Gary Martin of the Virginia track and field and cross country program was named the men’s Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, according to an April 24 announcement from the ACC. Martin leads a group of 14 Cavaliers who were selected for the All-ACC Academic Team.
The recognition highlights both athletic and academic achievement within collegiate sports. Student-athletes honored must maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average for both the previous semester and their cumulative career, in addition to competing in recent ACC or NCAA indoor championships.
Martin, a Media Studies major, continues to build on his accolades after earning his third All-American title during this indoor season. He defended his championship in the men’s 3000 meters at the ACC Indoor Championships with a time of 7:43.18 and placed second in the 5000 meters with a time of 13:41.66, bringing his total to six career Indoor All-ACC honors. At this year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, he finished fourth in the mile with a time of 3:59.50 to earn first team All-America honors.
Throughout this season, Martin was twice listed on The Bowerman Watchlist and broke his own school record in the 5000 meters by running it in 13:05.57. He also contributed to Virginia’s distance medley relay team achieving an NCAA No.9 all-time mark at 9:16.75.
This is not Martin’s first scholar-athlete honor; he previously received ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Cross Country in 2024 when he also won Performer of the Year after setting a championship record at that year’s cross country event.
Alongside Martin, nine women and five men from Virginia were named to this year’s All-ACC Academic teams across various disciplines including sociology, commerce, public policy & leadership, kinesiology, mathematics, physics, aerospace engineering, general business and real estate.
