Patrick Smyth 2008-09 Cross Country Roster

AS A JUNIOR: Capped off another outstanding season by earning his fourth All-America honor to go along with two BIG EAST titles and a regional cross country championship … opened his cross country season with a second-place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational, clocking in at 23:44 … finished fifth in 23:18 at the Pre-National Meet … earned all-BIG EAST honors with his third-place finish at the BIG EAST Championship, covering the 8,000 meters in 23:28 … captured the Great Lakes Regional title with a time of 30:22 … earned his second cross country All-America honor with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championship, clocking a time of 30:05 … competed in the mile at the Notre Dame Invitational, finishing sixth with a time of 4:08.45 … finished fourth in the Meyo Invitational 3,000 meters in 7:55.41 … claimed his first BIG EAST title with a win in the 5,000 meters, clocking in at 13:57.44 at the BIG EAST Championships … also finished fifth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:08.38 … finished 10th in the Alex Wilson Invitational mile in 4:06.71 … finished 13th at the NCAA Championship, running the 3,000 meters in 8:10.33 … opened the outdoor season with an eighth-place showing at the Stanford Invitational, running 5,000 meters in 13:46.73 … finished 17th in the 5,000 meters with a time of 13:45.72 at the Mt. SAC Relays … earned his second BIG EAST title and fourth all-BIG EAST track honor after winning the 10,000 meters in 29:14.76 at the BIG EAST Championships … also placed sixth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:32.75 … ran the 5,000 meters in 14:07.97 to finish third at the NCAA Mideast Regionals … earned his second track All-America honor with an eighth-place finish in the 5,000 meters, clocking in at 13:47.82 … will look to continue his reign as one of the top long distance runners in the nation as a senior.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Broke out as Notre Dame[apos]s next new distance standout … had a stellar cross country campaign, featuring three top-10 finishes and All-America honors … placed third in his season debut at the Notre Dame Invitational, covering 8,000 meters in 23:46 … placed 12th in a loaded field at the NCAA Pre-National meet two weeks later (running 23:49) … earned his second career all-BIG EAST cross country honors with a third-place showing in 23:32 … helped lead the team to second (and an automatic NCAA qualification) at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional … placed eighth in the 10,000-meter race with a time of 31:24 … capped his season in style with an outstanding 36th-place, All-American effort at the NCAA Championship … annihilated each of his track career bests during both the indoor and outdoor seasons … ran the 5,000 meters in 14:00.73 in a rare, big-time early season showdown with Oregon[apos]s Galep Rupp at the Blue and Gold Invitational … ran 4:08.89 for a career best in the mile at the Notre Dame Invitational … put down a new 5,000-meter best at the Meyo Invitational, running 13:58.10, the fifth-fastest time in school history … took fourth in the 3,000 meters and second in the 5,000 meters at the BIG EAST indoor meet, contributing greatly to the Irish men[apos]s team title … the 5,000-meter finish brought him his first career indoor all-conference honors … concluded his indoor season with a fast 8:01.32 3,000-meter run at the Alex Wilson Invitational (seventh-fastest in school history) … ran a blistering 5,000 meters outdoors at the Stanford Invitational, establishing the school[apos]s fifth-best all-time mark of 13:48.53 … also dabbled in the 1,500 meters, qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional with a time of 3:47.15 … competed on the 4×1,600-meter relay team that took first at the very competitive Drake Relays … the squad of Smyth, Todd Ptacek, Jake Watson and Kurt Benninger destroyed the rest of the field in 16:21.27 and set a school record … placed fifth in the 5,000 meters and 3rd in the 10,000 at the BIG EAST outdoor meet … grabbed his first career outdoor all-BIG EAST citation after running the 10,000 meters on the track for the first time in his career … competed in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Mideast Regionals, finishing fourth in 14:03.10 and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships … also earned all-Region honors for his top-eight finish … had a very strong showing at the NCAA Championships, earning a spot in the 5,000-meter final with a time of 13:57.32 in the preliminaries … ran the ninth-fastest time in school history and earned his first career track All-American honors by placing ninth in the final with a time of 13:55.53.

AS A FRESHMAN: Combining his contributions in both cross country and track, had one of the more impressive freshman seasons in school history … stepped up as Notre Dame[apos]s fifth scoring runner during the cross country season, providing the very formidable top four with the missing link it needed to win the NCAA third-place trophy … was the individual champion at the National Catholic Championship, running 24:36 … helped the Irish team place second at the Notre Dame Invitational, taking 34th in 24:32 … placed a strong 41st at the Pre-National Meet, running 24:35 … earned all-BIG EAST honors at the league championship, finishing ninth overall in 24:42 and helping the Irish win the team title … in his 10,000-meter debut, placed an excellent 20th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in 31:45 … cracked the top 100 overall at the NCAA Championship, scoring points for the third-place team and running 30:57.9 … during the indoor track season, ran 8:19.58 over 3,000 meters at the Notre Dame Invitational … nearly posted an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 5,000 meters at the Meyo Invitational, running 14:13.41 for sixth place … qualified for the BIG EAST indoor meet in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, running the former at the league competition … placed fourth in the BIG EAST final behind three All-Americans, running a career best of 8:17.51 … in his outdoor debut, won his section of the 5,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational in 14:12.61 … dropped down to the 1,500 meters at the Indy Relays, posting a BIG EAST qualifying time of 3:51.78 … missed qualifying for the NCAA Mideast Regional in the 5,000 meters by just .05 seconds at the Oregon Invitational … finished third in his heat while running 14:10.05 … took sixth in the 5,000 meters at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship (14:17.69) to score points for the team champion.

HIGH SCHOOL AND PERSONAL: Cross country and track standout at Judge Memorial High School … eight-time letterwinner in those two sports … 2005 Utah Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year and Utah High School Athletic Association Track Athlete of the Year … nationally ranked in cross country and track during his senior season … two-time state champion in both cross country and track … four-time all-state selection in cross country and two-time honoree in track and field … Utah state two mile record holder with a time of 9:17 … Stanford Invitational mile champion in 2005 (4:14) … fifth place finish in the two mile at the highly competitive Arcadia Invitational in 2005 (9:04) … school record holder in four events … three-time regional champion in cross country and four-time champion in track … two-time team captain and MVP in both sports … 12th-place finish at the FootLocker West Championship in 2004 … father, Daniel, played rugby at St. Mary[apos]s College (Calif.) … youngest of three children … born Aug. 6, 1986 in Rock Springs, Wyo. … enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters as a history major.