Colorado University Athletics
Gelso, Higgins and Smith Earn Athlete of the Week Honors
March 04, 2010 | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Skiing
Gelso, a native of Truckee, Calif. (Truckee), pulled off the double when he captured both the 10-kilometer classical and 20-kilometer freestyle at the RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regional. It was Gelso's fourth straight victory, second straight sweep (having also done so at Nevada the previous week) and the sixth win of his career, four coming in freestyle competitions and all 20k in length. He is now tied for the top Nordic skier in the west with New Mexico's Martin Kaas, but he loses the tiebreaker. Gelso's four consecutive wins are the most by a CU male, alpine or Nordic, since Ove Erik Tronvoll opened the 1999 season with five straight wins in cross country to set the school record for the four current disciplines (slalom, GS, classic, freestyle); Vidar Nilsgard won seven straight in 1973 in jumping (now defunct) for the all-time men's mark, while Line Selnes holds the women's and overall mark of eight straight wins in Nordic competition, which she accomplished in 1998.
Higgins a native of Danville, Calif. (The Pendleton School [Bradenton, Fla.]), averaged 27.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and made 72.4 percent if his shots from the field in Colorado are 1-1 week. Higgins scored a game-high 33 points, his fourth career 30-point effort on 12-for-15 shooting. He also grabbed a team-best six rebounds and handed out four assists in the Buffaloes 75-72 home win over Iowa State. Higgins also went six-for-six from the free throw line. Earlier in the week, Higgins scored a game-high 21 points in a 92-63 road loss at Missouri. In that game, he went 9-for-14 from the field. The 54 points over two games moves Higgins into 12th place on the CU scoring list. He's 42 points from the school's top 10.
Smith, a Missouri City, Texas (Bellaire) native, tied a career high with 26 points and set career bests for field goals made and attempted (9-of-20) and 3-pointers attempted (15) in an 80-79 overtime win at Missouri. Smith hit six 3-point field goals in a game for the fourth time this season. She followed that up with 22 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists in a 61-95 loss to Texas A&M. During that game she became CU's all-time leader in 3-point field goal, hitting 4-of-12 from downtown, as she passes CU All-American Shelley Sheetz who had 252 from 1991-95. Smith now has 255. Smith's four 3-pointers gave her 80 on the season, matching her own school single season record set in 2007-08.
Others nominated for this week's award were: Aldo Vega (men's track), Carolina Nordh (women's skiing) and Emma Coburn (women's track).
Men's Track: Aldo Vega, Senior, Queretaro, Mexico
Vega recorded the only point for the CU men at the 2010 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships with an eighth-place finish on Friday night in the 5k. Vega finished the race in 14 minutes, 18.05 seconds. He just missed scoring in the 3k as he took ninth overall (8:15.35).
Women's Skiing: Carolina Nordh, Junior, Sundbyberg, Sweden
Nordh finished third in the slalom and fifth in the giant slalom at the RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regional in Steamboat. They were her best and third best races of the winter as she appears to be peaking at the right time ahead of the NCAA Championships.
Women's Track: Emma Coburn, Sophomore, Crested Butte, Colo.
Coburn played a part in scoring seven points for the Buffs as she took sixth in the mile and helped the distance medley relay to a fifth-place finish. Coburn recorded the 14th best time in the mile at CU (ninth fastest performer) after recording a personal record of 4:43.87. She ran her old PR of 4:48.05 the previous night in the prelims where she placed fifth overall. Coburn also ran the final leg (the mile) in the DMR. The relay, which consisted of Katie Cumming, Brianne Beemer, Elizabeth Tremblay and Coburn, ran the fourth fastest time in CU history with a time of 11:34.32. The relay was in eighth place for the majority of the race but Coburn ran down Missouri's Bailey Belvis in the final 200 meters to move from sixth to fifth.
