William and Mary freshman Trevor Sleight (Asheville, N.C.) was named the Colonial Athletic Association Men's Cross Country Rookie of the Year on Thursday, winning the top newcomer award after makign a strong debut for the Tribe this fall.  In addition to Sleight's honor, W&M mentor Steve Walsh was named the Coach of the Year for the fourth year in a row, and Nathaniel Hermsmeier (Charlottesville, Va.) was picked to the inaugural All-Academic team.

Sleight began the year with an unattached performance at the Spider Alumni Open, but was quickly elevated to the varsity seven where he would finish as W&M's second runner in three races, and the third finisher in the fourth.  After strong performances during the regular season at the Panorama Farms Invitational (34th) and Pre-Nationals (138th), he finished third overall at the CAA Championships to help the Tribe defend its conference title.  In addition to being the top rooie this season, Sleight's bronze-medal showing was the best for a true freshman for any team since former W&M All-American Christo Landry '08 was the runner-up in 2004.  Sleight finished his year at the Southeast Regional, taking 44th overall as the third Tribe finisher and helping W&M upset three more highly-ranked teams.  He is the 14th Green and Gold harrier to be named Rookie of the Year in cross country, and the seventh in a row (dating back to 2007).

Walsh once again claimed the Coach of the Year award after leading W&M to its 14th-straight CAA title, a run that is now the second-longest active winning streak in the nation.  The Tribe also claimed two more meet victories during 2013 in addition to the conference championship, and upset three more highly-ranked teams at the Southeast Regional to finish sixth overall.  Walsh's charges earned a total of seven all-conference honors and three CAA Runner of the Week awards, and lifted the Tribe to a 69-44 record overall.  This is the fourth year in four tries that Walsh has been named the Coach of the Year, and the 15th year in a row that a W&M coach has won the award.

CAA Athlete of the Year - Wes Gallagher, Northeastern
CAA Rookie of the Year - Trevor Sleight, W&M
CAA Coach of the Year - Stephen Walsh, W&M

All-Conference Team
Wes Gallagher, NU
Rad Gunzenhauser, W&M
Trevor Sleight, W&M
Zach Krause, NU
Ryan Gousse, W&M
David Barney, W&M
Zach Fraielli, NU
Daniel Rono, Hofstra
Nathaniel Hermsmeier, W&M
Joshua Mercado, W&M
Faris Sakallah, W&M
Adam Seften, CofC

All-Academic Team
Casey Buddenbaum, UNCW
Charles Conway, NU
Nathaniel Hermsmeier, W&M
Christian Peterson, Hofstra
Tyler Wood, CofC