AUSTIN, Texas – Recent graduate Will Kelly '24 of the St. Olaf College men's cross country and track and field programs was named to the 2023-24 Academic All-America ® Men's Track & Field/Cross Country Teams, as selected by College Sports Communicators and announced on Wednesday.

One of 48 NCAA Division III student-athletes from across the country to earn the accolade, Kelly was a third-team honoree on the elite listing, which honors the top student-athletes in the country for their combined athletic and academic accomplishments. Kelly is St. Olaf's 19th all-time CSC Academic All-American and its third in men's track and field/cross country, joining Sean Lonergan '20, who was a two-time honoree in 2019 and 2020.

The Academic All-America ® teams were voted on by CSC members from a pool of Academic All-District ® honorees that a subcommittee advanced to the Academic All-America ® ballot. In order to be eligible, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, must have a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.50, and must have finished or been ranked in the top 50 in the region in a single event in cross country, indoor track and field, or outdoor track and field.

Kelly graduated from St. Olaf in May as a chemistry major with a 3.56 cumulative GPA and is preparing to compete at the NCAA Division I level at Montana State University next year while pursuing a PhD in biochemistry. In his final season at St. Olaf, Kelly earned All-America honors in all three of his seasons, finishing 26th nationally in cross country, 14th nationally in the indoor 5,000-meter run, and fourth nationally in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He also claimed three individual Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) titles by winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase outdoors after sweeping the crowns in the 3,000-meter run and 5,000-meter run indoors.

Over the course of his career on the Hill, Kelly was a four-time All-American, as he placed 13th nationally in cross country in the 2022 season prior to his three accolades this past year. The Golf, Ill. native also was a four-time individual conference champion, highlighted by back-to-back steeplechase titles to close out his career, and was the MIAC individual runner-up twice in cross country. Kelly collected 10 All-MIAC accolades and seven U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region honors over the course of his career, while also posting a 10th-place national finish in the steeplechase in 2023.

Kelly also picked up Academic All-MIAC accolades in both cross country and track and field as a senior and racked up five USTFCCCA All-Academic accolades during his career. This spring, he was recognized as the male recipient of the Dave Hauck Award, which the St. Olaf Athletic Department awards annually to its top graduating seniors in each gender in recognition of academic achievement, community services, and athletic excellence.