Kennedy Leonard (second from left) and Wilson Belk (far right) accept their Sports Performance Awards from strength coaches Adam Ringler and Steve Englehart.
18th Annual CUSPY's Recap
May 02, 2018 | General
Smith, Jones, Johansen & Paul Among Top Award Winners
BOULDER — Several major awards were presented here Tuesday night as the University of Colorado honored its best at the 18th annual CU Sports Performers of the Year (CUSPY) Awards.
Over 400 student-athletes, coaches, staff and C-Club board members attended the year-end banquet at the Coors Events Center, organized by CU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to honor athletic accomplishments for the 2017-18 athletic year.
The Female Athlete of the Year Award once again had the strongest field of candidates, with nine solid nominations that the selection committee whittled down to four finalists. And in the end, for the fourth straight year and the fifth time in the last six, the honor was shared. Juniors Dani Jones (cross country & track) and Alexa Smith (volleyball) rose to the top in splitting the award.
Jones, who also shared the honor as a sophomore, led the Buffaloes to a third straight Pac-12 Conference cross country title, taking control of the race in the final kilometer and becoming CU's first individual league champion as a member of the Pac-12 (and the first since 2009 when Colorado was in the Big 12). She also helped the Buffs win the Mountain Regional and finish third in hotly contested race for the NCAA championship (she finished 10th individually in the latter). A first-team All-American, All-Regional and All-Pac 12 team member. She also finished second in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn All-America honors.
Smith helped lead Colorado to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years in earning second-team All-America honors as well as first-team All-Pacific South Region and All-Pac-12 accolades. Named to several all-tournament teams, including being the MVP in CU's own Omni Invitational, she led the Buffaloes in kills (484) and points (531), both of which ranked seventh in the Pac-12. In aiding Colorado's 24-10 overall record (12-8) in the Pac-12, she led the charge in defeating six ranked teams, including No. 18 Baylor on its home court to get the Buffs into NCAA regional.
Darby Kiernan (lacrosse) and J.J. Tompkins (soccer) were the other finalists.
CU's Male Athlete of the Year was also shared between skier Ola Johansen and golfer Yannik Paul. Both grew up only about 600 miles apart, except Johansen in Baerum, Norway and Paul in Viernheim, Germany; this marks the first time two international students will share any of the school's major awards since they were created in 1984-85.
Johansen enjoyed a solid winter on the slopes, as a member of CU's alpine team, he won three races and had eight podium (top three) finishes in 14 races. He earned Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Most Valuable Skier honors, and was also named the RMISA Male Alpine Skier of the Year. He was a first-team All-American in the giant slalom (finishing third at the NCAA Championships) and a second-team performer in the slalom (finished seventh); he finished in the top seven in 12 of his 14 events.
Paul leads or is tied for the team lead in 20 categories, including overall stroke average (70.19) and for the spring (69.5), both of which are on pace to set school records with the former the fifth-best mark in the Pac-12. He has seven top 20 finishes in 10 events, with four in the top five including one win in the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational and a tie for second in last week's Pac-12 Championships. With 15 rounds in the 60s, he's also fifth in the conference and that has helped him to be under par in eight of those tournaments, a school mark.
The other finalists were Phillip Lindsay (football) and McKinley Wright (basketball).
Lindsay, however, came away as the winner of the Male Career Athletic Achievement Award. Overall, he set 24 records and tied two others in his career, in which he played in all 51 of CU's games (with 30 starts), despite being largely unrecruited after tearing his ACL as a senior in high school. He became Colorado's all-time leader in all-purpose yards (5,760) and in yards from scrimmage (4,683), along with finishing as the Buffs' second all-time leading rusher (3,707 yards). He was the first player in CU history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons (just the second to have two), and with 110 receptions for 976 yards, he also set school records for the most in each by a running back; he became the 14th player to join CU's 500/500 Club (rushing and receiving yards). He is the only running back in CU history to have two 100-yard receiving games, had 11 100-yard rushing games (two over 200) and finished fourth on the scoring chart (234 points).
Lindsay emerged from a talented pool that produced three other finalists, Paul, George King (basketball) and Petter Reistad (skiing).
For the third straight year, the Female Career Athletic Achievement Award was shared between two Buffaloes, this time by seniors Petra Hyncicova (skiing) and Darby Kiernan (lacrosse).
Hyncicova was a seven-time All-American, tying for the second-most earned in CU ski team history, and was a member of the 2018 Czech Republic Olympic team that saw her compete in Seoul in February. She had 16 career podium (top three) finishes, but none more impressive than her sweep of the classical and freestyle races at the 2017 NCAA Championships, just the fourth CU skier to do and only the 15th ever in the NCAA. She was named both the USCSCA and RMISA Women's Nordic Skier of the Year for 2017, also claiming the College Female Athlete of the Year honor by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
Kiernan will conclude her CU career in the upcoming NCAA Championships having already become CU's career leader in points, goals, assists, shots on goal, draw controls and game winning goals. She has helped CU attain national recognition, especially over the last two years, just the fourth and fifth years of the program's existence. Named to the prestigious Tewaaraton Watch List the last two years (which is awarded to the top player in the nation), she likely will earn a second All-America honor this spring, as well as an All-Pac-12 and All-Region performer a second time.
The other finalists were Erin Clark (cross country & track) and Brittany Fan (golf).
Wright did capture the Male Freshman Athlete of the Year Award, as he was just the seventh player in school history to lead the Buffaloes in scoring with 14.2 points per game. He earned Pac-12 All-Freshman team honors, and was honorable mention All-Pac-12 as he set a CU single-season record for assists by a freshman with 175 (which also led all frosh in the league). He also boasted one of the best assists-to-turnover ratios (1:9-1) in the conference.
Other nominations included Eduardo Herrera (cross country and track) and James Stefanou (football).
Brynna DeLuzio of the volleyball team won the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award, as she also had an amazing rookie season in the collegiate ranks. An AVCA honorable mention All-American and a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team member, she was the conference's freshman of the week a CU record four times. She recorded 1,411 assists on the season, the second-most by a CU player in the rally scoring era, and was third in the Pac-12 and 30th in the NCAA in assists per set (11.02).
The two other finalists were Hedda Baangman (skiing) and Hannah Cardenas (soccer).
The selection committee does leave open the possibility that all of the above awards could be augmented once the spring sport seasons are complete in fairness to those sports (golf, lacrosse, outdoor track) that still have important portions of their seasons and/or NCAA events still ahead of them. Tennis has completed its season, men's and women's golf and lacrosse are in their postseasons, with outdoor track just over half done with its year.
SAAC members selected several award winners, including the staff member of the year, which went to athletic director Rick George, who also claimed the honor in 2014, and the Student Athlete Support Award, which was presented to the Sports Medicine staff.
In addition, they voted on CU's Sports' "Moment of the Year." From a tough list of choices, they selected the women's lacrosse team winning the inaugural Pac-12 regular season championship on April 21 after defeating Oregon, 19-9. Coach Ann Elliott's team won the title outright with a 9-1 mark in conference play, and at 13-5 overall, is in line to earn a second straight invitation to the NCAA tournament in what is just their fifth year of existence. That moment edged out the men's basketball team's back-to-back upsets of No. 4 Arizona State and No. 14 Arizona, the women's cross country team winning the Pac-12 Championship for the third straight year, with Dani Jones winning the individual title with a great finish, and the women's volleyball team advancing to the Sweet 16 after a three-set win at No. 18 Baylor.
The SAAC Distinguished Service Award, presented to senior members who contributed significantly to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during their CU careers, was awarded to nine student-athletes: Ian Boucher (skiing), Zoe Correal and Brecca Thomas (basketball), Jeannez Daniel (tennis), Brittany Fan (golf), Christian Martin and Lucy May (cross country), Rajon O'Quinn (track and field) and Stephanie Shadley (volleyball).
The Spencer Nelson Buffalo Spirit Award, formerly the Athlete's Choice Award and renamed for the CU skier who died in a tragic hiking accident in August 2010, was presented to women's lacrosse team. On January 13, the team lost senior attacker Julia Sarcona, who passed away in a car accident just went of Boulder; she was 21. The team rallied in dedicating the season to her, which was less than a month away when Sarcona died. The other nominee was freshman basketball player Evan Battey, who had to sit out the year due to an NCAA ruling on his eligibility (a CU appeal was denied), and then in December, he suffered a stroke that from which he is still rehabilitating.
The Sports Performance Awards for strength and conditioning accomplishments were presented to Wilson Belk (golf) and Kennedy Leonard (basketball).
The Ceal Barry Leadership Awards were presented for the first time at the CUSPY's; previously they were a part of the Academic Recognition Breakfast. These are awarded to those student-athletes who most effectively inspire their team, the CU campus and the community in general through their exemplary commitment, their composure in the way they represent themselves and in the integrity of their actions. The recipients were Hyncicova, O'Quinn, Tompkins, junior Jay MacIntyre (football) and senior Josh Repine (basketball).
Originally created in 2001, the annual event remains one of the most popular among the athletes, as they have tailored the function to be the final social gathering solely amongst themselves for the last time before finals and summer vacation, if not for a longer period of time for those graduating. It is believed to be one of the only events in the country almost entirely organized by the student-athletes, and certainly was among, if not, the first.
Note: The highest award a graduating senior can receive from the Pac-12 Conference is the Tom Hansen Medal, named for the league's longtime commissioner, and is based on the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership. Each school selects a male and female recipient, and these will be awarded later this month.
CU's SAAC would like to recognize and sincerely thank the food and beverage sponsors for the 18th Annual CUSPY's; all items were donated:
Bender's Bar & Grill
California Pizza Kitchen
Chick-fil-A
Cosmos Pizza
Event Rents
Fate Brewing Company
Half Fast Subs
Hapa Sushi
K-M/Service Systems Associates
Pasta Jay's
Pepsi
Protein Bar
Safeway
Zoe's Kitchen
Over 400 student-athletes, coaches, staff and C-Club board members attended the year-end banquet at the Coors Events Center, organized by CU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to honor athletic accomplishments for the 2017-18 athletic year.
The Female Athlete of the Year Award once again had the strongest field of candidates, with nine solid nominations that the selection committee whittled down to four finalists. And in the end, for the fourth straight year and the fifth time in the last six, the honor was shared. Juniors Dani Jones (cross country & track) and Alexa Smith (volleyball) rose to the top in splitting the award.
Jones, who also shared the honor as a sophomore, led the Buffaloes to a third straight Pac-12 Conference cross country title, taking control of the race in the final kilometer and becoming CU's first individual league champion as a member of the Pac-12 (and the first since 2009 when Colorado was in the Big 12). She also helped the Buffs win the Mountain Regional and finish third in hotly contested race for the NCAA championship (she finished 10th individually in the latter). A first-team All-American, All-Regional and All-Pac 12 team member. She also finished second in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn All-America honors.
Smith helped lead Colorado to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years in earning second-team All-America honors as well as first-team All-Pacific South Region and All-Pac-12 accolades. Named to several all-tournament teams, including being the MVP in CU's own Omni Invitational, she led the Buffaloes in kills (484) and points (531), both of which ranked seventh in the Pac-12. In aiding Colorado's 24-10 overall record (12-8) in the Pac-12, she led the charge in defeating six ranked teams, including No. 18 Baylor on its home court to get the Buffs into NCAA regional.
Darby Kiernan (lacrosse) and J.J. Tompkins (soccer) were the other finalists.
CU's Male Athlete of the Year was also shared between skier Ola Johansen and golfer Yannik Paul. Both grew up only about 600 miles apart, except Johansen in Baerum, Norway and Paul in Viernheim, Germany; this marks the first time two international students will share any of the school's major awards since they were created in 1984-85.
Johansen enjoyed a solid winter on the slopes, as a member of CU's alpine team, he won three races and had eight podium (top three) finishes in 14 races. He earned Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Most Valuable Skier honors, and was also named the RMISA Male Alpine Skier of the Year. He was a first-team All-American in the giant slalom (finishing third at the NCAA Championships) and a second-team performer in the slalom (finished seventh); he finished in the top seven in 12 of his 14 events.
Paul leads or is tied for the team lead in 20 categories, including overall stroke average (70.19) and for the spring (69.5), both of which are on pace to set school records with the former the fifth-best mark in the Pac-12. He has seven top 20 finishes in 10 events, with four in the top five including one win in the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational and a tie for second in last week's Pac-12 Championships. With 15 rounds in the 60s, he's also fifth in the conference and that has helped him to be under par in eight of those tournaments, a school mark.
The other finalists were Phillip Lindsay (football) and McKinley Wright (basketball).
Lindsay, however, came away as the winner of the Male Career Athletic Achievement Award. Overall, he set 24 records and tied two others in his career, in which he played in all 51 of CU's games (with 30 starts), despite being largely unrecruited after tearing his ACL as a senior in high school. He became Colorado's all-time leader in all-purpose yards (5,760) and in yards from scrimmage (4,683), along with finishing as the Buffs' second all-time leading rusher (3,707 yards). He was the first player in CU history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons (just the second to have two), and with 110 receptions for 976 yards, he also set school records for the most in each by a running back; he became the 14th player to join CU's 500/500 Club (rushing and receiving yards). He is the only running back in CU history to have two 100-yard receiving games, had 11 100-yard rushing games (two over 200) and finished fourth on the scoring chart (234 points).
Lindsay emerged from a talented pool that produced three other finalists, Paul, George King (basketball) and Petter Reistad (skiing).
For the third straight year, the Female Career Athletic Achievement Award was shared between two Buffaloes, this time by seniors Petra Hyncicova (skiing) and Darby Kiernan (lacrosse).
Hyncicova was a seven-time All-American, tying for the second-most earned in CU ski team history, and was a member of the 2018 Czech Republic Olympic team that saw her compete in Seoul in February. She had 16 career podium (top three) finishes, but none more impressive than her sweep of the classical and freestyle races at the 2017 NCAA Championships, just the fourth CU skier to do and only the 15th ever in the NCAA. She was named both the USCSCA and RMISA Women's Nordic Skier of the Year for 2017, also claiming the College Female Athlete of the Year honor by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.
Kiernan will conclude her CU career in the upcoming NCAA Championships having already become CU's career leader in points, goals, assists, shots on goal, draw controls and game winning goals. She has helped CU attain national recognition, especially over the last two years, just the fourth and fifth years of the program's existence. Named to the prestigious Tewaaraton Watch List the last two years (which is awarded to the top player in the nation), she likely will earn a second All-America honor this spring, as well as an All-Pac-12 and All-Region performer a second time.
The other finalists were Erin Clark (cross country & track) and Brittany Fan (golf).
Wright did capture the Male Freshman Athlete of the Year Award, as he was just the seventh player in school history to lead the Buffaloes in scoring with 14.2 points per game. He earned Pac-12 All-Freshman team honors, and was honorable mention All-Pac-12 as he set a CU single-season record for assists by a freshman with 175 (which also led all frosh in the league). He also boasted one of the best assists-to-turnover ratios (1:9-1) in the conference.
Other nominations included Eduardo Herrera (cross country and track) and James Stefanou (football).
Brynna DeLuzio of the volleyball team won the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award, as she also had an amazing rookie season in the collegiate ranks. An AVCA honorable mention All-American and a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team member, she was the conference's freshman of the week a CU record four times. She recorded 1,411 assists on the season, the second-most by a CU player in the rally scoring era, and was third in the Pac-12 and 30th in the NCAA in assists per set (11.02).
The two other finalists were Hedda Baangman (skiing) and Hannah Cardenas (soccer).
The selection committee does leave open the possibility that all of the above awards could be augmented once the spring sport seasons are complete in fairness to those sports (golf, lacrosse, outdoor track) that still have important portions of their seasons and/or NCAA events still ahead of them. Tennis has completed its season, men's and women's golf and lacrosse are in their postseasons, with outdoor track just over half done with its year.
SAAC members selected several award winners, including the staff member of the year, which went to athletic director Rick George, who also claimed the honor in 2014, and the Student Athlete Support Award, which was presented to the Sports Medicine staff.
In addition, they voted on CU's Sports' "Moment of the Year." From a tough list of choices, they selected the women's lacrosse team winning the inaugural Pac-12 regular season championship on April 21 after defeating Oregon, 19-9. Coach Ann Elliott's team won the title outright with a 9-1 mark in conference play, and at 13-5 overall, is in line to earn a second straight invitation to the NCAA tournament in what is just their fifth year of existence. That moment edged out the men's basketball team's back-to-back upsets of No. 4 Arizona State and No. 14 Arizona, the women's cross country team winning the Pac-12 Championship for the third straight year, with Dani Jones winning the individual title with a great finish, and the women's volleyball team advancing to the Sweet 16 after a three-set win at No. 18 Baylor.
The SAAC Distinguished Service Award, presented to senior members who contributed significantly to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during their CU careers, was awarded to nine student-athletes: Ian Boucher (skiing), Zoe Correal and Brecca Thomas (basketball), Jeannez Daniel (tennis), Brittany Fan (golf), Christian Martin and Lucy May (cross country), Rajon O'Quinn (track and field) and Stephanie Shadley (volleyball).
The Spencer Nelson Buffalo Spirit Award, formerly the Athlete's Choice Award and renamed for the CU skier who died in a tragic hiking accident in August 2010, was presented to women's lacrosse team. On January 13, the team lost senior attacker Julia Sarcona, who passed away in a car accident just went of Boulder; she was 21. The team rallied in dedicating the season to her, which was less than a month away when Sarcona died. The other nominee was freshman basketball player Evan Battey, who had to sit out the year due to an NCAA ruling on his eligibility (a CU appeal was denied), and then in December, he suffered a stroke that from which he is still rehabilitating.
The Sports Performance Awards for strength and conditioning accomplishments were presented to Wilson Belk (golf) and Kennedy Leonard (basketball).
The Ceal Barry Leadership Awards were presented for the first time at the CUSPY's; previously they were a part of the Academic Recognition Breakfast. These are awarded to those student-athletes who most effectively inspire their team, the CU campus and the community in general through their exemplary commitment, their composure in the way they represent themselves and in the integrity of their actions. The recipients were Hyncicova, O'Quinn, Tompkins, junior Jay MacIntyre (football) and senior Josh Repine (basketball).
Originally created in 2001, the annual event remains one of the most popular among the athletes, as they have tailored the function to be the final social gathering solely amongst themselves for the last time before finals and summer vacation, if not for a longer period of time for those graduating. It is believed to be one of the only events in the country almost entirely organized by the student-athletes, and certainly was among, if not, the first.
Note: The highest award a graduating senior can receive from the Pac-12 Conference is the Tom Hansen Medal, named for the league's longtime commissioner, and is based on the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership. Each school selects a male and female recipient, and these will be awarded later this month.
CU's SAAC would like to recognize and sincerely thank the food and beverage sponsors for the 18th Annual CUSPY's; all items were donated:
Bender's Bar & Grill
California Pizza Kitchen
Chick-fil-A
Cosmos Pizza
Event Rents
Fate Brewing Company
Half Fast Subs
Hapa Sushi
K-M/Service Systems Associates
Pasta Jay's
Pepsi
Protein Bar
Safeway
Zoe's Kitchen
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