Colorado University Athletics
Keating, Winter Named Tom Hansen Conference Medal Winners
June 10, 2016 | Cross Country, Women's Golf
BOULDER – Alexis Keating (women's golf) and Connor Winter (men's cross country/track & field) have been named the University of Colorado's 2015-16 Tom Hansen Conference Medal Winners.
The conference medal is award annually to each member institution's outstanding senior male and female student-athlete based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership.
Keating, an Elma, Wash. native finished her impressive four-year career with the third-best stroke average in program history at 75.95. She played in 124 rounds, fifth-most all-time and 90 percent of her rounds played counted toward team scoring. The 2015-16 CU Female Career Athletic Achievement Award winner posted 96 rounds in the 70s during her time as a Buff, third most all-time in school history and she owns the top two rounds in postseason history after recording a 66 in back-to-back Pac-12 Championships (2015, 16) in which she tied for fifth place as a junior and senior at the league tournament. Keating earned four career top five finishes, eighth-most in the CU record book, 10 top 10 finishes and ranked ninth all-time with 11 top 20 finishes.
A stellar career on the course also translated to success in the classroom for Keating, who graduated last month with a degree in communication and minor in education. The four-year letterwinner owned a 3.597 GPA. She was a member of the Dean's List twice and named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll seven times. Keating was also recognized by the conference as she was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic Second Team in her senior year and earned Honorable Mention two times.
Keating also spent time volunteering at various organizations throughout the community, including the Boulder Homeless Shelter and the Boulder Battered Women's Shelter. In addition, Keating was a member of the CU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for three years where she helped provide insight on the student-athlete experience.
Winter graduated from CU with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and an arts and media certificate while earning a 3.096 GPA. The Centennial, Colo. native was a five-time member of the athletic director's honor roll and earned 2016 MPSF Indoor All-Academic team honors.
A member of the cross country and track & field programs, Winter earned a pair of All-American honors in cross country (2014, 15). He helped the Buffs win a pair of NCAA Championships (2013, 14), a runner-up finish (2015) and a third place finish (2012). Winter was also a member of four straight Pac-12 team championships, earning All-Pac-12 honors two times. His cross country recognition also includes three All-Mountain Region honors.
He also had a great deal of success on the track, winning the 2015 Pac-12 3,000-meter steeplechase title before competing at NCAAs in the event later that season. This past year, Winter was the Pac-12 steeplechase runner-up. During the indoor season, he earned second team All-American honors in the 3,000 after placing second at the MPSF Championships in the event. Winter is one of just four Buffs to ever run a sub-4 minute mile, clocking in at 3:59.76.
Winter was also a leader off the track for the Buffs. He was a two-time recipient of the Bryon R. White Leadership & Initiative Award and was the President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Winter was the Co-President of the Student-Athlete Leadership Team and founded a tech start-up.
Conference medal winners have been named every year since the 1960-61 academic year. In 2009, the Pac-12 renamed the award the Tom Hansen Conference Medal in honor of Hansen, who served as the Commissioner of the Pac-10 for 26 years and retired in 2009.
Previous Colorado Tom Hansen Medal Winners:2014-15
Rune Oedegaard, skiing
Brooke Wales Granstrom, skiing
2013-14
Andreas Haug, skiing
Shalaya Kipp, cross country/track & field
2012-13
Sabatino Chen, basketball
Emma Coburn, cross country/track & field
2011-12
Andy Wacker, track & field
Katie Hartman, skiing
