Texas A&M Track & Field Lands All-American Transfer James Smith

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M’s Track and Field head coach Pat Henry announced the signing of First Team All-American James Smith II on Sunday. Smith spent the last two seasons with the Arizona Wildcats.

During his time at Arizona Smith contributed to the 4x400m and distance medley relays, while specializing in the 400m hurdles. In his only outdoor season with the Wildcats, Smith earned First Team All-American honors finishing fifth in the 400m hurdles (49.72) at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He was also a member of the 4x400m that earned Second Team All-American honors.

“He’s a talented young man,” Henry said. “As young as he is, he’s ran fast and he’s going to be a real good addition to our program. He fits the program well.”

In the summer following his freshman campaign, Smith won the 400m hurdles (50.29) at the USATF U20 Championships before placing second in the 400m hurdles (49.84) at the Pan American U20 Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Smith is a graduate of Westwood High School (Chandler, Arizona), where he was the team captain all four years. He earned team MVP honors as a sophomore, junior and senior, while earning First Team All-State as a senior. Smith finished his high school career as the Arizona 400m hurdles state record holder.

James Smith II (Sprints/Hurdles) – Chandler, Arizona (Westwood HS/Arizona)

Personal Bests

400m – 47.22

600m – 1:16.78

400m Hurdles – 49.67

 

2020: Indoor – Opened his season at the NAU Friday Night Duals, won the 600m (1:18.40) and was leadoff in the 4x400m that won at 3:28.02…Clocked a personal best 600m time of 1:16.78 to finish second at the Texas Tech Invitational…Was a member of the distance medley relay that won the MPSF Indoor title, also ran leadoff in the 4x400m that placed second with a time of 3:09.16 and clocked a personal best 400m time of 47.22. Outdoor – Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

2019: Indoor – Finished top-5 in three of the five individual races entered…Clocked a season best 400m time of 48.08 at the Texas Tech Shootout…Was a member of the 4x400m and distance medley relay teams that both placed third at the MPSF Indoor Championships. Outdoor – Made his collegiate 400m hurdles debut on April 6 finishing second at the Jim Click Shootout at 50.29…Earned Pac-12 All-Conference honors placing third in the 400m hurdles at a time of 49.93, was also a member of the 4x400m that finished second at 3:05.98…Clocked a personal best 400m hurdles time of 49.67 in the preliminary at the NCAA Outdoor Championships before finishing fifth in the finals at 49.72 to earn First Team All-American honors…Claimed gold in the 400m hurdles (50.29) at the USATF U20 Championships and silver in the 400m hurdles (49.84) at the Pan American U20 Championships.

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

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