Colorado University Athletics
CU Athletics Honors Its Academic Best
April 14, 2008 | General, Herbst Academic Center
BOULDER - Over three dozen University of Colorado student-athletes, including nine with perfect 4.00 grade point averages last year, were honored for a variety of outstanding academic accomplishments Monday at the 16th Annual Student-Athlete Recognition Luncheon.
Over 200 people attended the event, held in the Byron White Club Lounge of the CU's east stadium addition.
The Clancy A. Herbst, Jr., Student-Athlete Achievement Award was presented to football sophomore Marquez Herrod. Given to athletes who overcome personal, academic or emotional difficulties to succeed both academically and athletically, Herrod, a psychology major, had a very challenging childhood which at one point had him placed in foster homes.
Two Big 12 Conference Community Outreach Awards, for strong commitment to service within the community, were presented to Greg Castro (cross country and track) and Susie Powers (basketball). The two Big 12 Conference Medal Awards, for those who have completed their eligibility with an outstanding record of athletics and scholarship, were earned by Brent Vaughn (cross country and track) and Lucie Zikova (skiing). Both earned first-team All-America honors seven times in their careers.
Five students were presented with the Scholar-Athlete Award, as the recipients include a member of the sophomore class and male and female members from the junior and senior classes who have accumulated the highest cumulative grade point average in their respective class (and are awarded by academic year, not eligibility class). The winners were:
- Amber Smith, Sr., Cross Country & Track (3.915 GPA, English & Studio Arts double major and a minor in French)
- Chase Dukes, Sr., Track & Field (3.625 GPA, Integrated Physiology)
- Rachel Gioscia, Sr., Track & Field (3.909 GPA, Integrated Physiology and a minor in Italian)
- Ben Ryan, Jr., Cross Country & Track (3.892 GPA, Integrated Physiology)
- Emily Hanenburg, Soph., Cross Country & Track (3.930 GPA, Studio Arts & Spanish double major)
Academic team winners for grade point average were the women's cross country team for a sport with its championship in the fall semester (3.365) for the second straight year and the women's ski team for those who contend in the spring semester (3.431) for a third straight year. The women's cross country team also won the most improved honor for a team, as its aggregate GPA rose .199 (to 3.365) over the last two semesters.
In 2007, nine student-athletes studied to perfection, as in 4.00 grade point averages for at least one semester if not the full year, and were inducted into CU's 4.0 club; membership now stands at 173 members since 1994. Those honored were Gioscia, Hanenburg, Ryan, Zikova, Jamie Befort (women's golf), Daniel Kenney (cross country & track), Dusty Sprague (football), Kristin Taylor (skiing) and Lydia Van Vleet (cross country & track).
Out of 325 student-athletes, 190 attained a 3.0 grade point either cumulatively or for the spring and/or fall semesters through 2007. That is an impressive number when realized that CU's curriculum is one of the toughest in Division I athletics; several peer schools award grades and credit for things such as sport participation and weight-training, but that is not the case at Colorado.
Patrick Williams, a senior-to-be wide receiver on the football team, and Lindsay Senger, a senior on the women's golf team, won the Barb and Lane Earnest Most Improved Student-Athlete Awards (one presented to an underclassman, the other to a senior).
There were three recipients of the Buffalo Leadership and Initiative Awards, given to the freshman, sophomore and junior student-athletes who have exhibited outstanding initiative and demonstrates a strong commitment to service to the CU and Boulder communities. Those winners were Maurice Cantrell (junior, football), Nikki Marshall (sophomore, soccer) and Steven Seguin (freshman, cross country and track).
The Student Support Services Academic Award was presented to Gioscia, the first student-athlete to ever win the award as she also works long hours as a student tutor. This award is presented to a student worker who maintains a 3.0 grade point while demonstrating strong commitment and leadership to CU athletics. As stated above, Gioscia boasts a more-than-impressive 3.909 grade point.
Closing comments were made by senior tennis player Gleisy Torres-Torres, as she delivered comments on behalf of all the graduating seniors. While giving thanks to all the support personnel in athletics, she also noted that, "Ultimately, it is on us (the student-athletes) to manage our time and to balance our commitment to school and our commitment to our sport. It is up to us to take responsibility for our education, to go to class, take notes and take our tests."
She closed with:
"And for (those of) us who are graduating this May, congratulations for this accomplishment that will last a lifetime; we have done it. You have your brains in your head, you have your feet in your shoes, you can steer your direction any way you choose, and you are on your own. You know what you know, you are the person who'll decide where to go now. Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, other make it happen. We made it happen! When we leave here we will not forget why we came, and as our song says, ?Shoulder to Shoulder,' we will always 'Fight, fight, fight.'"
