May 19, 2011
ST. LOUIS -
Illinois State's Brittany Smith was selected as the Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week, as announced by Valley Commissioner Doug Elgin. Smith was honored for her performance during the period of May 9-15.
A member of the Illinois State women's track and field team, Smith competed in the hammer throw, discus and shot put at the State Farm MVC Championship in Cedar Falls, Iowa, May 13-15, and compiled top-five finishes in each event and All-Valley honors in two.
Smith, who has a 3.69 cumulative grade-point average in mathematics, recorded a school-record throw of 206-03 in the hammer to place third and collect All-MVC honors. Later in the day, Smith finished second in the discus (172-01) and notched her second all-conference accolades. Smith took fourth in the shot put (51-11.25).
It is the second time this season Smith has been named the Valley Scholar-Athlete of the Week. The Oak Park, Ill., native received the honor last week (May 12) after competing in the shot put, discus and hammer throw at the Billy Hayes Invitational (May 6) and recorded top-five finishes in each event. Smith finished fourth in the shot put with a season-best effort of 51-07.25 and later placed second in the discus (164-04) and fifth in the hammer throw (192-02) at the one-day invitational hosted by Indiana.
Smith earned scholar-athlete of the week honors during the indoor season, after she finished third in the shot put with a school record throw of 56-04.75 at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. That performance also earned her All-America honors in the event.
Now in its 12th year of existence, the Valley's Scholar-Athlete program is sponsored by Prairie Farms, Roberts and Hiland Dairies. On a weekly basis, the conference honors its student-athletes for their athletic performance for a one-week period and academic success in the classroom.
To qualify for Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20, must have completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing. Redshirt freshmen and first-year junior college transfers are not eligible. In addition to the academic qualifications, student-athletes will be evaluated on their athletic performance for a one-week period.
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