UWRF’s Sonsalla, Corning named to WIAC All-Time Football Team

• Greg Corning and Gerard Sonsalla

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UW-River Falls football greats Gerard Sonsalla and Greg Corning have both been named to the WIAC All-Time team.

Sonsalla was a four-year letter winner for the Falcons from 1977-80. In his final season he was an American Football Coaches Association and NAIA first team all-American as a guard. In 1979 he was named to the second NAIA All-American team.

Sonsalla, who was a dominating blocker in all phases of the game, was one of just a few Falcons athletes to earn all-WSUC and all-NAIA District 14 first team honors for three straight years (1978-80). He was named the team’s Best Blocker in 1978 and 1980.

He is a 1981 UWRF graduate and a 1977 graduate of Arcadia High School.

Sonsalla helped the Falcons win the 1979 WIAC championship and the school’s first ever post-season playoff game. He was inducted into the UWRF Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.

Corning played football at UWRF from 1984-87. He earned four letters and still holds several individual records.

After his senior season the talented, hard-running fullback was named the WSUC’s Most Valuable Player by the Milwaukee Journal and was named to the American Football Coaches Association first All-American team.

Corning was named the team’s Most Valuable Player, was the Offensive Player of the Year and named to the first All-WSUC team in 1987. After his junior season (1986) he was named the team’s Offensive Player of the Year and named to the first All-WSUC team. After the 1985 season he was named to the second All-WSUC team. After his freshman season (1984) he was named the team’s Offensive Freshman Player of the Year and named to the All-WSUC second team.

Corning helped lead the Falcons to four straight WSUC championships and the team had a 31-8-1 record during his career. He also competed with the indoor track team in 1985 and 1986. He earned his degree in 1989.

At one time Corning was UWRF’s leader in career total offense (3,690 yards), career rushing yards (3,690), career rushing attempts (670), career points (320), season points (102, tied with Jim Baier), career touchdowns (52) and season touchdowns (17). He was inducted into the UWRF Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

The WIAC All-Time Football Team is recognized in conjunction with the conference’s upcoming Centennial Celebration. All-Time Teams are being selected in those men’s and women’s sports that have been classified as “championship” sports at some point during the conference’s 100-year history. Additional teams will be released on a weekly basis throughout much of the 2011-12 academic year.

Tags: uw river falls, sports, proam, football, wisconsin