Colorado University Athletics
Barringer Named Sportswoman of the Year
DENVER? Jenny Barringer’s competition days at the University of Colorado may be over, but the former cross country and track & field standout continues to garner recognition for her performances during the 2009 season as she was named the Sportswoman of the Year by the Sportswomen of Colorado on Sunday night.
The honor was bestowed to Barringer at the 36th annual Sportswomen of Colorado banquet at the Marriott Denver Tech Center. She was attending the event as the guest speaker after being inducted into the organization’s hall of fame in 2009. Barringer is the first Buff to earn the honor since Kara (Grgas-Wheeler) Goucher won in 2000.
“Thank you for this award,” she said. “I hope I can carry this award graciously through the next year and I really appreciate all of the support. I decided to move to Colorado five years ago and it’s been such a wonderful and welcoming place. I am excited for my professional years coming up right here in Colorado.”
Barringer had a year to remember in 2009, setting six NCAA records and seven CU records and was awarded several top honors in the process. In December, she won the inaugural USTFCCCA’s The Bowerman award, which recognizes annually the most outstanding collegiate male and female track & field athlete. Barringer was also named a finalist for the USATF’s Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year and was the only collegiate athlete in the field of five nominees. In June, she was named the recipient of the Honda Sports Award for track & field and was one of five finalists for the prestigious Honda Broderick Cup, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate female athlete of the year.
In addition, Barringer was named the Mile High Sports Magazine’s College Athlete of the Year and the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame 2009 College Female Athlete of the Year, both in January.
The native of Oviedo, Fla., won a trio of Big 12 titles in 2009 (indoor mile, steeplechase and cross country) and a pair of NCAA Championships (indoor 3k and the steeplechase). Barringer became the first Buff, male or female, to win three NCAA individual titles in the same event (three in the steeplechase) and the first female to win four NCAA crowns. Her mile time of 4:25.91 was the fastest run in the world during the 2009 season. On the track Barringer did not lose a single collegiate race in 2009 and was always the top American to cross the finish no matter where she raced (also in track).
The 2009 Big 12 Indoor Performer of the Year was also the USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Female Track Athlete of the Year. Barringer won her second USA Track & Field steeplechase title in June and then raced to a fifth-place finish at the IAAF World Championships in August; slashing 10 seconds off her personal and American record with a time of 9:12.50 to become the eighth fastest woman ever in the event.
One of the most decorated athletes to ever come out of CU, Barringer is a two-time CU Female Athlete of the Year honoree and was named the CU Athlete of the Week a school record 23 times. She is a 13-time All-Big 12 performer and was an All-American seven times (includes both cross country and track & field). Barringer represented the Buffs, as well as the U.S., at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and was the highest placing American in the steeplechase (ninth).
After the Olympics, Barringer turned down opportunities to go pro and even though she was still a collegiate athlete, she was racing against some of the top women in the world. Barringer treated a national audience on NBC to a runner-up finish at the prestigious Prefontaine Classic in the 1500-meter run. She was ranked 14 out of 15 runners heading into the race (and was the only collegiate athlete in the field) and came from behind to run down Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka. Barringer was just .01 seconds off the winning time and became the third American woman to run a sub-four minute 1,500 in 3:59.90. Just over a month later, she won the 5k at the DN Galan Super Grand Prix in Stockholm, Sweden.
Barringer was a member of the Academic All-Big 12 first team (cross country and track & field), the Dean’s List, the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was a 2008 and 09 Academic All-American. She owns a 3.7 GPA and graduated in December with a double-major in political science and economics. Barringer has also been recognized the past two years as a semi-finalist for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup Award.
Other members of the University of Colorado athletic department received recognition at the banquet. Junior Brittany Spears earned an award for her performance on the hardwood during the 2008-09 season. Elizabeth and Laura Tremblay, freshmen on the CU cross country and track & field team, were also honored for their performances as preps members of Thompson Valley High School.
COLORADO BUFFALOES