STANFORD, Calif. – Junior Grant Fisher was a repeat winner of the NCAA Division I Scholar Athlete of the Year award for men's cross country, earning the honor from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Friday.
Combined with Sean McGorty in 2015, Stanford has won the past three years and six times since the award was established in 2006.
Fisher, a five-time All-America in cross country and track, placed fifth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, on Nov. 18, and carries a 3.55 cumulative grade-point average as an electrical engineering major.
Fisher joins New Mexico's NCAA women's champ Ednah Kurgat as the individual winners. Fisher is the fourth Stanford men's winner. Besides McGorty, the others are Neftalem Araia in 2006 and Chris Derrick in 2010 and 2011. No other school has had more than two.
To qualify for the honor, runners must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 and finish in the top 25 (or 10 percent) at regionals or as an All-American (top 40) at the national meet.
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All-Academic selections:
Fisher was joined by teammates Tai Dinger, Steven Fahy, Blair Hurlock, Alex Ostberg, and Alek Parsons among men's All-Academic selections. No other men's program had more than four selections. The Cardinal, with a 3.50 GPA, also was among those receiving All-Academic Team honors.
Stanford had five All-Academic women's selections: Christina Aragon, Elise Cranny, Ella Donaghu, Vanessa Fraser, and Fiona O'Keeffe.
The Cardinal women carried a 3.57 team GPA and also were among those receiving All-Academic Team honors.
Here are Stanford's men's All-Academic award winners, with their academic years and majors listed (eligibility years may differ):
Tai Dinger, sr., molecular and cell biology.
Steven Fahy, sr., human biology.
Grant Fisher, jr., electrical engineering.
Blair Hurlock, sr., human biology.
Alex Ostberg, jr., human biology.
Alek Parsons, so., undeclared.
Here are Stanford's women's All-Academic award winners:
Christina Aragon, so., undeclared.
Elise Cranny, sr., human biology.
Ella Donaghu, so., undeclared.
Vanessa Fraser, grad., management science and engineering.
Fiona O'Keeffe, so., undeclared.
Each Stanford team placed fourth at the NCAA Championships. Stanford was the only school to accomplish that feat, and it was the first time Stanford teams had a pair of podium finishes since 2006.
Of Stanford's USTFCCCA All-Academic runners, five of them – Fahy, Fisher, Ostberg, Fraser, and O'Keeffe -- earned All-America honors by virtue of their top-40 NCAA finishes.
To read Stanford's Season in Review story, click here.