Colorado University Athletics
Honkonen, Gordon Awarded Athlete of the Week
January 16, 2014 | General, Men's Basketball, Skiing
BOULDER - Alpine skier Jessica Honkonen and men's basketball forward Wesley Gordon were awarded CU Athlete of the Week on Thursday for their athletic accomplishments the week of Jan. 6-12.
Honkonen, a sophomore from Espoo, Finland (Makelanrinteen Lukio/Finish Ski Team), won the slalom race at the Montana State Invitational over the weekend. Honkonen's time ranked third in her first run and second in her second run, giving her a time of 1:37.42 to get the slalom victory. She became the first CU women's alpine skier to win a race in two seasons, the first to win a slalom race in six years. With Honkonen's performance, the women's alpine team was able to outscore all other women's alpine teams in the meet.
Gordon, a redshirt freshman from Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sierra), averaged 8.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in Colorado's 1-1 road trip to the Pacific Northwest. Against Washington, Gordon recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. He also had a season-high four blocked shots. Against Washinton State, Gordon had five points, six rebounds and one block.
Also nominated for this week's Athlete of the Week Award: Eileen Gehring (track & field), Arielle Roberson (women's basketball), Alexandre Kizirian (track & field) and Fletcher McDonald (men's skiing).
Gehring, a junior, sprinted to a pair of first-place finishes on Saturday afternoon at the Air Force All-Comers meet to lead the CU track and field in the first meet of 2014. Gehring won the 200 and 400-meter dashes, recording season-best times of 24.73 seconds in the 200 and 55.62 in the 400.
Roberson, a sophomore forward, averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals in losses to No. 19/19 California and No. 4/4 Stanford. Scoring a game-high 21 points and going 8-of-11 from the field, she had seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the loss to California. Against the No. 4/4 ranked Cardinal, Roberson had 19 points, six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals. She hit 6-of-10 from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from 3-point range.
Kizirian, a junior, won the weight throw competition at the Air Force All-Comers meet on Saturday with a toss of 64-5. He also recorded a fourth-place finish in the shot put with a personal best throw of 53-9.25
McDonald, a senior, led the men's alpine team in both races at the Montana State Invitational, finishing eighth in the men's giant slalom race and hitting the podium with a third place finish in the slalom race.
