Massachusetts Maritime senior running back Stefan Gustafson has been selected to play in the D3 Senior Football Classic, which will take place this Friday, December 13^th at Salem Stadium in Salem, Va., the site of the NCAA Division III Stagg Bowl.  Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.

A native of Plymouth, Mass. and a graduate of Plymouth South High School, Gustafson is the third straight Buccaneer to earn a spot in the contest that brings together Division III standouts from across the country, as he joins Walter Butler ’12 and Eddy Ramos ’13 in representing Head Coach Jeremy Cameron’s program.  Gustafson will be part of a North squad that will be led by Framingham State Head Coach Tom Kelley as well as Massachusetts Maritime Hall of Famer Mike Kelley ’99, who will assist his father on the sidelines.

Gustafson earned second team all-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference honors after rushing for 1,237 yards in nine contests this fall, as his average of 137.4 yards per game ranks 19^th nationally in NCAA Division III play currently and rated as high as third in the country during the season.  Gustafson, who earned all-conference honors on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball in three of his four seasons of action, rushed for a career-high 235 yards and a school-record tying four touchdowns in a 54-53 victory at Western Connecticut on October 12^th, and he topped the 200-yard mark in three contests on the year.  In 16 career games as a running back, Gustafson rushed for 1,938 yards (121.1 per game) and 13 touchdowns, as he finished just 102 yards shy of the Buccaneer single-season mark with his performance this fall.

Gustafson is one of six MASCAC student-athletes who will participate in this year’s D3 Senior Classic, as he will be joined by Western Connecticut’s Devin Myers, Framingham State’s Melikke Van Alstyne, Pat McGrath and Aaron Ferreira and Worcester State’s AJ Scerra.

Gustafson helped lead Massachusetts Maritime to its fourth straight five-win season, as Cameron has guided the Buccaneers to their best four-year record since 1988 while overseeing a squad that has set or tied 22 school records over the last two years.