
fourth-quarter touchdown drive to seal the win at Redlands, finishing
with almost 200 rushing yards against a team that came in allowing only
33 rushing yards per game. Wahl and the line also helped maintain the
ball for over 43 minutes in the SCIAC-clinching win over Chapman, when
64 of the 74 CMS plays were on the ground.
CMS made program history in 2018, capturing the first SCIAC title for
the program in 31 years since the 1987 team finished in first place.
The Stags also made the first NCAA Tournament appearance in the history
of the program.
Major: Economics
2018: First-Team
All-SCIAC ... Second-Team All-West
Region from D3football.com ... SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week
following a 20-10 win over Redlands ... Started all 11 games at guard
... Part of an offensive line that paved the way for running back
Garrett Cheadle (1,305 yards, including a school-record 274 against
Whittier) ... CMS ranked second in the nation in time of possession at
the end of the regular season (over 36 minutes per game) ... The
offensive line also helped secure a 17-10 win over Cal Lutheran (by
killing the final 9:29 of game clock on the final drive), a 20-10 win
over Redlands (with a fourth-quarter touchdown drive of over 10
minutes) and a 16-9 win over Chapman (maintaining over 43 minutes of
time of possession with 64 running plays out of 74).
2017- Appeared in
all nine games earning all SCIAC honors.
2016- Started in
six games on the offensive line.
2015 –
Played in all nine games on the offensive line
Off the Field:
Autism Tree Project Foundation funded through the CMC
Student Summer Internship Program
Prior To CMS:
2014…1st Team All Avocado League…
Team Offensive Lineman of the Year… Player of the Week
(11/21/2014)… Offensive Player of the Week 9/19/2014 and
10/17/2014… Union Tribune Scholar Athlete… Torrey
Pines Scholar Athlete…Team Captain. 2013: 2nd Team All
Palomar Conference…Offensive Player of the Week
(10/18/13)… Union Tribune Scholar Athlete …
Torrey Pines Scholar Athlete
Personal: Son of
Fred and Joyce Wahl…Biggest sports moment
was beating his rivals in football 13-0.…Lists camping and
going to the beach as his favorite hobbies…..Career ambition
is to work in Finance/Accouting.