Colorado University Athletics
Hajkova, Pletcher Earn CU Athlete of the Week Honors
March 16, 2011 | General, Skiing
BOULDER - CU skiers Reid Pletcher (junior) and Eliska Hajkova (junior) both receive the honor of being named CU Athlete of the Week for their performances during the week of March 7-13. Both athletes are part of the University of Colorado ski team that won the national title at the 58th Annual NCAA Skiing Championships this past weekend in Stowe, Vt.
Pletcher, a native of Sun Valley, Idaho (Wood River/Sun Valley Ski Team), won the individual NCAA Championship in the 20K classical race at the Trapp Family Lodge, helping the Buffs to their 18th national championship. The 5-foot-7 junior became just the third skier in CU history to win the classical NCAA Championship, joining Ove Erik Tronvoll (1999) and Matt Gelso (2010). Along with Gelso, he is one of three American-born skiers to win the NCAA Classical race and just one of the six American-born skiers to win any NCAA Nordic championship.
Hajkova, a native of Jablonec, Czech Republic (Gymnasium Vseobecne/Masaryko), won the individual NCAA Championship in the 15K classical race last weekend, helping the Buffs become NCAA Champions for the 18th time in the school's history. Hajkova became the sixth CU skier to win the classical NCAA Championship. The 5-foot-5 junior won the third race of the season and finished second in the 5K freestyle race, earning two first-team All-American honors.
Also nominated for this week's honor: Sebastian Heisele (men's golf), Joe Morris (track and field), Alec Burks (men's basketball), Emma Coburn (track and field) and Brittany Spears (women's basketball).
Men's Golf: Sebastian Heisele, Jr., Dubai, UAE.
Junior Sebastian Heisele turned in his best effort of the season as well as one of his top career tournaments, tying for sixth and leading the Buffs to a fifth place finish at the Bandon Dunes Championship. He turned in rounds of 68-77-74 to finish with a 219 score, or 3-over par on the 6,798-yard, par-72 Bandon Dunes course layout. He had tied for the team best with 11 birdies over three rounds, including three Saturday, with 29 pars and 14 bogeys, playing around par through the entire tournament. Heisele matched his second best finish in a major collegiate tournament, surpassed by a tie for fourth in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic last April and equaling the sixth-place tie he had as a freshman in the Alister Mackenzie Invitational.
Track and Field: Joe Morris, So., Golden, Colo.
Sophomore Joe Morris placed ninth in the 60-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championship on Friday, just missing the eighth and final qualifying spot for the finals. Morris clocked a time of 6.66 to finish fourth in the first heat. Horatio Williams (LSU) took third in the heat and just beat out Morris at the line for the final spot in the finals. Both recorded a time of 6.66, but after the photo finish, it was determined that Williams was .003 seconds faster than Morris. Morris earned a second team All-American honor with the finish.
Men's Basketball: Alec Burks, So., Grandview, Mo.
Sophomore guard Alec Burks averaged 25.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and two steals per game at the Big 12 Basketball Championships, leading Colorado to a semifinal appearance, a first for any Buffalo team in the 15 years of the Big 12's existence. The Buffaloes went 2-1 with wins over Iowa State (77-75) and Kansas State (87-75). The Buffs fell to tournament champion Kansas ((90-83). Burks scored 29 points with a career-high 15 rebounds and six assists against the Cyclones; scored 24 points, six rebounds, five assists against the Wildcats; and against the Jayhawks, scored 23 points with another six assists and five rebounds. Burks was named to the conference all-tournament team, becoming the first CU player in 15 years to be named.
Track and Field: Emma Coburn, Jr., Crested Butte, Colo.
Junior Emma Coburn raced to an eighth-place finish in the women's mile run on Saturday at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium. Coburn ran her fastest time ever at 4:36.08 seconds, beating her previous personal best of 4:36.99 that she recorded on Friday night in the preliminary round. This was Coburn's first indoor All-American honor and it is also the first time since 2002 that a female Buff has stood on the podium in the mile. Coburn now owns three of the top four times in CU history. Her PR of 4:36.08 ranks second and her prelim time (4:36.99) is third overall.
Women's Basketball: Brittany Spears, Sr., Pasadena, Calif.
Senior forward Brittany Spears scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and also recorded three steals and two blocked shots in CU's Big 12 Championship first round game against Kansas. She became Colorado's all-time leading scorer (2,075) passing Lisa Van Goor who had 2,067 from 1980-85. For Spears it was her fifth straight game of scoring 20 or more points and her 28th game of the season scoring in double-digits.
