Colorado University Athletics
Academic Stars Honored
April 15, 2005 | General, Herbst Academic Center
BOULDER - Over three dozen University of Colorado student-athletes, including ten with perfect 4.00 grade point averages last year, were honored for a variety of outstanding academic accomplishments this week at the 13th Annual Student-Athlete Recognition Luncheon.
Over 200 people attended the event, held Tuesday in the Byron White Club Lounge of the CU's east stadium addition.
There were two recipients of the Leo Hill Academic Leadership Award, with the winning student-athletes selected demonstrating leadership in the community while also achieving a high level of academic success in the classroom. Liza Negriff, a triple jumper on the track & field team, was presented with the first award, as she will have earned three bachelor's degrees in International Affairs (with honors), Spanish for the Professions and Economics while carrying a grade point average in excess of 3.72. Fritz Ernemann collected the second honor, as the political science major and four-year member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll lettered four years on the CU ski team.
The Scholar-Athlete Award winners, presented to the senior male and female student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade point averages, were Ellen Falender (soccer) and Jon Severy (men's cross country & track). Falender owns a 3.878 GPA in Business (finance), while Severy boasts a 3.756 mark in Philosophy. Both are on the schedule to graduate next month.
Academic team winners for grade point average included the men's cross country team for a team with 20 or fewer members (3.174) and the men's track & field team (2.989, more than 20 participants). The men's golf team won the most improved honor for a team, as its aggregate GPA rose .24 over the last two semesters.
In 2004, ten student-athletes studied to perfection, as in 4.00 grade point averages, and were inducted into CU's 4.0 club; membership now stands at 136 members since 1994. Those honored were Falender, Ben Carpenter (football), Eric Heinonen (cross country & track), Daniel Kenney (cross country & track), Gus Lundin (track & Field), Jackie McFarland (women's basketball), Tera Moody (cross country & track), Samuel Napp (track & Field), Amber Smith (cross country & track) and Derek Stemrich (football). Chase Mullen, a senior thrower on the indoor and outdoor track teams from Lyons, won the Most Improved Student-Athlete Award.
There were three recipients of the Buffalo Leadership and Initiative Awards, given to student-athletes who have exhibited outstanding leadership skills for CU and in the community. Those winners included junior Billy Boidock (men's basketball, 3.74 GPA in mechanical engineering); sophomore Brian Daniels (football, 3.50 GPA in finance); and sophomore Cortney Hutmacher (track and field, 3.50 GPA in integrated physiology).
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Distinguished Service Award was presented to four dedicated seniors who served multiple years on the board: Ernemann, Veronica-Johns Richardson (basketball), Sara Slattery (cross country and track) and Jen Thais (soccer).
Two Big 12 Conference Community Outreach Awards, for strong commitment to service within the community, were presented to Jack DePaolo (tennis) and Joey Stetser (women's golf).
The Clancy A. Herbst, Jr., Student-Athlete Achievement Award was presented to both skier Jana Rehemaa and football player Thaddaeus Washington. Given to athletes who overcome personal, academic or emotional difficulties to succeed both academically and athletically, Rehemaa, a junior, has had to overcome an eligibility rule to ski one more season by passing 52 hours in a single calendar year, and Washington, also a junior, had to overcome the murder of his older brother, Andrew, while adjusting to a dramatic change in culture from his native New Orleans.
The Student Support Services Academic Award was presented to seniors Travis Macy and Brian McConnell, both who worked extensively in the Herbst Academic Center. Those eligible must maintain a 3.0-plus grade point, while demonstrating a strong commitment to Colorado athletics. Macy started out as a study hall monitor before tutoring student-athletes in several subjects, while McConnell worked in the computer lab and as an eligibility assistant for three-and-a-half years.
