ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Heading into the NCAA Championships, Fiona Smith’s goal was a top-five finish. Saturday afternoon, Smith hit her goal, and made history one more time to wrap up her sophomore season.
After setting the College of Saint Benedict cross country team’s 5K and 6K records this season, winning five meets, becoming the third MIAC champion in program history and the first region champion, Smith finished in fifth at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships to earn All-American honors. For her impressive race and top national finish, she is the CSB Athlete of the Week.
Smith re-wrote the Bennie cross country record books this season, and Saturday’s race was icing on the cake. She is the fifth All-American in program history, and the first since 2005. Her top-five finish is just the second in program history, and the first since Missy Petersen finished third at the 1994 national meet.
In her first season of collegiate cross country, Smith never finished lower than fifth, including at nationals and at the Lewis & Clark Invite, which included Division I competition. All five of her victories came by at least 10 seconds, and she won two races by more than 30 seconds. Over the course of the season, Smith became the first athlete in program history to break 22 minutes in a 6K, and at the region meet she became the first Bennie cross country athlete to break 21 minutes in a 6K.
Smith looks to keep her historic season going this winter when she joins the CSB track and field team for her first official indoor season. She competed indoors as a first year in 2021, but there were no MIAC or NCAA Championships due to the COVID19 pandemic. She won the MIAC 5K title at the 2021 conference outdoor meet, and earned All-American honors in the same race in May after taking fifth at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in May in North Carolina.
