Josh Grant Named NAC Man of the Year
The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) is pleased to announce that Joshua Grant of Lyndon State College has been selected as the winner of its annual Man of the Year award in a vote of the league's athletic directors. A four-year standout cross country runner at Lyndon, Grant will be honored at a home event during the 2013-14 academic year.
"To have the opportunity to see a student-athlete like Josh Grant sustain the excellence he exhibited as the freshmen who earned Rookie and Runner of the Year for the NAC throughout his time at Lyndon has been has been remarkable," said NAC Commissioner Julie Muller. "Never placing outside of the top ten in our conference championship, Josh also added two runner up finishes to his championship in 2009. The culmination of his career with a top-20 regional finish, a trip to the NCAA championship and Academic All-District honors secures Josh's spot in NAC history for a long time. He is a leader, a scholar, an exceptional athlete, and a superb choice for the NAC Man of the Year Award."
Grant graduates from Lyndon as one of the most accomplished cross country runners in NAC history. A four-time all-conference runner, Grant burst on the scene in 2009 as the NAC's Rookie and Runner of the Year, winning the conference championship, while leading the Hornets to the team title. In 2010 and again in 2012 he posted runner-up finishes, leading Lyndon to the team title in each of those seasons as well. As a senior he represented the NAC and Lyndon at the NCAA National Championships after becoming just the third runner from the conference to garner All-Region honors at the NCAA New England Championship.
"Josh is the quintessential NCAA Division III student-athlete," said Lyndon Director of Athletics and Head Cross Country Coach Chris Ummer. "Not only through his excellence in athletics and academics, but through his community involvement, leadership, a sincere concern for his peers, classmates, and environment. The mark he has left on both the Hornet Cross Country and Athletic programs will be long lasting."
Grant is a four-time recipient of Lyndon's Dudley Bell Outstanding Student-Athlete Award, and won an impressive seven races during his career.
He recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Lyndon and was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District squad, earning himself a spot as a nominee to the Academic All-American team which will be announced later this month. This fall he was one of only 162 runners nationally to earn a spot on the USTFCCCA All-Academic team. He is a member of several honors societies and has won a trio of Green & Gold Awards, given to the Lyndon student-athlete with the highest GPA.
The NAC Man of the Year award is modeled after the NCAA's Woman of the Year program, which honors graduating student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in the areas of academic achievement, athletics excellence, service and leadership.