There might not be enough wall space in his home for Augustana senior linebacker Erik Westerberg (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) and all the awards and accolades he has accumulated throughout his stellar career with the Vikings. One more can be added with the announcement that Westerberg is one of just 29 male student-athletes across the country to win an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. 
 
The $7,500-dollar grant is awarded by the NCAA to "student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition."
 
Westerberg is the 30^th Augustana student-athlete to win an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship and he joins fellow senior Maggie Hoscheit (St. Charles East HS, St. Charles, Ill.), a standout on the women's soccer team, as Viking winners for the fall of 2013.
 
He was a three-time Academic All-American and was named as one of just 16 players across the nation (only two in NCAA Division III) to earn a National Football Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship. He is a three-time all-conference selection in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin and was the league's "Defensive Player of the Year" in 2013. He has been team captain each of the last two years. He was named as one of just 10 finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, which annually goes to the top player in NCAA Division III.
 
Westerberg was a first-team NCAA Division III All-American this past fall by D3football.com. He was the Vikings defensive MVP for three straight seasons and was the overall team MVP following his junior year in 2012.
 
This season, despite missing one game due to injury, he led the team in tackles with 78 (61 solo and 17 assists) with 10.5 tackles for loss. He was the leading tackler in the CCIW each of the last two seasons and this year he finished third in that category.
 
The son of Peter and Annette Westerberg of Elmhurst, Illinois, Erik sports a 3.86 grade point average with majors in math and secondary education.
 
He has been very involved in community outreach at Augustana. He went to New Mexico over his 2013 spring break to work on a Habitat for Humanity build. He is an active member of both Athletes Giving Back and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. He has worked with youth at the Martin Luther King Center in Rock Island and at a local humane society. Last fall he helped organize and direct and event for disabled students to practice and play a simulated game on then-Ericson Field.
 
 
 
AUGUSTANA ATHLETES WHO HAVE EARNED NCAA POST GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS
 

YEAR	ATHLETE	SPORT
1968	Jeff Maurus	Football
1970	Tim Dodge	Wrestling
1971	Ken Anderson	Football
1975	Bruce Hamming	Basketball
1976	John Stanek	Men's Track & Field
1977	Joe Thompson	Football
1986	Steve Sanders	Football
1995	Rachel Knapp	Women's Track & Field
1995	Tommy King	Football
1996	Ryan Carpenter	Football
1998	Alison Wolak	Women's Track & Field
1998	Chris Meskan	Football
2000	Mackenzie Hay	Football
2001	Kim Baier	Women's Track & Field
2002	Rudy Kovachevich	Men's Cross Country
2003	Todd Baldwin	Football
2004	Manda Geerts	Women's Track & Field
2005	Steve Broski	Baseball
2006	Nick Johnson	Men's Track & Field
2007	Meghan Voiland	Women's Track & Field
2007	Samantha Knox	Softball
2009	Keli Coleman	Women's Track & Field
2009	John Wagle	Baseball
2009	Blaine Westemeyer	Football
2010	Max Petersen	Men's Track & Field
2012	Matt Bowman	Men's Track & Field
2013	Greg Patton	Men's Track & Field
2013	Sarahbeth Jones	Women's Track & Field
2014	Maggie Hoscheit	Women's Soccer
2014	Erik Westerberg	Football