University of Tulsa senior cross country and track & field student-athlete Kirk Smith has been awarded a 2017 Rhodes Scholarship, making him one of only 32 recipients in the nation. Smith is TU's first Rhodes Scholar since 1988, when another TU track & field student-athlete, Peter Bednekoff, was awarded the same prestigious honor.
While his team was finishing in 11th place at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last Saturday, Smith was in the midst of two days of interviews for the Rhodes Scholar award. Smith is a captain on the Tulsa cross-country team and in track & field runs the steeplechase, 5,000-meters and 10,000m for the Golden Hurricane.