BROOKFIELD, Ill. -- Following a strong season on the field, four Viking football student-athletes have been named to the Don Hansen All-Super Region Four team. Augustana's Joey Newman, Nickel Meyers, Jake Lacina, and Kirby Hora were among the student-athletes named Tuesday to the 2018 Region Four Team. 

Don Hansen All-Super Region Four Team:

Second Team Defense:     Third Team Offense:        Third Team Defense:
DE, Joey Newman               WR, Nickel Meyers            LB, Kirby Hora
                                              C, Jake Lacina

Second Team Defense:

DE - Joey Newman (6-4, 265, Sr. - Crooks, S.D.)
Compiling five sacks over the season's final five games, Newman was arguably one of the conference's best lineman over the second-half of the season. The senior finished with 38 tackles, 16 for loss, ranking fourth in the NSIC. Newman, a three-time all NSIC selection and 2017 All-American, was a key component in the Vikings run defense which also held opponents to less than 55 yards per contests over the final four games. 

Third Team Offense: 

WR - Nickel Meyers (6-4, 200, Jr. - Sioux Falls, S.D.)
The six-foot-four junior from Sioux Falls led the Northern Sun with 13 receiving touchdowns and ranked fifth in all of Division II. Meyers, one of the league's best receivers, hauled in 11 touchdowns over the final six games while helping lead Augustana to five wins. He was fifth in the NSIC with 90.4 receiving yards per game and 62 total receptions. He recently was honored on the All-NSIC First Team this past November. 

C - Jake Lacina (6-4, 300, Jr. - St. Paul, Minn.)
Lacina was the big man up front for the Vikings. Along with the stout offensive line, the junior center from St. Paul, Minn. allowed just nine sacks all season, which ranked first in the NSIC and top-10 nationally. He helped Kyle Saddler and the offense throw for a league-best 3,647 yards and 30 touchdowns. He was also a huge part in the running backs rushing for more than 135 yards per contest. He was recently named to the All-NSIC First Team for the first time in his career. 

Third Team Defense: 

LB - Kirby Hora (6-2, 225, Sr. - Sioux Falls, S.D.)
The senior from Sioux Falls was the leader of the league's sixth-best statistical defense. He finished the season with 97 tackles (54 solo) ranking fifth in the league. The hometown linebacker ends his career with 410 career tackles, which ranks second all-time in Augustana program history. His career total of five forced fumbles sits tied for first in Augustana history as well. The four-time All-NSIC selection, added 11 tackles for a loss and four sacks while starting and playing in all 11 games. He finished the season with a league-best three forced fumbles and had one interception. 

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away at age 75 on Aug. 29, 2010. Hansen, from Brookfield, Ill., started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.  Don Hansen's Football Gazette began selecting Division II All-Region squads in 2003.
    
The first-team and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2018 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be selected.