The 5-foot-8, 115-pound freshman won the Class AA, Division II state meet this past season with a time of 15:29.09, breaking the tape 24.28 seconds ahead of his next-closest competitor and leading the Fighting Irish to a fifth-place finish as a team. Smith set a national freshman record with his second-place finish in 14:53.79 at the 5K Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Ala., and he was the only freshman boy in the country to qualify for the national Eastbay Cross Country Championships, where he finished 35th. Prior to high school, he won 21 national championships in outdoor and indoor settings in association with the AAU, the Junior Olympics and the Track and Field Coalition of the United States. He still holds five age-specific national records.
Smith has maintained an A average in the classroom. He will begin his sophomore year of high school this fall.
A member of the Knoxville Catholic High student council, Smith has volunteered locally on behalf of the Knoxville Bridge Ministry and at the Columbus Home Children’s Shelter and Assessment Center. He has also donated his time as part of multiple community service initiatives through his school’s Rotary International Interact Club, which conducts “service above self” initiatives to benefit the community.