HWS News
7 July 2020 • Athletics Fletcher '21 Earns Academic All-America
Hobart College cross country senior William Fletcher earned a spot on the 2020 Academic All-America Men's Track & Field/Cross Country second team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Fletcher is the first member of the Hobart cross country team to earn Academic All-America honors. Across all sports, Hobart and William Smith Colleges student-athletes have earned 54 Academic All-America awards, including 29 in the past 10 years.
Fletcher is an international relations and Asian studies double major. A dean's list student, he is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection. Fletcher received the Arnold Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award and was inducted into the Chimera Honor Society as a junior. He received the President's Civic Leadership Award this year and was named a Presidential Scholar as a first-year. A four-year member of the cross country team, Fletcher ran in 35 races.
Fletcher ran all 10 races this season, leading the Statesmen twice. He finished in the top 10 four times this fall. Fletcher recorded his fastest 8-kilometer time of 27:12.0 at the Cross Country Only Conference Championship at Seneca Lake State Park, finishing fourth overall. Fletcher earned All-ECAC honors, placing seventh at the ECAC Championships. He crossed the line with a time of 28:11.6 at the event. A team captain, Fletcher was presented this year's Dr. Augustus H. Gus Hillman '26 Memorial and the Charles P. McCoy '68 Awards.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.30 and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their current institution. Nominees are voted on by CoSIDA members in each of the nations eight districts, selecting 12 student-athletes to each district team. Academic All-District honorees advance to the national Academic All-America ballot.
CoSIDA began the distinguished Academic All-America program in 1952 and since then has honored thousands of deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America scholar-athlete honors. CoSIDA sponsors Academic All-America programs for men's and women's soccer, football, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, and men's and women's track and field/cross country as well as men's and women's at-large teams for other NCAA championship sports.
Note: Despite the cancellation of spring competition during COVID-19, CoSIDA continued its sponsorship of the Academic All-America awards program. Student-athletes were selected based on career statistics.