CU Honors Its Academic Best At 31st Annual Recognition Ceremony

BOULDER—Around 160 University of Colorado student-athletes, including 45 with a perfect 4.0 grade point average, were honored for academic excellence Monday at the 31st Annual Student-Athlete Recognition Ceremony in the Touchdown Club in the Dal Ward Athletic Center.

More than 250 people attended the event, including university faculty, staff, coaches and student-athletes. A full replay of the event can be watched here.

The Clancy A. Herbst Jr. Student-Athlete Achievement Awards were presented to Justin Jackson (football, Sociology) and Charlotte Whittaker (women's basketball, Sociology). The award is given annually to athletes who overcome personal, academic or emotional challenges to succeed both academically and athletically.

Jackson transferred to CU in the Spring of 2020 just before the pandemic hit. He not only endured the loss of the coaching staff that recruited him, he then had to transition to on-line learning during the pandemic and make up classes that didn't transfer to CU. Then injuries sidelined him most of the 2020 season, but he came back by the end of the season and was named a captain for the Arizona game in 2020 and played in the Alamo Bowl. In the past two seasons he played in 22 games and was named a member of the Victory Club for the team's win over California last season.

Just before coming to CU, Whittaker lost her father Mark to a heart attack just as scholarship offers were starting to come to play in the United States. From New Zealand, Whittaker then had to endure the pandemic and being away from her mom and two younger siblings. Shortly after the 2021 Women's NIT run, she found out she had a genetic disorder that required five hip surgeries and missed the 2021-22 season. She returned to the court this past season after 18 months between games and helped the Buffs reach the Sweet 16.

Four student-athletes were presented with the Morgan Family Buff Club Scholar-Athlete Award, given to the sophomore, junior and male and female seniors with the highest cumulative GPA. The winners, awarded by academic year, are:

Hunter Appleton, Sr., Cross Country and Track & Field (3.959 GPA, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)
Alisa Meraz-Fishbein, Sr., Cross Country and Track & Field (3.986 GPA, Journalism, minors in Business and Creative Writing)
Frida Formann, Jr., Women's Basketball (4.0 GPA, Environmental Studies)
Karina Andersen, Soph., Cross Country and Track & Field (3.956 PGA, Mechanical Engineering)

Academic team winners for highest grade point average were volleyball for fall sports (3.521 GPA) and women's skiing for the winter and spring sports (3.506 GPA). The women's basketball team was honored for the most improved team award, improving from a 3.148 to a 3.276 between the fall 2021 and fall 2022 semesters.

Of CU's 369 student-athletes, 234 are currently maintaining above a 3.0 grade point average, with 107 maintaining above a 3.5. In the fall 2022 semester, 241 achieved a 3.0 GPA with 122 earning a 3.5 GPA and 26 had a perfect 4.0 semester. CU's student-athletes have achieved a cumulative 3.0 GPA for six straight semesters and as a group, they have a 3.143 cumulative GPA.

In the 2022 calendar year, the Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 semesters, a total of 45 student-athletes racked up 52 perfect 4.0 semesters. The seven student-athletes that recorded a perfect 4.0 in both semesters are Appleton, Formann, Kaitlyn Barthell (cross country and track & field, Master's in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), Gabrielle Orie (cross country and track & field, Master's in Integrative Physiology), Samantha McGee (lacrosse, Mater's in Organizational Leadership), Hannah Sharts (soccer, Master's in Organizational Leadership) and Emilea Stepaniuk (volleyball, Integrative Physiology, minor in Business).

Members of the 4.0 Club for 2022 are:

Hanna Abrahamsson, SKI, Environmental Engineering, Fall 2022
Hunter Appleton, XCTF, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Spring 2022 and Fall 2022
Eleanor Baran, XCTF, Master of the Environment, Fall 2022
Kaitlyn Barthell, XCTF, Master's in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Spring 2022 and Fall 2022
Hannah Cardenas, SOC, Master's in Integrative Physiology, Fall 2022
Jake Derouin, XCTF, Creative Technology and Design, Fall 2022
Jacob Dilling, SKI, Communication, Fall 2022
Jenna Ewert, VB, Psychology, minor in Business, Spring 2022
Frida Forman, WBB, Environmental Studies, Spring 2022 and Fall 2022
Brendan Fraser, XCTF, Master's in Organizational Leadership, Fall 2022
Jalen Gabbidon, MBB, Engineering Management, Fall 2022
Molly Galloway, LAX, Finance and Real Estate, Minor in Leadership Studies, Spring 2022
Lauren Gooding, WGolf, Strategic Communication, Minor in Sports Media, Fall 2022
Joshka Gustav, FB, Ethnic Studies and Psychology, Minor in Leadership Studies, Fall 2022
Emma Hammergaard, SKI, Pshychology, Minors in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies, Fall 2022
Kaitlyn Harsch, SKI, Finance and Real Estate, minor in Creative Technology & Design, Spring 2022
Oyvind Haugan, SKI, Finance, Fall 2022
Bailey Hawkins, LAX, Master's in Supply Chain Management, Spring 2022
Holly Hunter, SOC, Marketing, Spring 2022
Andrew Kent, XCTF, Master's in Data Science, Spring 2022
Civana Kuhlmann, SOC, Master's in Organizational Leadership, Spring 2022
Isaiah Lewis, FB, Master's in Organizational Leadership, Fall 2022
Will Loughlin – MBB, Computer Science, Spring 2022
Joelle McDonald, XCTF, Economics Minors in Leadership Studies and Spanish, Spring 2022
Samantha McGee, LAX, Master's in Organizational Leadership, Spring 2022 & Fall 2022
Alisa Meraz-Fishbein, XCTF, Journalism minors in Business and Creative Writing, Spring 2022
Amanda Opp, TF, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Fall 2022
Gabrielle Orie, XCTF, Master's in Integrative Physiology, Spring 2022 and Fall 2022
Sterling Parker, VB, Psychology, minor in Sociology and Sports Media, Certificate in Critical Sports Studies, Spring 2022
Caroline Pozo, TEN, Master's in Strategic Communication Design, Spring 2022
Luka Riley, SKI, Integrative Physiology, Fall 2022
Sabrina Robbins, LAX, Finance, Spring 2022
Charlie Rudy, LAX, Master's in Business Analytics, Spring 2022
Jill Schneggenburger, VB, Strategic Communication, minor in Business, Fall 2022
Hannah Sharts, SOC, Master's in Organizational Leadership, Spring 2022 and Fall 2022
Paxton Smith, XCTF, Master's in Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice, Spring 2022
Emilea Stepaniuk, VB, Integrative Psychology, minor in Business, Spring 2022 and Fall 2022
Charlie Sweeney, XCTF, Master's in Organizational Leadership, Spring 2022
Kayleigh Webb, SOC, Psychology and Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Minor in Education, Spring 2022
Charlie Welch, XCTF Master's in Neuroscience and Psychology, Pre-Health/Medical, Spring 2022
Kindyll Wetta, WBB, Integrative Physiology, Spring 2022
Dom Williams, TF, Master's in Organizational Leadership, Spring 2022

Four Buffs claimed this year's Most Improved Student-Athlete Awards: Jahara Campbell (volleyball, Computer Science, minor in Economics), Henry Carlson (track & field, History and Political Science), Tameiya Sadler (women's basketball, Sociology) and Mister Williams (football, Communication, minor in Leadership Studies).

There were also 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 who have exhibited outstanding initiative and demonstrate a strong commitment to service to the CU and Boulder communities. Recognized this year were Carley Bennett (cross country and track & field, Finance), Sterling Parker (volleyball, Integrative Physiology, minor in Business, certificate in Public Health), Savannah Perry (volleyball, Integrative Physiology, minor in leadership studies, certificate in Public Healthy), and Isabelle Simpson (women's golf, Neuroscience and Psychology, certificate in Public Health).

The Student Support Academic Award was given to two students who work within the athletic department. C.J. Armitage, a men's basketball manager who is majoring in Communication with a minor in Education, and Casey Paul, a photographer for the digital content department who's earning a Master's in Information Sciences.

Jaylyn Sherrod, a senior on the women's basketball team earning a Master's in Organization Leadership, who over the weekend announced she was returning for her fifth season, spoke on behalf of the senior class. She talked about the power of not fearing failure.

"In everything we do, failure is inevitable," Sherrod said. "Failure is the lessons you learn and the way you experience what not to do. It gives you insight in how to try differently next time that could lead you to success. Next time an important decision takes place in your life, don't think about not going for it because you think you could fail. The great thing about it is that it's not how you start, it's how you finish. In closing, keep pushing through and when you fall, dust yourself off and try again. Failure is not what defines you it's how you respond to it."

CU Honors Its Academic Best At 31st Annual Recognition Ceremony

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