Augustana College junior Isaac Smith (left) and senior Dan Popek (right) were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team for men's track and field. | Augustana College
Augustana College junior Isaac Smith (left) and senior Dan Popek (right) were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America team for men's track and field. | Augustana College
Two athletes from Augustana College earned their way onto the College Sports Information Directors of America Men's Track & Field Academic All-America Team.
Junior Isaac Smith, from Marion High School in Marion, Iowa, was named to the second team; and senior Dan Popek, from Minooka High School, gained a spot on the third team.
While winning the 800-meter race in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championships on May 7, Popek broke the Augustana College record with a time of 1:51.24, a time he would break a week later at the North Central College Dr. Keeler Qualifier meet, finishing with a time of 1:50.50. Popek was also a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin title in a meet record of 3:12.84.
Throughout his college career, Popek has earned NCAA Division III All-America honors in the 4x400 relay twice, most recently in the 2016 indoor national meet. He won the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin indoor 800 meter in 2014 and finished his career with six top-three finishes in the 800-meter (indoor and outdoor combined). Popek was nominated for an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. He was the winner of the Jack Swartz Award in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin after the 2016 winter sports season. He was the team captain in both track and field, and cross country.
Popek graduated from Augustana College on May 22 with a 3.58 GPA, and majors in biology and neuroscience.
A six-time NCAA Division III All-American, Smith is the school record-holder in both the 4x400-meter and 4x200-meter relays, both indoors and outdoors. He was also a member of Augustana's 4x400-meter NCAA Division III national championship relay team in the indoor season of 2015. He was named the Most Outstanding Performer at the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Indoor Championships during the 2016 indoor season. The Vikings won their first indoor league title that year. He won the 200-meter and the 4x400-meter relay in that meet and placed second in the 400-meter.
Smith currently has a 3.45 GPA while majoring in chemistry. He is a member of the Augustana Chemical Society, where he serves at secretary.
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