MONMOUTH, Ill. – A full month prior to its first game, Monmouth College – the defending Midwest Conference football champions – has a preseason accolade under its belt after Fight Scots senior defensive end Thomas Lesniewski (Algonquin, Ill./Marian Central) was named a preseason All-American by D3football.com.
Named to the third team, Lesniewski ranks fifth on Monmouth’s all-time sacks list, entering his final season with 22.5 career sacks – less than 12 off the record held by Greg Bennett (’91). The defensive end was named to the D3football.com all-region teams his first two seasons when he led the team in sacks as a freshman (11) and sophomore (9). Despite missing a large portion of his junior season with an injury, the three-time All-Midwest Conference selection and 2016 MWC Defensive Lineman of the Year still totaled 23 tackles with 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and three pass breakups.
