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2008-09 – Kirk Smith did little to disappoint throughout his sophomore campaign at Boise State. He brought home his first Pac-10 Conference title after putting together a 4-0 record at the Pac-10 tournament, which also earned him a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships. Seeded No. 4, Smith rolled through his first two matches at nationals, beating Iowa State's Jerome Ward, 3-1, to open the tournament. In the second round Smith beat Vincenzo DiDona of Central Michigan, 4-0. His run at two consecutive All-American honors would fall short, however, as Smith would lose his next two matches and bow out of the tournament. His first loss came against No. 12 seed Vince Jones of Nebraska, 2-1, and his final loss was at the hands of No. 6 seed Joshua Patterson (Binghamton), 6-3. Smith earned his spot at NCAAs after a dominating run through Pac-10 competition. He opened the conference tournament by defeating Portland State’s Brady Garner with a 20-4 technical fall and Tim Hawkins of Cal State Fullerton in a 9-1 major decision. His final two matches wouldn’t come quite as easily, but he did manage to hold of Jake Johnson of Stanford 2-1 in the semifinals and Riley Orozco of Cal State Bakersfield 2-1 in the championship match. Smith finished the season with an overall record of 38-3, 19-1 in duals. He led Boise State in overall wins (38), winning percentage (.927) and dual wins (19). His only loss of the regular season came in a 3-2 decision to Ohio State’s Mike Pucillo at the National Duals. Pucillo finished the regular season ranked No. 3 nationally, according to USA Today/InterMat/NWCA. Smith started 19 of Boise State’s 20 duals at 184-pounds, while also starting one dual at 197-pounds early in the season. He finished the regular season ranked No. 4 nationally (USA Today/InterMat/NWCA). Smith started the season ranked No. 5. He recorded 14 major decisions, four pins and one technical fall throughout the season. Smith won all three tournaments he competed in during the regular season, which were the Cowboy Open, the Body Bar and the Las Vegas Invitational.
2007-08 – Smith enjoyed one of the most successful seasons of anyone on the Boise State wrestling team, finishing with a 28-6 overall record, a Pac-10 tournament runner-up finish, and an eighth-place finish at the NCAA tournament to earn All-American honors. Smith, tore through regular season competition, winning 10 consecutive duals prior to losing to Phillip Keddy of Iowa, 3-2, in the Broncos final dual of the season. Smith entered the Pac-10 tournament with a No. 1 seeding. He cruised through his first match against John Clark of UC Davis, 14-2. In the second round Smith defeated Zack Giesen of Stanford, 10-1. In the championship match Smith wrestled hard but fell short of completing his title run with a 10-7 loss to No. 3 Brent Chriswell of Arizona State. Smith rebounded from the Pac-10 title defeat with a 4-3 record at the NCAA tournament and an eighth-place finish. In the first round Smith, ranked No. 10, defeated Air Force’s Jacob Deylin, 11-3. In a second-round rematch with Keddy, Smith failed to avenge his regular season loss, falling in a 2-1 decision. Smith bounced back in the wrestleback bracket with three consecutive wins to advance to the seventh-place match. There, Smith faced No. 12 Jack Jensen of Oklahoma State, where he fell short in a 3-2 decision, earning his eighth-place finish. On the season, Smith led the Broncos with the highest win percentage (.824). He was also second on the team in total wins (28) and second in most dual points scored (41). Smith wrestled in three regular season tournaments. He earned a first-place finish at the Cowboy Open, a second-place finish at the Kaufman/Brand tournament and a first-place finish at the Southern Scuffle.
Freestyle – (2009) For the second consecutive summer, Smith enjoyed a great deal of success at the FILA Junior World Team Trials, where he wrestled to the championship match round of the 84 kg/185-pound weight class. After starting the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record in Challenge Bracket competition, Smith would meet Chris Perry in a best-of-three match final. Smith would be unable to defend his title, however, losing the first match by injury forfeit. He would be unable to compete in the second match as well, ending his tournament run. (2008) Along with an outstanding first collegiate season wrestling, Smith also excelled at the junior national and international level. Smith won the freestyle title in the 184-pound (84 kg) division at the FILA Junior & University Team Trails, earning him a spot on the USA Wrestling Junior National Team in 2008. Smith went on to win the gold medal at the Pan American Junior Freestyle Championships held in Ecuador, while placing fifth in the Greco-Roman competition. Smith was scheduled to represent the United States at the World Junior Championships in Turkey, but a wrist injury prevented him from competing.
High School – Smith was one of the top high school wrestlers in the country as a senior at Centennial High School. The nation’s top ranked high school wrestler at 171 pounds, Smith earned 15 All-America honors during his prep career. Included in those awards were four national championships. Four times Smith was a finalist in his respective weight class at the Idaho state high school championships, winning the state title twice. Smith was the gold medal winner in Freestyle at the FILA Junior National Championships. He was also named to the national high school Dream Team for wrestling his senior season. Along with earning four varsity letters in wrestling, Smith also graduated with a 3.80 grade point average. His brothers Nick and Erik are former wrestlers at Boise State. His high school coach was Collin Robertson, who won the Pac-10 Champion at 149 pounds in 2002.
Major - Exercise Science
2009 Pac-10 Champion - 184 Pounds
2008 NCAA All-American - 184 Pounds
2008 & 2009 NCAA National Qualifier - 184 Pounds
Kirk Smith’s Career Bronco Record
2007-08: 28-6 (82.4%)
2008-09: 38-3 (92.7%)
Career Totals: 66-9 (88.0%)
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