Hurley, a senior from St. Phillip's, Newfoundland, was one of 58 winter athletes from across the country to win a scholarship, which is worth $5,000. An Academic All-Midwest Conference selection, Hurley is a psychology and neuroscience major at Lawrence.
Hurley, who has a 3.7 grade point average, plans on pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology. Before heading to graduate school, Hurley plans on serving in the National Civilian Community Corps, a division of AmeriCorps.
In addition to being a stellar student, Hurley is also one of the finest swimmers in the Midwest Conference. During his career with the Vikings, Hurley won 12 individual conference titles and never lost an individual race in which he competed at the league championships.
Hurley, who led Lawrence to the 2000 Midwest Conference title, was named the conference's Male Swimmer of the Year each of the last three years.
Hurley capped his career with the Vikings by winning three titles at the 2002 MWC Championships, held in Lawrence's Boldt Natatorium. He dominated the 200-yard butterfly, winning in 1 minute, 58.77 seconds, nearly five seconds better than second place. Hurley set a conference record in the preliminaries of the 400 individual medley (4:10.44), then blew away the field in the finals to win with a time of 4:11.49. He started the meet by setting a pool record on his way to winning the 500 freestyle in 4:42.88.
To qualify for an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must have an overall grade-point average of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent and must have performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which the student-athlete was nominated. The student-athlete must have behaved, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete also must intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a full-time or part-time graduate student.