CU Celebrates Its Athletic Bests At Annual CUSPY's

(Photo caption: The SAAC Award winners: Lauren Shaner, Shaye Marshall, Annie Brunner, Devin Dougherty, Bri Beemer, Jo Marchi (SAAC staff liaison), Khyla Burrows, Ian Mallams, Nikki Look, Mary Rose, Max Lamb.)

BOULDER GÇö Over a dozen major awards were presented here Tuesday night as the University of Colorado honored its best at the 13th annual CUSPY Awards (CU Sports Performers of the Year).

Over 300 student-athletes, coaches, staff and C-Club members attended the year-end banquet at the Coors Events Center, organized by CUGÇÖs Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) to honor athletic accomplishments for the 2012-13 athletic year.

Three of the top awards came down to ties that just could not be broken by the seven-member selection committee, choosing to honor two recipients instead of splitting hairs in deciding on one.

The Female Athlete of the Year Award honor easily could have been awarded to more than two, thatGÇÖs how strong the candidates were. Emma Coburn (track) and Joanne Reid (skiing) were the pair selected to split the honor.

Coburn, the first three-time Athlete of the Year, male or female, was the NCAA indoor champion in the mile, her time of 4:29.91 marking only the second time in NCAA history that a woman has run a sub-4:30 mile twice (and the first American-born runner to do so). Undefeated in her indoor season, she was the Mountain Region Track Athlete of the Year. In the young outdoor season, she has run the fastest times in the NCAA in the 1,500-meter run and the steeplechase, doing so 48 hours apart in two different time zones; her steeplechase time is the fastest in the world in 2013.

Reid was the NCAA champion in the 15-kilometer freestyle race, key in its timing as it was the next to last race of the event; CU entered the final day trailing by 54 points and Reid led a charge that saw Colorado rally from the largest last day deficit in NCAA history to claim the title. She was also fourth in the classical race and thus earned a pair of All-American honors. The Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association WomenGÇÖs Nordic MVP, she won nine races (out of 12) for the winter, the third most by a CU skier in its six decade-plus history.

The two other finalists were Chucky Jeffery (basketball) and Shalaya Kipp (cross country).

Rune Oedegaard (skiing) and Andre Roberson (basketball) were the co-recipients of the Male Athlete of the Year Award. Oedegaard was a key performer in CUGÇÖs national championship run, posting 10 top three finishes in 12 races, including four wins and five second place finishes. Among his victories was the 10-kilometer classical race at the NCAA Championships, an event he was also the regional champ in. He was second in the freestyle at nationals, thus earning two All-American honors for the season.

Roberson was selected as the Pac-12 ConferenceGÇÖs Defensive Player of the Year, and was also named as a first-team All-Pac 12 performer. He led the nation much of the year and finished second in the nation in rebounding (11.2 per game), while also ranking 30th in the NCAA in steals (2.2 per). He had 12 double-doubles on the season, and in fact averaged a double-double (10.9 points), the first player in 22 years to do so at Colorado. He announced last week that he would enter this JuneGÇÖs NBA draft.

The two other finalists were Jake Hurysz (cross country) and Joe Morris (track).

The selection committee does leave open the possibility that the Athlete-of-the-Year awards could be shared once the spring sport seasons are complete (golf, outdoor track, tennis) in fairness to those sports that still have important portions of their seasons ahead of them. At present, the committee will keep a watchful eye on what golfer Jessica Wallace does in the NCAA regional and/or finals, and also monitor Juel-Berg and others on the menGÇÖs golf team.

The Female Career Athletic Achievement Award was shared by two very deserving honorees, Coburn and Jeffery. Coburn, a four-time All-American, is a two-time NCAA champion (steeplechase and mile run), a two-time USATF steeplechase champion and a 2012 Olympian, finishing ninth in the steeple in London last August.

Jeffery, a two-time, first-team All-Pac 12 performer, became the first player in CU history to (at least) score 1,600 points, grab 900 rebounds and dish out 400 assists. She ranks in the top 15 at Colorado is 17 different statistical categories, and helped the Buffaloes to three straight postseason appearances, including the schoolGÇÖs first in the NCAAGÇÖs since 2003. She was drafted by Phoenix as the 24th overall pick of last monthGÇÖs WNBA Draft.

The other finalists were Eliska Hajkova (skiing) and Erin Sanders (tennis).

The Male Career Athletic Achievement Award went to Morris, a three-time All-American sprinter in the 60-meter dash, an event in which he holds the CU school record of 6.57. A six-time scorer in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships (including two first place efforts), he also scored for the Buffaloes in three events at last yearGÇÖs Pac-12 Conference championship.

The other finalists were Joe Bosshard (cross country), Jason Burstyn (golf) and Will Pericak (football).

The Male Freshman Athlete of the Year Award was Pierce Murphy, who had an outstanding debut season on the menGÇÖs cross country team. In earning All-Mountain Region and second-team All-Pac 12 honors, his performances helped CU to a repeat as Pac-12 champions and a third place finish at the NCAA Championships. He was 14th at the Pac-12GÇÖs and 45th in the NCAAGÇÖs, with his top finish a fourth place effort in the Rocky Mountain Shootout.

The other finalists were Philip Juel-Berg (golf), who was just CUGÇÖs top finisher this week at the Pac-12 Championships; Christian Powell (football) and Josh Scott (basketball).

Basketball player Arielle Roberson captured the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award, as she earned a host of postseason awards. Most notable of those were being named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, third-team Freshman All-American and to the Pac-12 All-Freshmen Team (by both the league coaches and media). She also earned Freshman Player of the Week honors in the conference on five occasions. She was second on the team in both scoring (12.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.2), numbers that ranked her 17th and 16th in the league.

Roberson bested Alexis Austin (volleyball), Carrie Verdon (cross country) and Brooke Wales (skiing).

SAAC members selected several award winners, including the CU Sports "Moment of the Year." The winning moment came at the Olympic Trials, when Coburn and Shalaya Kipp finished 1-3 in the steeplechase, meaning both made the U.S. Olympic Team and earned a trip to the 2012 London Olympics. Runner-up moments were the menGÇÖs cross country team repeating as Pac-12 champions (despite not returning a single scorer) and the ski team winning its 19^th national champion, thanks to the largest final day comeback since the sport went coed in 1983.

Mary Ellen GÇ£ClydeGÇ¥ OGÇÖMalley was recognized as the staff member of the year; she is the departmentGÇÖs insurance coordinator in the sports medicine department and was summed up in one word by the selection committee: GÇ£amazing.GÇ¥

The Student Athlete Support Award was given to the Leadership Development Program for the departmentGÇÖs hard work with student-athletes on career services, leadership programs and community service opportunities.

The prestigious Buffalo Award of Distinction, given to student-athletes of each gender for outstanding contributions to his or her team, their peers and the athletic department overall, were presented to Brianne Beemer (track) and Ian Mallams (skiing). Both participated in several CU community outreach projects, including Buffalo Hugs, Read With The Buffs and the Holiday Angel Tree, as well as other community activities.

The SAAC Distinguished Service Award, presented to senior members who contributed significantly to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, was given to 11 seniors: Beemer, Mallams, Matt Biegner and Nikki Look (cross country & track), Annie Brunner, Shaye Marshall and Lauren Shaner (soccer), Devin Dougherty (golf) and Khyla Burrows, Max Lamb and Mary Rose (skiing).

The Spencer Nelson Buffalo Spirit Award, formerly the AthleteGÇÖs Choice Award and renamed for the CU skier who died in a tragic hiking accident in August 2010, was presented to cross country and distance performer Allie McLaughlin. This honor is presented to the student or students who demonstrated outstanding spirit, enthusiasm and leadership while overcoming adversity. McLaughlin has overcome numerous injuries and has still contributed to the success of the team.

The Speed, Strength & Conditioning Award for the GÇ£Buffest BuffGÇ¥ was awarded to Bianca Jones (soccer).

Originally created in 2001, the annual event is 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.

CUGÇÖs SAAC would like to recognize and sincerely thank the food and beverage sponsors for the 13th Annual CUSPYGÇÖs; all items were donated:

Bank of the West

Chick-fil-A

Chipotle Mexican Grill

CU Conference Services

DaphneGÇÖs Greek Cafe

Fate Brewing Company

Hapa Sushi

K-M Concessions

MoeGÇÖs Original Barbecue

Old Chicago

Pasta JayGÇÖs