PHILADELPHIA – To honor the 50-year career of recently retired University of Pennsylvania sprint football head coach Bill Wagner, the Penn Champions Club called on members of the sprint football community to create an All-Wags Team for each of the five decades (1970s through the 2010s) the tenured coach served at the helm.

We are happy to announce the third of these five teams. The All-Wags 1990s team consists of 64 alumni with 26 players recognized on offense, 32 players recognized on defense and six specialists honored.

"To the men of the 90s, thank you for the war-stories and the exciting games that you brought to life from our  Championships in 1996 and 1998," said Wagner. "Thank you for setting the benchmark for all players and teams to aspire to reach in the coming decades. You also set the tone by beating the academies and that Penn Sprint Football had moved forward in being one of the elite programs in the CSFL."

The All-Wags 1990s First Team featured 11 players on offense, 13 on defense, a kicker and a punter. During the 1990s, the Quakers saw great success with both 1996 and 1998 squads winning Eastern Lightweight Football League (ELFL) and Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) championships, respectively.

Matt Veneri C'97 was the first-team QB and he is joined in the backfield by Tim Ortman C'00 and Tom Morrin C'93. Ortman is one of two former sprint football players to be in the Penn Athletics Hall of Fame and he also holds the program single game (363 yards), single season (1,218) and career (3,670) rushing records.

A trio of wide receivers landed on the first team with Ross Estabrook C'92, Clint Schmidt W'97 and Matt Astrom C'95 all being recognized.

Up front, the first-team offensive linemen were Mike Furbush C'91, Neil Batiancila C'99, Sharif Aboelnaga ENG'95, Keith Meschke C'94 and Lester Pataki ENG'93, W'93.

In the trenches, the first-team defensive line featured Carter Byrnes C'99, Cameron Reilly W'97, Victor Hsu C'95, Jordan Matusow C'98 and Mark Roberts C'91.
 
Steve Blazejewski C'92 highlighted a quartet of linebackers on the first team. Rick Schnall W'91, Steve Barry W'95 and David Klein ENG'00 joined Blazejewski in this group.
 
Roaming the secondary on the first team were Keith Lotman W'99, Michael Gordon C'93, Paul Napoli C'93 and Kris Wappaus ENG'94.
 
Kicker Dan Malasky C'97 and punter John Owens W'91 rounded out the 1990s All-Wags First Team.
 
"The 1970s & 1980s faced many challenges and fought their way through those years building a foundation to build success in years to following," added Wagner. "Their energy and loyalty to Lightweight Sprint Football Program set the stage for the 90s."

In coordination with the release of the All-Wags Team, Penn Athletics has also made Wags bobble heads available for purchase. You can purchase a Wags bobble head by clicking here.

1990s All-Wags Team
(Those who were nominated for multiple positions received recognition at the position they received the most votes)
*Indicates a tie in the voting

FIRST TEAM
QB: Matt Veneri C'97
RB: Tim Ortman C'00
       Tom Morrin C'93
WR: Ross Estabrook C'92
         Clint Schmidt W'97
         Matt Astrom C'95
OL: Mike Furbush C'91
       Neil Batiancila C'99
       Sharif Aboelnaga ENG'95
       Keith Meschke C'94
       Lester Pataki ENG'93 W'93
DL: Carter Byrnes C'99
       Cameron Reilly W'97
       Victor Hsu C'95
       Jordan Matusow C'98*
       Mark Roberts C'91*
LB: Steve Blazejewski C'92
       Rick Schnall W'91
       Steve Barry W'95*
       David Klein ENG'00*
DB: Keith Lotman W'99
       Michael Gordon C'93
       Paul Napoli C'93
       Kris Wappaus ENG'94
K:   Dan Malasky C'97
P:   John Owens W'91
 
SECOND TEAM
QB: Doug Rosenberg ENG'93, W'93
RB: Rod George C'91
       Greg Grabon C'99
WR: Zach Chan W'97
         Mike Haraschak ENG'95
         Amon Johnson C'93
         Todd Whitenack C'96
OL: Paul Diller ENG'96, W'96
       Howard Goldberg C'99
       Mark Menkowitz C'98
       Juan Romero W'91
DL: Richard Blaustein W'92
       Kwesi Edwards ENG'97
       Josh Zelenka ENG'00
LB: Erik Baker W'91
       John Grobe C'95
       Steve Miller W'96
DB: Mario Malcolm EE'98
       Eric Visokey ENG'96
       Justin Reger W'98
       Nauman Shah C'93
K:   David Sherman C'00
P:   Brian Upbin C'96
 
HONORABLE MENTION
QB: Edson McClellan C'92
        Loren Mendell C'95
RB: Joel Correia C'97
       Rich Miller C'96
DL: Paul McCaffery C'96, W'96
       Dan St. Pierre W'94
LB: Michael Steib C'98
       Keith Crivello C'99
       Greg Baker ENG'94
       Josh Diamond C'99
DB: Wellington Chang C'96
        Josh Brogadir C'99
K:   Will Ritter C'91
       Bill Goebel W'97