Two Augustana football players were named to the 2013 Capital One Academic All-American football team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), it was announced today. The Vikings landed a pair of first teamers in senior linebacker Erik Westerberg (York HS, Elmhurst, Ill.) and senior center Eric Dratnol (Kaneland HS, Montgomery, Ill.).
 
Westerberg and Dratnol add their names to the growing legacy that is Augustana's success in the Academic All-America program. Augustana has now produced a total of 149 Academic All-Americans since the program began in 1951. The Academic All-American program began in 1951 and Augustana has become a nationally-recognized leader in number of honorees produced. With 149 total Academic All-Americans, Augustana is currently ranked sixth among all institutions. The Vikings are second in NCAA Division III and first in both the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin and the state of Illinois.
 
Westerberg makes the elite team for the third straight time in his storied career while Dratnol is a first-time winner.
 
Westerberg is a three-time Academic All-American and recently 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. A week ago he was named as one of just 10 finalists for the Gagliardi Trophy, which annually goes to the top player in NCAA Division III.
 
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.
 
Dratnol was the starting center on the Augustana offensive line for each of the past two seasons. He was the leader of a unit that was responsible for the Vikings' averaging 233.7 yards per game rushing and finishing 31^st in NCAA Division III in rushing average per game. He was selected to the all-conference team in the CCIW at the conclusion of his senior season and is a nominee for the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
 
Dratnol is an accounting and applied math major with was a 3.85 grade point average. He helps out with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program where he works with low income individuals in the community to properly file taxes. He is also an active member of Athletes Giving Back.
 
He is the son of David and Phyllis Dratnol of Montgomery, Illinois.
 
Augustana, which finished the 2013 season with a 5-5 overall record and a 3-4 mark in the CCIW, has produced a total of 31 football playing Academic All-Americans. Only two NCAA Division III schools (Massachusetts Institute of Technology with 37 and Rose Hulman Institute of Technology with 32) have higher numbers of football Academic All-Americans.