Colorado University Athletics
21st Annual CUSPY's Revisited
May 10, 2021 | General
Boee, Broussard, Hurta & Wright Among Top Award Winners For 2020-21
BOULDER — Several major awards were presented online late last month as the University of Colorado honored its best in athletics in a virtual ceremony of the 21st annual CU Sports Performers of the Year (CUSPY) Awards.
Usually over 300 student-athletes, coaches, staff and C-Club board members attend the annual year-end banquet, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, for the second straight year, it could not be business as usual. Thus presenting the awards online on CU's YouTube channel in a "Virtual CUSPY's" was organized by CU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) along with BuffVision to honor athletic accomplishments for the 2020-21 athletic year.
A replay of the virtual CUSPY festivities originally aired on April 26 are available to view at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAp-AZu47Ak.
For the first time since the award was created for the 1984-85 athletic year, there was a three-way tie for one of the Athlete of the Year honors. The selection committee determined breaking a tie between Magnus Boee (skiing), Jarek Broussard (football) and McKinley Wright (basketball) for the male honor would be next to impossible, but were unanimous in selecting Sage Hurta (track) for the female award.
Simply put, Boee had one of, if not the, most dominant seasons for a male skier in CU history. He won both NCAA individual championships (classical and freestyle), marking CU's 99th and 100th individual titles. His two wins garnered him two first-team All-America honors. Boee also won both Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association championships and was the RMISA MVP for both classical and freestyle in claiming first-team All-RMISA honors. He finished all 12 races, winning 10, matching the most by a CU skier first set in 1960. He capped the season off by being named the National Men's Nordic Skier of the Year by the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association.
Broussard missed both the 2018 and 2019 seasons after two knee surgeries, but his long awaited debut proved to be record setting. He had four 100-yard games out of the gate, just the fourth player in the last 25 seasons to accomplish that feat, the last of which was a 301-yard outburst at Arizona, the fourth 300-yard game in CU history. In six games, he rushed for 895 yards and five touchdowns. He was named the offensive player of the year for both the Pac-12 Conference and the state of Colorado (by the NFF chapter); a unanimous first-team All-Pac-12 selection, he was also honored as the Mayo Clinic National Comeback Player of the Year.
Wright, who shared the honor as a junior for the 2019-20 season, was named first team All-Pac-12 (AP, Coaches) for the third straight season, just the third Buffalo to be recognized as a first-team all-conference performer three times in school history. Also an honorable mention AP All-American and first-team All-District selection, he averaged 15.2 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds this season, helping CU to a third-place Pac-12 finish and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He led the Pac-12 in assists (fourth in the NCAA) and was one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation's top point guard.
Hurta has run in seven races this season and has won all seven. She broke both indoor and outdoor 800 records for the Buffs and her time in the outdoor 800 ranks 10th in NCAA history. Hurta won the 2021 NCAA Mile with a time of 4:30.58. She has the 6th best time in the outdoor 400, despite not going out of the blocks. Hurta has one Pac-12 Athlete of the Week honor this season and is a USA Olympic Trials Qualifier.
Other finalists included Eduardo "Lalo" Herrera (cross country & track) on the men's side and Cass Gray (skiing), Sadie Grozier (lacrosse) and Mya Hollingshed (basketball) for the women.
Hurta and Wright were the unanimous picks for the Female and Make Career Athletic Achievement awards, respectively. Hurta, who is still adding to her long list of achievements as the outdoor season still has a month of competition remaining, became just the second four-time cross country All-American in school history, and is also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American. She has won a Pac-12 Steeplechase championship and was a member of CU's 2017 distance medley relay (DMR) national champion team. Hurta was the NCAA individual cross country champion in 2018, helping the Buffaloes to the national title, and added the Indoor Mile title to her resume this past March.
Hurta had some solid competition for the honor, as she topped a talented pool that produced three other finalists, Stef Fleckenstein (skiing), Kirsty Hodgkins (golf) and Julia Lisella (lacrosse); the latter two were also nominated last year but decided to take advantage of the NCAA ruling for spring sport athletes to gain an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic and returned for what many have termed a "super senior" year.
In setting CU's all-time career assist record, Wright also became just the sixth player in NCAA history and first in the Pac-12 to score 1,800 points with 600 rebounds and 600 assists for a career (he finished with 1857 points, 683 assists and 644 rebounds). Wright not only leaves CU as the program's all-time leader in assists, he also set marks for points-assists double-doubles (10), double-figure assists games (10) and double-figure scoring games (109). He holds four of CU's top nine single-season assist totals and is second in minutes played and starts, fifth in games played, sixth in points and field goals made and attempted, ninth in free throws made, 10th in steals and 3-pointer made and attempted and 20th in rebounds.
The other men's finalists included John Dressel (cross country), Mustafa Johnson (football) and Daniel O'Loughlin (golf); O'Loughlin's season may not be over as he could participate in the NCAA's if CU doesn't qualify as a team. He's in position to set the school's all-time mark for best scoring average.
Jabari Walker of the basketball team won the Male Freshman of the Year honor. He finished fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.6 points per game in 26 appearances; he also averaged 4.3 rebounds in just over 14 minutes of playing time (prorate the numbers out to 40 minutes and he led all Pac-12 freshmen with 21.4 and 12.1 figures). He shot 52.6 percent from the field (52.3 from 3-point range) and 77.8 from the line; he led CU with 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the NCAA first round win over Georgetown, when he hit on all five of his 3-point tries.
Other finalists were Christian Gonzalez (football), Adam Matteson (golf) and Oyvind Haugen (skiing).
Gray did capture the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award. She became CU's first NCAA individual champion in the giant slalom since 2008, winning the race from the 26th starting position. That starting spot is believed to be one of the worst to win the race at the NCAA Championships. Gray spent most of the season skiing for Team Canada, finishing 23rd at the World Championships and picking up World Cup points in three races. While she didn't ski a lot for the Buffaloes, when she did she was extremely impactful toward the team's success.
The other finalists were Frida Formann (basketball), Shyra James (soccer) and Ashley Stokes (lacrosse).
SAAC members selected several award winners, including the staff member of the year, of which athletic director Rick George was selected for the second year in a row and the fourth time in his eight years heading the department, and the Student Athlete Support Award, which was presented to the sports medicine staff. Both were cited specifically for their leadership and dedication during the 14-month long and still active COVID-19 pandemic.
Other nominees were Chris Howlett (associate director, Herbst Academic Center), Billy Nelson (cross country & track assistant coach), Alexis Williams (senior associate AD/external affairs), and three with sport medicine ties, Taka Sakamoto (trainer) and Janae Bell and Connor Speck (training fellows). The other three support award finalists were the staffs for performance nutrition, facilitie/custodial and leadership and career development.
In addition, SAAC members nominate and then select by vote on the CU's Sports' "Moment of the Year." From a list of solid choices, they selected senior Sage Hurta winning the mile run at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She assumed the lead a little over midway during the race, and then pulled away from the field in posting a personal best time of 4:30.58. She ran an intelligent race, sitting behind in fourth through the first half. With 400 meters remaining, Hurta had already built a five-meter lead. Hurta's 32.07 lap from 400 to 200 meters was the fastest lap in the field and she added an extra measure of speed with the bell lap in 31.13 seconds. Hurta became just the second BUff to win the indoor mile, joining Emma Corburn's title in 2013. Her win was the 24th individual national championship for CU in track & field and was the 19th indoor title.
Other nominees for the moment of the year included the women's basketball team's 77-72 overtime win over No. 1 and eventual national champion Stanford; McKinley Wright breaking CU's all-time assist record previously held by Jay Humphries for 37 years; and Magnus Boee sweeping the NCAA cross country and freestyle individual titles, CU's 99th and 100th, respectively in the sport, leading the Buffaloes to a second place finish in the final year of head coach Richard Rokos' 31-year CU career.
The SAAC Distinguished Service Award, presented to senior members who contributed significantly to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during their CU careers, was awarded to 10 student-athletes: Andrea Arnold, Ryan Jackson and Tyler Terranova (skiing); Madie Boreman, Eriana Henderson and Caleb Penner (cross country & track), Libby Geraghty (soccer), Alisha Lau (golf), Julia Lisella (lacrosse) and Aidan McQuade (basketball).
The Spencer Nelson Buffalo Spirit Award, formerly the Athlete's Choice Award and renamed for the CU skier who died in a tragic hiking accident in August 2010, was presented to Evan Battey (men's basketball) and Lars Atkinson (track & field). Battey's story has been told countless times nationwide; while home for semester break as a true freshman in December 2017, he suffered a stroke and two seizures. He would recover enough to return to Boulder for the spring semester, but had to diligently go through both physical rehabilitation as well as speech therapy. All the while, he had a presence around the team, attended all games and would resume his career later that fall where he has blossomed into one of the Pac-12's top players.
Atkinson was diagnosed with thyroid cancer right before the pandemic hit and needed required surgery. The issues around the pandemic made it harder for him to receive the medical attention he needed leading up to his surgery, but still showed up to every practice and has been a positive and supportive teammate to everyone on the track team.
The other finalists were Boreman, Dallas Walton (basketball) and Aine Williams (lacrosse).
Boreman has been a team leader and supportive of getting back to competition during COVID. She also faced some injuries during her time that limited her participation in competition but persevered this spring returning to the women's steeplechase where she recorded her personal best time. Walton's journey with multiple knee surgeries has been well documented but remained a vital member of the team whether healthy or not.
Williams fell ill just prior to the start of the 2018 season with what was eventually diagnosed as most likely having Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia, a rare lung condition affecting small airways. She was intubated and put on life-support for about three weeks, two of which she was in a medically induced coma. What easily could have been a life-altering setback, she battled back to where she played in every game this past season.
The Ceal Barry Leadership Awards are given to those student-athletes who most effectively inspire their team, the CU campus and the community in general through their exemplary commitment, their composure in the way they represent themselves and in the integrity of their actions. The recipients were Hollingshed, Megan Forster (tennis), Alec Hornecker (cross country and track), Colby Pursell (football), and Terranova and Joey Young (skiing).
The Sports Performance Awards for strength and conditioning accomplishments (or "lifters of the year") were presented to Henderson, a graduate student, and D'Shawn Schwartz (basketball).
The selection committee annually leaves open the possibility that all of the above awards could be augmented once the spring sport seasons are complete in fairness to those sports (golf, lacrosse, outdoor track) that still have important portions of their seasons and/or NCAA events still ahead of them (lacrosse and tennis are done; both golf squads have individuals in NCAA regionals and the track teams have Pac-12's and NCAA's remaining). For example, Herrera is having an outstanding outdoor season to date.
Originally created in 2001, the annual event remains one of the most popular among the athletes, as they have tailored the function to be the final social gathering solely amongst themselves for the last time before finals and summer vacation, if not for a longer period of time for those graduating. It is believed to be one of the only events in the country almost entirely organized by the student-athletes, and certainly was among, if not, the first.
Usually over 300 student-athletes, coaches, staff and C-Club board members attend the annual year-end banquet, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, for the second straight year, it could not be business as usual. Thus presenting the awards online on CU's YouTube channel in a "Virtual CUSPY's" was organized by CU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) along with BuffVision to honor athletic accomplishments for the 2020-21 athletic year.
A replay of the virtual CUSPY festivities originally aired on April 26 are available to view at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAp-AZu47Ak.
For the first time since the award was created for the 1984-85 athletic year, there was a three-way tie for one of the Athlete of the Year honors. The selection committee determined breaking a tie between Magnus Boee (skiing), Jarek Broussard (football) and McKinley Wright (basketball) for the male honor would be next to impossible, but were unanimous in selecting Sage Hurta (track) for the female award.
Simply put, Boee had one of, if not the, most dominant seasons for a male skier in CU history. He won both NCAA individual championships (classical and freestyle), marking CU's 99th and 100th individual titles. His two wins garnered him two first-team All-America honors. Boee also won both Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association championships and was the RMISA MVP for both classical and freestyle in claiming first-team All-RMISA honors. He finished all 12 races, winning 10, matching the most by a CU skier first set in 1960. He capped the season off by being named the National Men's Nordic Skier of the Year by the United States Collegiate Ski Coaches Association.
Broussard missed both the 2018 and 2019 seasons after two knee surgeries, but his long awaited debut proved to be record setting. He had four 100-yard games out of the gate, just the fourth player in the last 25 seasons to accomplish that feat, the last of which was a 301-yard outburst at Arizona, the fourth 300-yard game in CU history. In six games, he rushed for 895 yards and five touchdowns. He was named the offensive player of the year for both the Pac-12 Conference and the state of Colorado (by the NFF chapter); a unanimous first-team All-Pac-12 selection, he was also honored as the Mayo Clinic National Comeback Player of the Year.
Wright, who shared the honor as a junior for the 2019-20 season, was named first team All-Pac-12 (AP, Coaches) for the third straight season, just the third Buffalo to be recognized as a first-team all-conference performer three times in school history. Also an honorable mention AP All-American and first-team All-District selection, he averaged 15.2 points, 5.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds this season, helping CU to a third-place Pac-12 finish and the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He led the Pac-12 in assists (fourth in the NCAA) and was one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation's top point guard.
Hurta has run in seven races this season and has won all seven. She broke both indoor and outdoor 800 records for the Buffs and her time in the outdoor 800 ranks 10th in NCAA history. Hurta won the 2021 NCAA Mile with a time of 4:30.58. She has the 6th best time in the outdoor 400, despite not going out of the blocks. Hurta has one Pac-12 Athlete of the Week honor this season and is a USA Olympic Trials Qualifier.
Other finalists included Eduardo "Lalo" Herrera (cross country & track) on the men's side and Cass Gray (skiing), Sadie Grozier (lacrosse) and Mya Hollingshed (basketball) for the women.
Hurta and Wright were the unanimous picks for the Female and Make Career Athletic Achievement awards, respectively. Hurta, who is still adding to her long list of achievements as the outdoor season still has a month of competition remaining, became just the second four-time cross country All-American in school history, and is also a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American. She has won a Pac-12 Steeplechase championship and was a member of CU's 2017 distance medley relay (DMR) national champion team. Hurta was the NCAA individual cross country champion in 2018, helping the Buffaloes to the national title, and added the Indoor Mile title to her resume this past March.
Hurta had some solid competition for the honor, as she topped a talented pool that produced three other finalists, Stef Fleckenstein (skiing), Kirsty Hodgkins (golf) and Julia Lisella (lacrosse); the latter two were also nominated last year but decided to take advantage of the NCAA ruling for spring sport athletes to gain an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic and returned for what many have termed a "super senior" year.
In setting CU's all-time career assist record, Wright also became just the sixth player in NCAA history and first in the Pac-12 to score 1,800 points with 600 rebounds and 600 assists for a career (he finished with 1857 points, 683 assists and 644 rebounds). Wright not only leaves CU as the program's all-time leader in assists, he also set marks for points-assists double-doubles (10), double-figure assists games (10) and double-figure scoring games (109). He holds four of CU's top nine single-season assist totals and is second in minutes played and starts, fifth in games played, sixth in points and field goals made and attempted, ninth in free throws made, 10th in steals and 3-pointer made and attempted and 20th in rebounds.
The other men's finalists included John Dressel (cross country), Mustafa Johnson (football) and Daniel O'Loughlin (golf); O'Loughlin's season may not be over as he could participate in the NCAA's if CU doesn't qualify as a team. He's in position to set the school's all-time mark for best scoring average.
Jabari Walker of the basketball team won the Male Freshman of the Year honor. He finished fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.6 points per game in 26 appearances; he also averaged 4.3 rebounds in just over 14 minutes of playing time (prorate the numbers out to 40 minutes and he led all Pac-12 freshmen with 21.4 and 12.1 figures). He shot 52.6 percent from the field (52.3 from 3-point range) and 77.8 from the line; he led CU with 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting in the NCAA first round win over Georgetown, when he hit on all five of his 3-point tries.
Other finalists were Christian Gonzalez (football), Adam Matteson (golf) and Oyvind Haugen (skiing).
Gray did capture the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award. She became CU's first NCAA individual champion in the giant slalom since 2008, winning the race from the 26th starting position. That starting spot is believed to be one of the worst to win the race at the NCAA Championships. Gray spent most of the season skiing for Team Canada, finishing 23rd at the World Championships and picking up World Cup points in three races. While she didn't ski a lot for the Buffaloes, when she did she was extremely impactful toward the team's success.
The other finalists were Frida Formann (basketball), Shyra James (soccer) and Ashley Stokes (lacrosse).
SAAC members selected several award winners, including the staff member of the year, of which athletic director Rick George was selected for the second year in a row and the fourth time in his eight years heading the department, and the Student Athlete Support Award, which was presented to the sports medicine staff. Both were cited specifically for their leadership and dedication during the 14-month long and still active COVID-19 pandemic.
Other nominees were Chris Howlett (associate director, Herbst Academic Center), Billy Nelson (cross country & track assistant coach), Alexis Williams (senior associate AD/external affairs), and three with sport medicine ties, Taka Sakamoto (trainer) and Janae Bell and Connor Speck (training fellows). The other three support award finalists were the staffs for performance nutrition, facilitie/custodial and leadership and career development.
In addition, SAAC members nominate and then select by vote on the CU's Sports' "Moment of the Year." From a list of solid choices, they selected senior Sage Hurta winning the mile run at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She assumed the lead a little over midway during the race, and then pulled away from the field in posting a personal best time of 4:30.58. She ran an intelligent race, sitting behind in fourth through the first half. With 400 meters remaining, Hurta had already built a five-meter lead. Hurta's 32.07 lap from 400 to 200 meters was the fastest lap in the field and she added an extra measure of speed with the bell lap in 31.13 seconds. Hurta became just the second BUff to win the indoor mile, joining Emma Corburn's title in 2013. Her win was the 24th individual national championship for CU in track & field and was the 19th indoor title.
Other nominees for the moment of the year included the women's basketball team's 77-72 overtime win over No. 1 and eventual national champion Stanford; McKinley Wright breaking CU's all-time assist record previously held by Jay Humphries for 37 years; and Magnus Boee sweeping the NCAA cross country and freestyle individual titles, CU's 99th and 100th, respectively in the sport, leading the Buffaloes to a second place finish in the final year of head coach Richard Rokos' 31-year CU career.
The SAAC Distinguished Service Award, presented to senior members who contributed significantly to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during their CU careers, was awarded to 10 student-athletes: Andrea Arnold, Ryan Jackson and Tyler Terranova (skiing); Madie Boreman, Eriana Henderson and Caleb Penner (cross country & track), Libby Geraghty (soccer), Alisha Lau (golf), Julia Lisella (lacrosse) and Aidan McQuade (basketball).
The Spencer Nelson Buffalo Spirit Award, formerly the Athlete's Choice Award and renamed for the CU skier who died in a tragic hiking accident in August 2010, was presented to Evan Battey (men's basketball) and Lars Atkinson (track & field). Battey's story has been told countless times nationwide; while home for semester break as a true freshman in December 2017, he suffered a stroke and two seizures. He would recover enough to return to Boulder for the spring semester, but had to diligently go through both physical rehabilitation as well as speech therapy. All the while, he had a presence around the team, attended all games and would resume his career later that fall where he has blossomed into one of the Pac-12's top players.
Atkinson was diagnosed with thyroid cancer right before the pandemic hit and needed required surgery. The issues around the pandemic made it harder for him to receive the medical attention he needed leading up to his surgery, but still showed up to every practice and has been a positive and supportive teammate to everyone on the track team.
The other finalists were Boreman, Dallas Walton (basketball) and Aine Williams (lacrosse).
Boreman has been a team leader and supportive of getting back to competition during COVID. She also faced some injuries during her time that limited her participation in competition but persevered this spring returning to the women's steeplechase where she recorded her personal best time. Walton's journey with multiple knee surgeries has been well documented but remained a vital member of the team whether healthy or not.
Williams fell ill just prior to the start of the 2018 season with what was eventually diagnosed as most likely having Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia, a rare lung condition affecting small airways. She was intubated and put on life-support for about three weeks, two of which she was in a medically induced coma. What easily could have been a life-altering setback, she battled back to where she played in every game this past season.
The Ceal Barry Leadership Awards are given to those student-athletes who most effectively inspire their team, the CU campus and the community in general through their exemplary commitment, their composure in the way they represent themselves and in the integrity of their actions. The recipients were Hollingshed, Megan Forster (tennis), Alec Hornecker (cross country and track), Colby Pursell (football), and Terranova and Joey Young (skiing).
The Sports Performance Awards for strength and conditioning accomplishments (or "lifters of the year") were presented to Henderson, a graduate student, and D'Shawn Schwartz (basketball).
The selection committee annually leaves open the possibility that all of the above awards could be augmented once the spring sport seasons are complete in fairness to those sports (golf, lacrosse, outdoor track) that still have important portions of their seasons and/or NCAA events still ahead of them (lacrosse and tennis are done; both golf squads have individuals in NCAA regionals and the track teams have Pac-12's and NCAA's remaining). For example, Herrera is having an outstanding outdoor season to date.
Originally created in 2001, the annual event remains one of the most popular among the athletes, as they have tailored the function to be the final social gathering solely amongst themselves for the last time before finals and summer vacation, if not for a longer period of time for those graduating. It is believed to be one of the only events in the country almost entirely organized by the student-athletes, and certainly was among, if not, the first.
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