SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Logan Renwick always considered himself a triple jumper.

He had excelled in the event at Butler High, placing third at the PIAA Track and Field Championship as a senior.

He was recruited by the University of Notre Dame as a decathlete, but quickly settled back to his roots in the triple jump.

Something funny happened to Renwick this spring as a junior, however.

The triple jumper became a long jumper.

“I put together some personal records (in the long jump) and every meet I just kept jumping farther and farther,” Renwick said. “To be honest, I didn't really expect to do so well in that event.”

But Renwick did, culminating in a third-place finish in the event with a mark of 7.62 meters in the Big East Outdoor Championships.

That earned Renwick a spot in the NCAA East Preliminary meet and also helped him grab a spot as a Capital One Academic All-American.

Renwick carries a 3.89 GPA as a mechanical engineer major at Notre Dame.

“It's been a really big goal of mine to make Academic All-American,” Renwick said. “I was really hoping it would happen this year after not making it last year.

“It gives me the feeling that all the hard work is paying off,” he said. “It's difficult to be an athlete and a student, and I'm not taking the easiest path being an engineering major. I'm just humbled.”

Renwick was one of eight student-athletes at Notre Dame to receive an All-American honor during the 2012-13 school year.

Renwick is determined to improve in his jumps this offseason.

It's not easy, since both are physically demanding. Both also require a lot of practice time, which is often a challenge for Renwick to juggle with his academic demands.

“I'm working especially hard this summer, staying in shape,” Renwick said. “The pounding you put on your body is extreme. By the end of the season, I'm pretty banged up.”

Renwick made huge strides in the long jump this season because, well, he took more strides.

Renwick moved his approach farther back to give him more speed when he reached the board. That resulted in longer jumps almost immediately.

He hit his best jump in the Big East meet.

“Everything came together,” Renwick said. “The weather was great. My body felt great.”

While the triple and long jumps seem to be quite similar, Renwick said they are anything but.

“The long jump is all about speed and power,” Renwick said. “You can get away with more. The triple jump is all about technique and it's more physically demanding. The triple jump is so much more about timing.”

Renwick, though, loves them both. And now with his emergence in the long jump, he has twice the opportunity to reach the national meet as a senior.

“It's been a blessing,” he said.

So has been his decision to attend Notre Dame.

At first, Renwick was going to go to Penn State University, but he took a college visit to South Bend and was hooked.

“It's almost depressing that I'll be a senior,” Renwick said. “I feel like I have just gotten to Notre Dame. It's a special place. It's hard to put it into words. I think it's the people and the feeling of family you get when you are here. There's such a tradition. That's what swayed me in coming here to begin with and I am so happy I did.”