DENTON (6/01/06) Track and field athlete Heath Smith was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Aside from holding the team’s top grade point average, the criminal justice major was just as potent away from the classroom. Smith brought home the Sun Belt Conference javelin championship with a school-record toss of 196 feet, then bettered that mark by over six feet last weekend at the NCAA Regional Meet in an eighth place finish.
The junior now owns four of the top five javelin marks in school history, and has the program’s top javelin and hammer throw in each of the last two seasons, to go with three straight in the shot put. Smith recorded 15 top-five finishes in 2006, including five victories - more than any other Mean Green athlete.
To be nominated for the Academic All-America team, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore starter or significant reserve on his team with a 3.20 cumulative grade point average. District VI represents student-athletes in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Smith will now be added to the Academic All-America ballot, which will be announced on Tuesday, June 22.
