LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ – Rider University wrestlers Ryan Cloud (Brookville, OH/Northmont) and Ethan Laird (Waterford, PA/General McLane) have been named to the NWCA Scholar All-America Team, the organization today announced. To be eligible, student-athletes must complete one full semester at their school and either have a 3.0 cumulative GPA and be a 2020 NCAA Qualifier -or- have a 3.2 cumulative GPA and won 60 percent of their total matches, while competing in at least 60 percent of their team's schedule.

Already recognized on the Academic All-MAC Team, Cloud adds NWCA Scholar All-America honors to his highly-successful senior season of accolades as the Broncs' heavyweight. He qualified for NCAA's with a fourth-place finish at the MAC Championships and posted a 27-12 overall record, including a 10-5 dual record and a 6-2 mark in MAC duals. He earned a team-best seven wins by fall and clinched the Broncs' upset victory at nationally-ranked No. 6 Minnesota with a decision at 285 lbs. He also finished fifth at the Keystone Classic and placed sixth at the Princeton Open. He's posted a 3.36 grade-point average as a health sciences major.

Laird was an NCAA Qualifier for the second-straight year at 197 lbs. and took NWCA All-America Honorable Mention as the No. 16 seed at NCAA's. He finished second at MAC Championships. Laird posted a 24-7 record, going 10-4 in duals and compiling a 7-1 mark in MAC duals. He earned three wins over wrestlers ranked in the Top 25 – Jake Jakobsen (Lehigh), Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) and Michael Beard (Penn State), the latter two coming at the Southern Scuffle. Laird placed second at both the Princeton Open and Keystone Classic and finished third at the Southern Scuffle. He won two matches by fall on the season and earned a decision in the Broncs' upset victory over nationally-ranked No. 6 Minnesota (Nov. 15). In the classroom, Laird posted a 3.12 GPA as a business administration major.