Colorado Springs, Colorado – NMHU sophomore
Ivan Smith was voted to the 2024-25 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) All-Academic First Team in an announcement by the league office Thursday morning.
The RMAC All-Academic First Team and Academic Player of the Year awards are voted on by the conference's sports information directors. To be eligible for consideration on the RMAC All-Academic First Team, a student-athlete must have been an active student at the institution for at least two consecutive semesters or three consecutive quarters and carry a cumulative 3.50 grade point average (GPA).
Smith has a perfect 4.00 grade point average while majoring in Social Work.
On the mat, Smith had a stellar sophomore campaign highlighted by winning the NCAA Super Regional VI and qualifying for the NCAA Division II Championships earlier this month in Indianapolis. He was ranked #12 in the country at 165 pounds in the final Division II rankings released by The Open Mat and was 6-1 in RMAC duals this season.
"A staple of our program is excellence in all areas, and Ivan personifies that. He has a 4.0 GPA, is among the leaders of our team in community service hours, has a huge work ethic, and truly commits to the process of excellence in all areas," said head coach
Chris Freije. "It's tough to adequately express how happy for, and proud of Ivan I am for the year he put together overall; and the growth he experienced in all areas across the board. It always makes me happy to see commitment, hard work, and self-discipline pay off for a student-athlete. Especially one with Ivan's character."
Additionally,
Joseph Misitano,
Sam Eveland, and
John Baker were named to the 2024-25 Wrestling Honor Roll.
Read the entire RMAC release
here.
