LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Farmington native Ivan Smith has been named a College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-American, becoming the ninth student-athlete in New Mexico Highlands University history to earn the honor.
Smith, a junior wrestler for the Cowboys, is the school’s first Academic All-American since 2015.
The award recognizes the nation’s premier student-athletes for their combined accomplishments in competition and the classroom, selected through a nationwide vote of CSC sports information professionals.
A 2023 graduate of Farmington High, Smith is a two-time state wrestling champion at FHS. As a senior, Smith captured the 172-pound NMAA state championship with a record of 43-1 and a win over Tomas Herrera of Gadsden High in the state finals.
Prior to that, Smith collected a state title at the 170-pound division in 2022, finishing with a record of 31-1 and with a win over Miguel Andrade from Los Lunas.
On the mat, Smith capped his junior season by earning NCAA Division II All-America honors with a seventh-place finish at 165 pounds at the national championships. He compiled a 32-6 overall record, finished undefeated in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual competition and was named the 2026 RMAC Academic Wrestler of the Year.
Earlier this spring, Smith earned First Team All-RMAC honors and became the school’s first wrestling All-American since 2022. He is a prominent local product competing for New Mexico’s only intercollegiate wrestling program.
In the classroom, the social work major carries a 3.99 cumulative grade point average.
“Ivan has been a staple of this program since he stepped foot on campus,” New Mexico Highlands head coach Chris Freije said. “In his three years here, Ivan has already put himself in rare air in terms of his accomplishments in the classroom and on the mat. There are no barriers on the goals he can attain.”