Shippensburg University graduate student Josh Herbster (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) was named Thursday afternoon as a recipient of a 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Spring Top 10 Award.
To be a candidate for the prestigious PSAC Top 10 Awards, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.50 or higher and be a starter or key reserve with legitimate athletic credentials. A total of five men and five women are selected as award winners after each of the three competitive seasons (Fall, Winter, Spring).
Herbster earned his master’s degree in biology in May, graduating with a 3.92 cumulative GPA. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology (ecology, environment and conservation concentration) in May 2022 with a 3.52 cumulative GPA.
This year’s five male Spring Top 10 honorees span the sports of track & field (Herbster, West Chester shot put national champion Ralph Casper (3.95 graduate GPA in exercise science), Lock Haven junior All-Region decathlete Matthew Muthler (3.92 GPA in applied computer science/information systems), golf (IUP All-Region senior Shaun Fedor (3.97 GPA in marketing) and baseball (Cal All-Region sophomore second baseman Santino Marra). The ballot included athletes from each school and spanned the gamut of the league’s spring sports (baseball, track & field, golf, tennis).
Herbster finished his Raider career by earning All-America First Team honors in the hammer throw at the 2023 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Making his NCAA Championships debut, Herbster placed seventh nationally with a personal-best throw of 204 feet, 2 inches in his final competition that tied the Shippensburg University record of Caleb Bartlett, SU’s only other All-American hammer thrower.
Outdoors in 2023, Herbster won his third consecutive PSAC championship in the hammer, throwing a then-PR throw of 203 feet, 1 inch to earn his first trip to the NCAA National Championships. He recorded PRs in all three of his throws at the PSAC Championships, placing fourth in the discus (160 feet, 3 inches) and seventh in the shot (51 feet, 3 ¾ inches).
Overall, Herbster finishes as a 12-time PSAC Championships place-winner. In addition to his three conference titles in the hammer and a 2021 PSAC Outdoor Championships Most Valuable Field Athlete award, Herbster achieved All-PSAC honors indoors in the weight throw (2022, 2nd). He scored three times outdoor in the discus (sixth in 2021 and 2022) and the shot (seventh in 2021, eighth in 2022).
Shippensburg has totaled 76 all-time PSAC Top 10 awards – tied with Slippery Rock for the most among conference schools. The history of the PSAC Top 10 awards is available at https://psacsports.org/sports/2008/7/31/AllTimePSACTop10.aspx.
Herbster is the only Raider to receive a PSAC Top 10 award in the 2022-23 academic year. He is the first Raider to receive a PSAC Top 10 award since 2022 spring honoree Hannah Marsteller (softball).
It is Herbster’s second academic award this season. Last week, he was named to the 2023 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division II Academic All-District 2 ® Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country Team.
