Landman and Jones Honored as Colorado Sports Hall of Fame Collegiate Athletes Of The Year
February 08, 2021 | Football, Track and Field
DENVER – The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame announced Monday that University of Colorado student-athletes Nate Landman and Dani Jones were named the 2020 Colorado College Athletes of the Year.
Landman was a defensive force with which to be reckoned as a CU linebacker, though he played in just four full games before suffering a season-ending ruptured right Achilles tendon in the first half against Utah. He was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award — given to the nation's top college linebacker — as well as being a first-team All-Pac-12 selection for the second straight year and a second-team All-American according the football writers. Twice he earned national player of the week awards. Landman, CU's tackles leaders for three straight seasons, sits at No. 10 on the program's career tackles list and 12th in tackles for loss. He posted five sacks in five games in 2020.
Jones earns the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame's College Female Athlete of the Year honor for the second time in three years. She won four national titles during her CU track & field and cross country career (outdoor 5,000 meters, individual cross country, indoor 3,000 and the distance medley relay). She also led the Buffs to a 2018 women's cross country championship as a team. Jones twice was named the female runner of the year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, including for the 2020 indoor track season. Last year, she broke Mary Decker's 42-year-old school record for the indoor 800 and became the only NCAA woman to have top-10 times in NCAA history in the mile and 5,000. Jones was an All-American a dozen times while at CU.
Both will be honored alongside Colorado Sports Hall of Fame 2020 Athlete of the Year, Denver Nugget center Nikola Jokic, along with the two high school honorees and Greg Mark, the recipient of the Hall of Fame's Athlete with Disabilities Award. The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame & Museum, which is located at Gate 1 on the west side of Empower Field at Mile High, will also add six inductees to their Hall of Fame; Lindsey Vonn, Bob Gebhard, Alonzo Babers, George Gwozdecky, Terry Miller and Erin Popovich.
Players Mentioned
