BOSTON — Senior Jimmy Slayton of the Hartford men's soccer team and senior Sierra Stone of the Hawks' women's soccer team were each named America East Scholar-Athletes for their respective sport, the organization announced on Tuesday.
 
Stone has been impressive inside the classroom, posting a perfect 4.0 GPA this past semester to push her cumulative GPA to 3.97. An accounting major, she is a repeat America East Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete, having previously earned the honor last year in 2019. 
 
Stone, who brings home Hartford's 15th Scholar-Athlete award — and the seventh under head coach John Natale — becomes the third repeat honoree in program history, and the first since 2006 and 2007 when Elizabeth Cook took home the award in back-to-back years.
 
"We are very proud of Sierra's accomplishments, both on-and-off the field," said Natale, who enters his 17th season at the helm of the Hawks in 2020. "She is the true definition of a student-athlete, and both our program and the University of Hartford are ecstatic and honored that the America East Conference has recognized her as well. Sierra has built a strong legacy as a Hawk, and she will go down as being one of the top midfielders in program history."
 
In addition to her two Scholar-Athlete awards, Stone has taken several other academic awards during her career. A three-time America East All-Academic Team member and a four-time Commissioner's Honor Roll member, she is a repeat US Scholar All-East Region honoree, earning a spot on the organization's Third Team in 2018 before taking home Second Team accolades this past season. CoSIDA has also recognized stone, as she was named to the All-District 1 First Team in 2018.
 
On the field, Stone amassed eight America East All-Conference awards during her career. The midfielder made program history this past season when she became the first Hawk to be named the league's Midfielder of the Year twice in her career (2017, 2019). Additionally, the Hebron, Conn., native became the second player to win three major awards from the conference, as she was tabbed the Rookie of the Year in 2016. 
 
Tallying a career-high 20 points, which included five goals, three game-winning tallies and an America East-best 10 assists, Stone is also a two-time US Coaches All-Region and a two-time New England Women's Intercollegiate Soccer Association (NEWISA) All-New England selection. Leading the Hawks to a pair of America East Tournament title game appearances in 2016 and 2019, she accumulated 50 points during her career, including 12 goals and 26 assists, which are tied for the fifth-most in program history.
 
Slayton, who becomes the fifth Hawk in program history and the first since Anthony Santaga (2013) to earn Scholar-Athlete honors, has also been stellar inside the classroom for Hartford. A four-time America East Commissioner's Honor Roll member who has earned a spot on the league's All-Academic Team in each of the past two seasons, he is coming off a perfect 4.0 GPA this past semester. Slayton holds a 3.77 cumulative GPA as an entrepreneurial studies major.
 
"Jimmy sets a great example for our team, and all of our student-athletes," said head coach Tom Poitras, who enters his 10th season in 2020. "He is a great student who has now reached every kid's dream of becoming a professional player. Jimmy has worked hard both in the classroom and on the field, and it is great that he is being rewarded for all of the work he has put in." 
 
A goalkeeper from Wethersfield, Conn., Slayton is coming off a senior campaign that saw him earn All-Conference distinction from the America East for the third time in his career. A four-time America East Defensive Player of the Week recipient in 2019, he was named to the All-Conference Second Team after finishing this past season ranked No. 5 in the nation in shutouts (10) and No. 10 in save percentage (.805).
 
Etching his name into Hartford's record book after setting the program record for shutouts in a single season in 2019, Slayton departs the program as the Hawks' leader in career shutouts (21). In addition, he is ranked No. 7 in career wins (26), No. 3 in goals-against average (1.11), No. 6 in saves (273) and No. 6 in save percentage (.774). Hartford made a pair of appearances in the title match of the America East Tournament in 2016 and 2019 during Slayton's four-year career.
 
Most impressively, Slayton recently became the fourth Hawk to make the jump to the professional ranks when he signed a contract to play with Real Monarchs of the USL Championship last month. 
 
America East Scholar-Athletes were members of teams in the six championship sports that the conference sponsored in the fall season, including men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, field hockey and volleyball. Kelsey Bing (Stanford, field hockey), Ben Drezek (UMass Lowell, men's cross country), Chloe Evering (UAlbany, volleyball) and Shannon Murdock (New Hampshire, women's cross country) rounded out the 2020 America East Fall Scholar-Athlete recipients.
 
Each America East Scholar-Athlete was a starter or prominent reserve who carries a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.50. They will automatically be eligible for the America East Male or Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which will be announced this summer.