Buffs' Saarel Awarded Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year

PALO ALTO, Calif. – University of Colorado senior Ben Saarel was honored Saturday as the Pac-12 Men's Track and Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as the conference made the announcement at the start of the annual championship meet.

The award is given to a standout athlete and scholar in each conference sport. To be eligible for this award, student-athletes must be a senior in athletics eligibility, on track to receive a degree, participate in at least 50 percent of the scheduled competitions in their sport, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, and have a minimum of one year residence at the institution.

Saarel, a native of Salt Lake City, is a distance runner for the Buffs. Saarel is an engineering physics major and computer science minor with a 3.97 grade point average. He is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and the recipient of the 2016 Pac-12 Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. Saarel holds the Colorado record for the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:38.40. He also earned NCAA All-America honors in 2014 and 2017 for that event.

"Ben's in a killer major. Good thing his sport is easy. I try to be careful what I say around him. Who needs him correcting me in front of the team?," CU head coach Mark Wetmore joked. "Other than having class conflicts with practice every semester, he has been a pleasure to have around. I wish I had ten of him. Just in some other major."

Saarel has nine total All-America finishes, five in track and field and four in cross country. He is also two-time Pac-12 First Team All-Academic and USTFCCCA All-Academic in track & field. He has overcome some significant challenges with his health, battling ulcerative colitis throughout his college career.

Wetmore went on to say, "Levity aside, Ben is everything we want at CU; smart, hard-working, humble ... plus we can have a great garage sale with all the stuff he forgets in the van."

Saarel is competing this weekend in the Pac-12 Championships in Stanford in the men's 5,000-meter run.

Buffs' Saarel Awarded Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Players Mentioned

Ben Saarel

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