RIVER FALLS, Wisconsin. – Former St. Olaf College cross country and track and field student-athlete Will Kelly (Class of 2024) has been selected as the 2023-24 Men’s Scholar of the Year by the National Collegiate Athlete Honor Society, Chi Alpha Sigma announced Thursday.
In the sixth year of the award, Kelly became the first St. Olaf student-athlete to be honored with the national award. This year’s two honorees were joined by Malak Mowafi of Penn State Schuylkill. The award was athletic, academic and leadership/service recognition for Kelly, who was nominated as St. Olaf’s male recipient of the Dave Hauck Award and as a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) nominee for the 2023-24 Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) Men’s Sports Student-Athlete of the Year award.
“We are thrilled to recognize Will and Malak with this honor,” said Kellen Wells-Mangold, executive director of the National College Athlete Honor Society. “Of the many deserving student-athletes across the country who were nominated, Will and Malak stood out as top performers in competition, in the classroom and in their communities. Chi Alpha Sigma is proud to celebrate their accomplishments!”
The National Scholar Athlete of the Year award recognizes student-athletes from one men’s and one women’s sport who have each demonstrated academic and athletic achievement as well as commitment and leadership qualities both on campus and in the community. Nominees must be junior or senior Chi Alpha Sigma students who have achieved a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.40 throughout their college careers and have demonstrated how their experiences as athletic scholarship athletes have influenced and enabled them to succeed after graduation.
Kelly graduated from St. Olaf in May with a 3.56 GPA with a degree in chemistry and will attend Montana State University this fall to pursue a doctorate in biochemistry. Over the course of his career on Capitol Hill, Kelly was named All-American four times in cross country and track and field. He also captured four individual MIAC titles – including two consecutive steeplechase championships – and was a two-time runner-up in the men’s individual cross country. Kelly collected 10 All-MIAC honors and seven U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region honors over the course of his career. He also earned a 10th-place national finish in the steeplechase in 2023 and a 14th-place national finish in the 5,000-meter indoor run in 2024, in addition to his two All-America performances in the steeplechase.
In the classroom, Kelly was Academic All-MIAC in both cross country and track and field and collected five USTFCCCA All-Academic honors during his career. This past spring, he added Academic All-America honors, making him the 19th Ole in history to receive the honor from College Sports Communicators. He also spent time at the Mayo Clinic, where he researched carpal tunnel syndrome and presented his work with the Orthopedic Research Society. In the community, Kelly participated in Feed My Starving Children and Special Olympics events and volunteered at a local second grade class as a math teacher.
