March 5, 2012

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford student-athletes Chris Derrick (men's cross country) and Jacob Smith (men's water polo) were awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships for their outstanding academic and athletic achievements.

Derrick is on the of the most decorated distance runners in NCAA history. He is an 11-time All-American, including his NCAA runner-up finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships this past fall. Derrick became just the sixth athlete in NCAA history to finish in the top-10 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships all four years. Derrick holds the school record for the 5,000 meters indoors, which was also an Olympic `A' Standard. He has set American Junior Records for the indoor 3,000 meters and the outdoor 5,000 meters during his career. Overall, Derrick has won three Pac-10 titles in cross country and track and been named the Pac-10 Athlete of the Year in cross country.

Derrick has been just as decorated for his work in the classroom. He was named the USTFCCA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for cross country each of the past two seasons and overall is a seven time All-Academic selection by the USTFCCCA. He also earned CoSIDA/Capitol One Academic All-America honors for cross country/track in 2010-11. In addition, Derrick was named the Toyo Tires Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2011 cross country season. He has made every Pac-10 and MPSF academic team that he has been eligible for during his storied career.

Smith is a two-time ACWPC All-American and scored 156 goals in his four-year career on The Farm. He was also twice honored as an All-MPSF performer (2010-11).

The Coronado, Calif. native led the team with 54 goals in 2010 and earned second-team All-America honors. He followed up with 42 goals, second-most on the squad, in 2011, leading to a third-team All-America nod.

Smith has also earned MPSF All-Academic recognition in each of the past three years. On the national level, he has twice been honored on the ACWPC's Academic List (2009-10), and is expected to be named to the list once more in the coming weeks (the 2011 list has not yet been issued).