D2CCA All-Super Region 4 Football Release

            Wayne State College sophomore linebacker Alex Kowalczyk and senior placekicker Alex Powders were selected to the D2CCA All-Super Region 4 Football Team released Thursday afternoon and voted on by Division II sports information directors within the region.  Kowalczyk was recognized with First Team honors on defense and now advances to the All-America ballot while Powders collected Second Team All-Region honors on special teams.
            Kowalczyk, a 5-11 210-pound sophomore linebacker from Sioux Falls, S.D., is the first Wildcat to earn All-Region First Team honors since linebacker Tyler Thomsen in 2018.  He was an All-NSIC South Division First Team selection this season after leading Wayne State in tackles with 106, ranking fourth in the NSIC with 8.8 tackles per game.  Kowalczyk tied for sixth in the NSIC with two forced fumbles and was tied for eighth in interceptions with three for 23 yards while also recording 7.5 tackles for loss for 21 yards and 2.5 sacks for nine yards.
            Kowalczyk was named NSIC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season and had five games with 10 or more tackles.  He recorded a career-best 18 tackles with one forced fumble in a 41-33 win over Minnesota State to be named Defensive Player of the Week and had 12 tackles with two quarterback hurries and one interception September 10^th vs. Northern State to earn another NSIC Player of the Week honor on defense.  Kowalczyk, an All-NSIC Second Team selection last season as a freshman, has led WSC in tackles the last two seasons and has 191 career tackles in two years.
            Powders, a 5-10 180-pound senior placekicker from Council Bluffs, Iowa, was a repeat All-NSIC South Division First Team selection at kicker this season for the Wildcats.  He ranked second in the NSIC this season in kicker points with 79 and was third in field goals made (13 of 15) and PAT kicks made (40-41).  Powders made a school record 52-yard field goal at #24 Augustana October 15^th and was 4 of 4 on field goals that game to become just the third player in school history to make four field goals in a game. 
            Powders was named NSIC Special Teams Player of the Week October 10^th after making a pair of field goals and all five PAT kicks in Wayne State's 41-33 victory over Minnesota State.  As a punter, Powders averaged 39.1 yards per punt this season with just two touchbacks, 18 fair catches and 16 punts inside the 20-yard line. 
The 13 field goals made this season by Powders tied for third most in a single season at WSC and the 79 points scored as a kicker ranked third most in school history.  In just two seasons as Wayne State placekicker Powders ranks third in career points scored by a kicker (153) and is fourth in PAT kicks made (84-86).
            Wayne State finished the 2022 season with a record of 9-3 and earned a share of the Northern Sun Conference regular season title.  The Wildcats qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs for just the second time in school history (2008) before falling to #19 Minnesota State 26-9 in the opening round.  The nine win season marked just the fourth time in school history (1949, 1993, 2008) that Wayne State football recorded nine wins.