Annual Academic Recognition Honored CU's Best

        BOULDER — Almost 80 University of Colorado student-athletes, including 65 with perfect 4.00 grade point averages for one or both semesters last year, were honored for a variety of outstanding academic accomplishments Monday in the school's 29th Annual Student-Athlete Academic Recognition in a virtual on-line YouTube ceremony.

        Usually over 300 people attend the event, including university faculty and staff, coaches and student-athletes; but for the second straight year due to COVID-19 restrictions, those presenting submitted videos announcing the recipients of the awards. A replay of the virtual event can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/eSysUgIiPeg.

        The Clancy A. Herbst, Jr., Student-Athlete Achievement Award were presented to sophomore football player Jarek Broussard and senior soccer player Hannah Cardenas. The award is given to athletes who overcome personal, academic or emotional challenges difficulties to succeed both academically and athletically.

        Broussard, an Ethnic Studies major, overcame not one but two surgeries for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the same knee that had him miss two straight seasons of competition. Extensive rehabilitation hurt him academically as well, as he struggled early and fell behind in his studies. Upon his return to the field last fall, he exploded on the national scene, becoming only the fourth player in the last 25 years to gain 100 yards in each of his first four career games, topped by 301 yards against Arizona, just the fourth 300-yard game in CU history. He would rush for 895 yards in six games, earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors, was named the Offensive Player of the Year in the conference and the state of Colorado and was recognized as one of three Mayo Clinic Comeback Players of the Year.

        Cardenas, an Integrative Physiology and Psychology major, will undergo her fourth knee surgery in as many years, recently tearing an ACL for the third time, all while competing in one of the nation's top collegiate soccer conferences. She appeared in 22 games as a freshman, but only three as a sophomore; as a junior, she once again played in 22 contests, but this spring in her senior year, the injury reduced her time on the field to three games again. Combined with the disappointment of not being able to participate consistently in her beloved sport and despite constant rehabilitation sessions, she owns a cumulative 3.995 grade point average.

        Four students were presented with the Morgan Family Buff Club Scholar-Athlete Award, as the recipients include a member of the sophomore and junior classes and male and female members from the senior class who have accumulated the highest cumulative grade point average in their respective class (and are awarded by academic year, not eligibility class). The winners were:

Libby Geraghty, Sr., Soccer (4.00 GPA, Bachelor's/Accelerated Master's in Integrative Physiology & Sociology minor)
Joey Young, Sr., Alpine Skiing (3.840 GPA, Business—Finance & Accounting majors)
Liz Constien, Jr., Cross County & Track (3.924 GPA, double majors in Cinema Studies and Spanish; minor in Creative Writing)
Alisa Meraz-Fishbein, Soph., Cross County & Track (3.979 GPA, Journalism major, Creative Writing minor)

        Geraghty was also the recipient for her sophomore and junior years.

        Academic team winners for grade point average were the women's cross country team for the eighth straight year (and 17th time in 29 years) for a sport with its championship normally in the fall semester (3.667) and the women's golf team, winning for the first time since 2006, for those who compete in the spring semester (3.686). The men's basketball team was honored for the most improved honor, as its cumulative GPA rose an impressive .357 (from 2.671 after the fall of 2019 to 3.028 through last fall), easily one of the highest increases since the award was created.

        Out of 379 student-athletes, 327 attained a 3.0 grade point cumulatively through the Fall 2020 semester (86 percent; 311 recorded 3.0's for the semester term). There were 241 with aggregate GPA's of 3.5 or better, with 144 earning that mark or better for the semester alone.   The fall grade point average of all 379 worked to a 3.153, the highest on record in 25 years of compiling the information, with the cumulative average overall also attained an all-time high of 3.128. That's 13 straight semesters over a 2.9 – out of 13 overall – with 14 of 15 CU's programs owning cumulative team GPA's in excess of 3.0. Those continue to be impressive numbers when realized that CU's curriculum is one of the toughest in Division I athletics, which is easily evidenced by the roll call of majors being undertaken by many of the award winners.

        In the 2020 calendar year, there were 65 student-athletes who studied to perfection, as in 4.00 grade point averages for at least one semester if not the full year; it won't officially go down as a record since the COVID-19 pandemic allowed a little more leniency in classes that could be taken pass/fail, but the number is impressive nonetheless (the official record will remain 27 set in the 2019 calendar year). The 65 breaking down by sport (all 17 programs were represented): football (11), women's lacrosse (10), women's cross country & track (8), women's soccer (8), men's cross country & track (6), women's basketball (5), women's skiing (4), men's skiing (3), women's tennis (3), women's volleyball (3), men's basketball (2), men's golf (1) and women's golf (1),

        Cardenas and Geraghty were honored for a fourth consecutive year: a third-time honoree is Elle Otten (majoring in Accounting and Psychology) from women's golf. Five athletes were recognized for a second calendar year in a row: Hunter Appleton (Integrative Physiology), Joe Klecker (Biochemistry and Pre-Dentistry), and Wyatt Rhoads (master's Organizational Leadership). all from cross country and track; Valentin Senn (Finance & Marketing) from football; and Hannah Sharts (Communication) from soccer.

        Four claimed this year's Most Improved Student-Athlete Awards: Jamar Montgomery (football; a senior majoring in Ethnic Studies). Eli Parquet (basketball; a Sociology major and Ethnic Studies minor); Maria Campos (tennis, a sophomore and International Affairs major); and Jayden Simon (football, a sophomore majoring in Communication).

        There were four recipients of the Byron R. White Leadership and Initiative Award, named for CU's legendary football All-American, Rhodes Scholar and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. It is awarded annually to those student-athletes who have exhibited outstanding initiative and demonstrate a strong commitment to service to the CU and Boulder communities. Recognized this year were two seniors Eliza Cahill (lacrosse, a Finance major and Political Science minor) and Eriana Henderson (track, sprints and relays; she is earning her master's in Supply Chain Management); junior Taylor deProsse (volleyball, majoring in Integrative Physiology and a minoring in Business); and sophomore Kashon Harrison (cross country & track; he is majoring in Communication).

        The Student Support Services Academic Award was presented to Adam Bender, a senior student design intern who works with the Brent DePaepe, the department's graphic designer. A Colorado native and the owner of a 3.885 grade point average as a Strategic Communication major and Business major, this award is presented to a student worker or volunteer who maintains a 3.0 GPA while demonstrating strong commitment and leadership to CU athletics.

        Mya Hollingshed, a senior on the women's basketball team (and who has opted to take advantage of the NCAA ruling to return for an additional year of eligibility due to the pandemic), spoke on behalf of the senior class.

        "Who would have thought being here four years ago I'd be the one giving this speech," she said. "I remember being an all energetic, all over the place, smart freshman trying to stay away from what I disliked the most — school work. I want to thank my family, friends, coaches and CU academic department at Dal Ward. With the pandemic in our senior year and having on-line classes and the many restrictions from playing our sport due to COVID protocols, we found a way to persevere and have tremendous success in both our sports and in the classroom. Being adaptable to change with things out of our control will help us translate to what we do moving forward – being able to participate in your sport and persevere, doing all your course work to the point of graduating is a major accomplishment. I've had a lot of enjoyment in my experience here at CU, I personally look forward to my time here with graduate school and am excited to see my fellow student-athletes and what they choose to do and wish all nothing but success."

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