Colleen Smith wins the national A.O. Duer Award
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - College of Idaho two-sport athlete Colleen Smith has been selected as one of two recipients of the prestigious A.O. Duer award, announced by the NAIA Friday.
The A.O. Duer award was established in 1967, to recognize a junior male and female student-athlete who has excelled in character, playing ability, and scholarship. The award is named after former NAIA executive director Al Duer, who constantly sought to promote an integration of education and sport in the NAIA, reflecting an ideal balance between work and play, body, mind, and spirit.
“Colleen is an outstanding example of the great student-athletes we have at The College of Idaho,” said athletic director, Marty Holly. “She works hard in the classroom, she works hard on the field and the track, but even more, she contributes so much to our campus through extra-curricular activities.”
The junior, from Boise, will be joined by Timothy Kahn of Fresno Pacific University as the 2010 honorees, selected by the NAIA Council of Faculty Athletics Representatives from a field of nominees who attend NAIA member institutions. Candidates must achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.75 on a 4.0 scale. The C of I and Fresno Pacific will receive a $1,000 scholarship award from Daktronics in the name of the winner.
“The NAIA is delighted to recognize Timothy and Colleen with the A.O. Duer award,” said Jim Carr, NAIA president and CEO. “These student-athletes represent everything that embodies the NAIA spirit. They excel academically and athletically and are wonderful representatives of 60,000 student-athletes competing under the NAIA banner. The award is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious awards and Timothy and Colleen are truly exemplary models of scholar, athlete and citizen.”
Smith has had a banner career as an athlete for the Lady Yotes soccer and track teams. A two-time All-Cascade Conference selection in soccer, she helped the Lady Yotes to a 12-6-2 record as a sophomore and a trip to the CCC Tournament title game, followed up by sharing the CCC crown in 2009, helping the squad to a program-best 14-3 record and their first-ever national ranking. She was honored as CCC Defensive Player of the Year and became the first-ever Second-Team All-American for the Lady Yotes.
On the oval, Smith has been a key component for the Lady Yotes in the middle distances, competing at the 2009 NAIA Outdoor National Championships in the 4x800-relay, helping The C of I to a seventh-place finish, and the 2010 NAIA Indoor National Championships in the Distance Medley Relay.
When it comes to excellence in academics, athletics, community service and passion for challenging herself across the board, Smith is in a class by herself. She is a rare student, who does more than required, invariably thinks outside the norm and stretches her own considerable abilities.
“It is no coincidence that both the women’s soccer and track teams have enjoyed their greatest success in school history since Colleen’s arrival on campus,” said Pat McCurry, head cross country and track & field coach at The C of I. “She makes her teammates better because she illustrates what is possible when one is truly committed.”
In addition to Smith’s athletic success and possibly more impressive, is her ability to maintain stellar grade point average and contribute on The C of I campus. She serves as the editor of the award-winning student newspaper, The Coyote, and participated this past summer in the Harvard Extension School for Creative Writing. Recently, she was elected as the newest student body president at the College for 2010-11.