Adam Birnbaum, Nathaniel Heagney, and Ben Weinrib will enter the freshman class at Vanderbilt University as the 2012 co-recipients of the 54th Fred Russell-Grantland Rice TRA Scholarship for sports writing, it was announced by the Thoroughbred Racing Associations.

Birnbaum, a graduate of Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Fla., Heagney, a graduate of St. Louis University High School in St. Louis, and Weinrib, a graduate of Providence Day School in Charlotte, N.C., were selected from a near record 179 applicants for this year’s scholarship in the amount of $20,000 per year for four years each at Vanderbilt.

Named in honor of legendary Vanderbilt sports writing alumni Russell and Rice, the scholarship has an record of producing prominent and successful writers and television personalities. Recipients include Chuck Manson (in 1984) and Daniel Wolken (1997), both of whom worked for The Blood-Horse.

The scholarship winners, selected by a panel chaired by Oaklawn Park president Charles J. Cella, have distinguished themselves not just in sports writing and broadcasting, but in other fields as well.

 Year Recipient

1956 Charles D. Nord

1957 Thomas E. Templin

1958 Larry G. Daughtrey

1959 Roy Blount Jr.

1960 Saxon Kim Chapin

1961 Thomas D. Quinn

1962 Robert E. Theil

1963 Richard S. Osborne

1964 Leonard Goldstein

1965 Michael Kiernan

1966 William Livingston

1967 Barry M. Morris

1968 Dennis P. McAuliffe

1969 David R. Rapp

1970 Skip Bayless

1971 John I. Bloom

1972 Irving Muchnik

1973 Kevin E. Cuneo

1974 Kevin McDonald

1975 David Brooks

1976 Michael L. Jackson

1977 Edward O. Wilson

1978 Charles C. Euchner

1979 Kenneth C. Ray

1980 Zachary V. Wenger

1980 Andrew Byer

1981 Charles R. Bush

1982 Mike Cornwell

1983 Tena Bozicevic Herlihy

1984 Thomas J. Wilson

1984 Chuck Manson

1985 Paul J. Richman

1986 Michael Holmes

1987 David Sheinin

1988 Andrew Maraniss

1989 Mitchell Light

1990 Clay Hensley

1991 Matthew O’Keefe

1992 Andrew M. Derr

1993 Tyler Kepner

1994 Allan L. Owen

1995 Lee Jenkins

1996 Not Awarded

1997 Daniel J. Wolken

1998 Samuel H. Heide

1999 Jeffrey D. Lowe

2000 Matthew James Meenan

2001 Robert Craig Murray III

2002 Byron Patrick Dubow

2003 Matthew Collins McDavid

2004 Christopher F. Callaway

2005 Not Awarded

2006 Not Awarded

2007 David A. Namm

2008 Meghan Rose

2009 Eric Single

2010 Jack Kuhlenschmidt

2010 Jackson Martin

2011 Matthew Citak

2011 Anthony Tripodoro

2012 Adam Birnbaum

2012 Nathaniel Heagney

2012 Benjamin Weinrib