Billie Hatch earns CoSIDA Academic All-America honors

Hatch becomes the first DSU cross country/track student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors

(FULL COSIDA RELEASE)

Dixie State junior Billie Hatch continued to make Trailblazer cross country and track and field history on Wednesday, landing Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America honors.

Hatch, who was selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Cross Country/Track third team, becomes the first DSU cross country/track and field student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors.

Hatch excelled in the field of competition and the classroom during the 2019-20 season, carrying a 3.89 GPA as a criminal justice major while enjoying a record-setting campaign on the race course.

In cross country, she crossed the finish line as DSU's top finisher in each race while claiming All-America honors. Hatch, who also earned CoSIDA All-District and RMAC Academic first-team honors, claimed an individual win at the SUU Color Country Invite on October 12 and posted a fifth-place finish at the RMAC Championships. She also finished in ninth place at the NCAA South Central Regionals to land first team All-RMAC and USTFCCCA All-Region honors.

Hatch later made program history, finishing in eighth place at the NCAA Championships to earn the Trailblazers' first-ever top-10 finish at nationals, and only the second All-America honor in program history. Additionally, Hatch broke her own DSU program 6K record, crossing the line with a time of 20:26.1, four seconds better than her time at the RMAC Championships on October 26.

In her only track meet before the remainder of the 2020 season was canceled, Hatch set two program records at the Rossi Relays, breaking her own program record with a second-place finish and a time of 9:53.89 in the 3,000m run, before helping set a new program-best mark in the distance medley. The DSU team crossed the line with a time of 12:51.20, more than full minute faster than the previous record.

To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. The Academic All-District teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada.

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Players Mentioned

Billie Hatch: Distance; 5' 6"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Billie Hatch
: 5' 6"; Junior
: Distance