Columbus Standard

Matthew Paterson can add one more award to his track and field career at Indiana University East.

Paterson has been named the IU East Men's Academic Athlete of the Year for 2021-22. 

"It is a great honor to have received these awards for academic success," Paterson said. "I have worked really hard my senior year, so it has been really nice to finish strong and get the Academic Athlete of the Year as well."

This year, Paterson was lso the IU East representative on the River States Conference Champions of Character team during the indoor season.

"Matthew is a perfect example of a student-athlete," IU East track and field coach JW Maierle said. "He has come here and done a fantastic job both on the track and in the classroom. We here at IU East Track and Field are very proud of his accomplishments."

During the outdoor season, Paterson finished fourth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.45 seconds at the RSC Championships. He won his heat in the preliminaries the day before with a time of 11.24.

Earning a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, Paterson led the Class of 2022 at the commencement ceremony with IU East's top academic honor as the Naomi Osborne Scholar for the highest grade point average.

"When I was told I was definitely caught off guard," Paterson said of earning the Osborne Award. "It was a great honor. It reflects the hard work that I've put into my classes over the last four years."

Matthew is the son of Darren and Sue Paterson.

"I always want to do the best I can, so it's kind of nice to get recognized for the dedication and the work I put in," Paterson said. "My parents were very proud."

The biggest event of Paterson's time at IU East was the 2019 NAIA Outdoor National Championships when he was part of the 1,600-meter relay squad that set a school record time with a 3:14.83.

"The relay was definitely the highlight of competing," Paterson said. "That was really good fun and enjoyable."

Paterson has been a member of the River States All-Conference Scholar-Team several times during the indoor and outdoor seasons throughout his career.

In 2020, he earned all-conference honors by finishing third at the RSC Indoor Championships in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:27.92. He was also was sixth in the 200-meter dash with a 23.51 at the conference meet.

Original source can be found here.