Justin Beaver (Palmyra/Palmyra-Eagle) (sr, Palmyra) has been named a finalist for the Melberger Award, given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III football player in the nation.

The winner of the award will receive the Melberger Trophy, made out of solid anthracite coal, along with $2,500 in scholarship money that gets placed into their university's general scholarship fund. The award was named to honor Clifford K. Melberger, captain of the 1960 Bucknell University Lambert Cup football team.

This award has been given annually to Division III players since 1993. The process for selecting a winner initially begins when coaches vote on the most valuable player awards within their conferences. The final ten nominees are then submitted, along with their season statistics, to a nationwide selection committee for the final award.

Beaver would be the first winner from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He currently holds the  Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference career rushing yardage record, and is in second place in NCAA Division III career rushing yards. He is also the WIAC's 2007 Max Sparger Scholar Athlete for football.  He earned multiple All-America honors for his 2005 and 2006 seasons.

The balloting for the Melberger Award will be completed by December 10 and the winner will be announced some time next week.

Beaver is also a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy, the other honor that recognizes the top Division III player in the country. The winner of that award will be announced Monday, December 10.

For more information, contact Gary Boam at gboam@divintech.com or visit http://www.melbergeraward.com/index.html.