More than 1,250 men were listed on California Collegiate Athletic Association rosters in 2012-13. Chico State’s J Patrick Smith rose above them all.
Fresh off his second straight NCAA Decathlon title, Smith was voted the CCAA’s Male Athlete of the Year by the conference’s sports information directors it was announced Monday.
Smith – recently named the Division II National Field Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association – joins J.J. Jakovac, Kyle Souza, and Scott Bauhs as the only Wildcats to have won the award since Chico State joined the CCAA in 1998. It marks the sixth time in Chico State’s 15 years as a member of the CCAA that a Wildcat has won it. Jakovac won it in 2002 and 2004, Bauhs in 2007 and 2008, and Souza in 2012.
Smith claimed his second straight NCAA Division II title in the decathlon last month, breaking his own school record, the stadium record, and coming within 33 points of an all-time Division II top-10 score with 7,612 points – the 14th highest total recorded by any collegiate this year entering the weekend.
The junior from Santa Barbara (Dos Pueblos High School) became the third two-time NCAA Champion in Chico State Athletics history (among the 13 current programs).
Smith had already put together quite a season even before the NCAA Championships. He reached the NCAA Championships auto-qualifying mark in the decathlon in his first attempt the season, scoring 7,035 at the Chico Multi-Event Classic in late February/early March. Smith also posted NCAA Provisional qualifying marks in the long jump and 110-meter hurdles this season.
At the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships in May, Smith contributed 28½ points between six individual events and a 4×100 relay win to lead Chico State to its 10th straight title.
Smith won 16 events this year spanning seven specialties. He was a four-time winner in the long jump, helped the Wildcats’ 4x100-relay team win three times, twice won in the 110-meter hurdles, discus, 100 meters, and decathlon, and also notched a title in the javelin.
National Honors
2013 USTFCCCA 2013 Men's Field Athlete of the Year
2013 CCAA Male Athlete of the Year
2013 T&F All-American (NCAA Decathlon Champion)
2012 T&F All-American (NCAA Decathlon Champion)
2010 NCAA Championships qualifier - Decathlon
Regional Honors
2013 USTFCCCAMen’s Field Athlete of the Year
2013 USTFCCCAAll-Region – Decathlon
2013 USTFCCCAAll-Region – 110-meter hurdles
2012 USTFCCCAAll-Region – Decathlon
CCAA Honors
2013 All-CCAA(Member of 4x100 Championship Team)
2013 All-CCAA (3rd in 110-meter hurdles)
2013 All-CCAA (3rd in Long Jump)
2010 CCAA Freshman of the Year
2010 All-CCAA (2nd in Decathlon)
2010 All-CCAA (3rd in 110-meter hurdles)
Team Honors
Member of three CCAA Championship teams (2010, 2012, 2013).
