TOWSON, Md. --- Moravian College senior Aaron Hofmann has been selected as the 2018 Landmark Conference Senior Scholar-Athlete for Men's Cross Country.
The Landmark Conference selects 22 senior scholar athletes each year to recognize the top student-athlete in each sport based on academics and athletics. The honorees must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 and are selected by a committee of Landmark Conference officers, athletics directors, senior woman administrators and sports information directors. Chosen at the conclusion of each sport season, the six fall honorees are being announced this week.
Hofmann helped the men's cross country squad to a runner-up finish at the 2018 Landmark Conference Championships where he placed 33rd with a career-best time of 28:19.9 on the 8,000-meter course. He finished his cross country career last weekend at the 2018 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional. Throughout his career, Hofmann has run in 5K, 6K and 8K races in cross country, and he has also participated in the 400-meter, 800-meter, 1,500-meter and mile runs and the 4x400-meter, 4x800-meter and distance medley relays with the indoor and outdoor track & field teams.
Off the course, Hofmann has maintained a 3.96 GPA in accounting. Hofmann has made Moravian's Dean's List six times, and he is a three-time selection to the Landmark Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll and has made the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll a total of seven times while competing in track & field with the 2019 seasons still to come. Hofmann is also part of Moravian's Amrhein Investment Club, which provides students with unique hands-on experience in managing a portfolio valued at over $1.4 million. Members are divided into four funds, each with specific objectives, and are responsible for evaluating current holdings, monitoring domestic and foreign markets, conducting extensive research, as well as organizing buy/sell presentations. Each year, students are invited to share the club's performance at trustee meetings as well as various alumni events. To provide even broader exposure, Amrhein sponsors trips to New York City, annual shareholder meetings, as well as other venues of interest.
"Aaron is a great candidate for this recognition because he truly represents what it means to be a student-athlete," stated Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Jesse Baumann. "He earned an internship at a local accounting firm which he'll be doing some additional work for this spring, and in fact will be working at full-time upon graduating in May. He's been involved with our Investment Club for a number of years and has worked with one of our other runners to recruit more people to join. In addition to that, Aaron has routinely had one of the highest GPAs not only on our team, but in the athletic department so he clearly has maximized his potential as a student here.
"As an athlete, few have worked harder or transformed themselves more than Aaron has in his time here," continued Baumann. "I was just telling a future recruit about Aaron's story last week, how he came in here and was far from being one of our top runners but he willed himself to become a multiple-time conference qualifier and even made our Regional team this month. In my eight years here, Aaron is probably one of the three most improved athletes and that's all due to his determination and drive. His attributes reflect themselves in how well he's already prepared himself for his career after graduating, and clearly in his improvements in track and cross country. He's been a tremendous leader for the team with the examples he sets every day, and is as deserving of this recognition as anyone.
Hofmann is Moravian's 26th Landmark Conference Senior Scholar-Athlete since the conference began in 2007-08, and he is the first men's cross country student-athlete to be honored.
