June 18, 2009

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Distance runner Patrick Smyth has been selected to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Cross Country/Track and Field Academic All-America First Team, the Collegiate Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Thursday.

Smyth is a seven-time All-American in track and cross country and graduated in May with a degree in history while carrying a 3.75 cumulative grade-point average.

Smyth represented the Irish in the men's 10,000 meters last weekend at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, earning his seventh All-America honor with a fourth-place finish. He set a school record with a 10,000-meter time of 28:25.85 at the Stanford Invitational earlier this season.

He also garnered All-America recognition after finishing eighth in the 3,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.

The Salt Lake City, Utah native has earned three cross country All-America citations and four track (three outdoor, one indoor) nods during his career. His combined seven All-America honors are the third most in Irish men's track & field/cross country history behind only Ryan Shay (10) and Luke Watson (eight). Smyth also holds three BIG EAST individual titles, including the 2009 outdoor 10,000-meter crown.

The two-year captain was awarded an NCAA postgraduate scholarship and has been named the Notre Dame Monogram Club MVP on three separate occasions.

Smyth is the first men's cross country/track and field Academic All-American since 2007, when Thomas Chamney (first team) and Todd Ptacek (second team) received the honor.

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