Smyth Honored by the Big Sky Conference

Eagle named Athlete of the Week after his performance at the Sundodger Invitational

Alex Smyth of the Eastern Washington University cross country team was named Big Sky Conference Athlete of the Week for his performance at the Sundodger Invitational on Sept. 19.

Smyth, a junior from Sequim, Wash., finished fourth out of 72 competitors with a time of 24:11.41 on the 8,000-meter course to help his team to a third-place finish. Teammate Kyle King was seventh with a time of 24:18.97. King was named Athlete of the Week on Sept. 8 for his performance at the Clash of the Inland Northwest.

"We are really pleased that Alex was named Big Sky Athlete of the Week," said head cross country coach Chris Zeller. "Alex ran a nice race tactically against a really solid Washington team. He's taking on a larger leadership role this year as the captain and is the most veteran runner of our group.  It's great to see him starting right where he left off.  I think he has some huge potential in a big meet situation."

Smyth earned All-Big Sky Conference honors after his sixth-place finish at the 2008 cross country championships in Portland, Ore. He went on to finish 93rd at the NCAA West Regionals in Stanford, Calif.