ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – Even in her shortened first season with the College of Saint Benedict athletic department, Fiona Smith was impressive.
 
With no true indoor national meet in 2021, Smith ran with the best in the region at the Wartburg Elite Meet, then earned All-American honors in her first true national meet in May 2021. She was named the CSB Rookie of the Year in 2020-21 after an impressive first season at Saint Benedict.
 
In 2021-22, Smith showed just how much potential she has.
 
In just one full season with the CSB track and field team, she took over as the most decorated athlete in program history. In one full season, she has more All-American awards than any other athlete in Saint Benedict history – regardless of sport.
 
After earning six total All-American awards in her sophomore season – her first full season of competition – Smith is the 2021-22 CSB Athlete of the Year.
 
Along with six All-American honors – five athletic and one academic – Smith also won five individual MIAC titles and set eight school records over the course of the school year. She finished fifth or better in all five races she competed in at nationals, won 17 total events and finished in the top five in all 28 individual races she competed in – including races against Division I competition like the Lewis & Clark Invite or the prestigious Drake Relays.
 
It all started on Sept. 4, when Smith won her first collegiate cross country race – and broke the school 6K record by four seconds. A week later she broke the program 5K record, and her third cross country race she became the first Bennie to break 22 minutes in a 6K race. Smith end the cross country season by becoming the third MIAC individual champ in program history, winning the program's first individual region title and finishing fifth at nationals. She is the fifth All-American in CSB cross country history, the first since 2005 and one of two top-five national finishers in program history.
 
The indoor track and field season got off to a similar start as she broke her own 3K record in the first meet of the season. She added the 5K record and the mile record before the season was over, and became the first athlete in program history to break five minutes in the mile on Feb. 4 at Macalester. Smith wrapped up the indoor season with MIAC titles in the 3K and 5K, and she shattered the 35-year-old MIAC record in the 3K in the process. She also finished third in the 3K and fourth in the 5K at nationals to become the first athlete in CSB track and field history to earn two All-American honors at the same meet.
 
After a short break, Smith broke her own 5K record to start the 2022 outdoor season, and, in the second meet of the season, broke CSB's 10,000-meter run record – in her first time competing in the event. Over the course of the season, Smith re-broke her own 5K record several times, including an impressive 16:16.54 and a fifth-place finish among Division I and II competition at the Drake Relays, and she also picked up the record in the 1,500-meter run at the Tommie Twilight.
 
Smith ended the season with two more MIAC titles – in the 5K and 10K – and fourth-place finishes in both events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
With her one All-American honor from Spring 2021, Smith is now a five-time track and field All-American – the most All-American honors of any athlete in program history. Added to her cross country All-American honor from Fall 2021 for six total, she is the most decorated athlete in Saint Benedict history across all sports.
 
Smith wasn't only fast on the track and the course as a sophomore. She also earned several academic honors after maintaining a 4.0 GPA through two full school years. She earned Academic All-MIAC and USTFCCCA All-Academic cross country honors, CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for cross country and track and field and, just this week, she became the fourth CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree in CSB cross country and track and field history when she earned second team honors. She is one of just two sophomores honored across all three All-America teams.