Keith Bechtol Named CAA Male Track Athlete of the Year

Latest in Long Line of Honors for Senior

07/10/07 12:25PM

Richmond, VA - William and Mary senior Keith Bechtol (Alexandria, Va.) was honored by the Colonial Athletic Association today as the Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Bechtol is the first W&M athlete to win the award since current assistant coach Ed Moran ’03 in 2003.

Bechtol was the only male from the CAA to qualify for the NCAA Championships, finishing 14th in the 10,000m race, one second behind the cut-off for All-American honors. He qualified for the championships by running a personal-best 28:55.57, the third-best time in school history, at Stanford in April. That time also provisionally qualified Bechtol for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. He was also a stand-out at 5,000m, winning his second CAA title in that event and earning All-East honors both indoors and outdoors.

Bechtol has earned several academic honors this year as well. In June, he was named First-Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors Association, and yesterday, earned All-Academic Team honors from the track coaches association. A Phi Beta Kappa initiate, Bechtol earned his fifth CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year award from the CAA in June (three in track, two in cross country), more than any other athlete in the history of the conference.