Schaaf Named Male Senior Scholar Athlete of the Year
TOWSON, Md. - Christian Schaaf of Elizabethtown College was selected as the Landmark Conference Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
This is a new honor, just the second year it has been awarded. The winners of the Senior Scholar Athlete from each sport is considered for the overall award, which is given to one male and one female recipient by the Landmark Conference. Schaaf will now be considered for the Division III Commissioners Association National Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Schaaf dominated the running circuit from the start of the year until the end. He placed third at the 2021 Landmark Conference Cross Country Championship meet to earn All-Landmark First Team honors. He went on to earn an All-Mid-Atlantic Region honor two weeks later and qualified for his first NCAA Division III Championship meet.
During the indoor track season, the senior took home two medals, including gold in the 5,000-meter. At the AARTFC Indoor Championships, he was the runner-up in the 3,000-meter and less than a second off the program's school record. Schaaf was also on the top-10 list for the indoor 5k (8th).
The momentum that began in cross country and gained a full head of steam indoors carried over into the outdoor season where he pulled off the grueling double of the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter at the Landmark Outdoor Championships. Schaaf cruised to gold medals in each event.
A few weeks prior to the Landmark meet, Schaaf broke the school's 18-year-old 5k record held by All-American Dave Berdan '04 at the Bison Outdoor Classic. He would lower his time to 14:14.38 at the 126th Penn Relays to jump him nearly into the top 10 in Division III. His time would hold as he qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio.
Schaaf's excellence wasn't limited to the course or the track. The Communications and Graphic Design dual major has been a Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll student every season he's been eligible along with a Dean's List selection for Elizabethtown College. Schaaf is also a USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual. Additionally, he served as an intern for the Norristown, Pa. Special Olympics, was a tutor for Elizabethtown's "Intro to Journalism" students, and was a Blue Jay Ambassador.