Several Honored At 15th Annual CUSPY Awards

BOULDER GÇö Over a dozen major awards were presented here Tuesday night as the University of Colorado honored its best at the 15th annual CU Sports Performers of the Year (CUSPY) Awards.

Over 400 student-athletes, coaches, staff and C-Club board 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 2014-15 athletic year.

Mads Stroem, who played an integral part in leading the Buffaloes to their 20th national championship in skiing, was named CUGÇÖs Male Athlete of the Year. He won four races this past winter, along with six runner-up finishes in 12 events overall (he placed in the top four 11 times). He earned first-team All-American honors in both the classical and freestyle races at the NCAA Championships, and in earning first-team All-RMISA honors, he was the regional champion in both disciplines.

The other finalists were Ammar Moussa (cross country), Morgan Pearson (indoor track) and Nelson Spruce (football).

The Female Athlete of the Year Award once again had a strong field of candidates with a full slate of nominees, and in the end, the honor was shared between soccerGÇÖs Brie Hooks and golfGÇÖs Esther Lee.

Hooks had an outstanding sophomore season and was a major contributor in CUGÇÖs drive to the NCAAGÇÖs round of 32, and nearly the Sweet 16. In helping the Buffs to a 14-7-1 overall record, including a 6-4-1 mark in the Pac-12 that was good for CUGÇÖs highest finish to date GÇô third GÇô she started all 22 games and matched her freshman output with eight goals. She led the team in goals, assists and shots, and tied for the most game winning goals with three. She earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors along with third-team NSCAA All-Pacific Region accolades.

Lee has led the womenGÇÖs golf team to one of its best seasons in its history, including a No. 36 national ranking and a fifth place finish in last weekGÇÖs Pac-12 Championships, the second highest in a league meet in the programGÇÖs 21-year existence. She has played in all 10 tournaments (28 rounds), and is on pace to set a CU record in stroke average as she goes into next monthGÇÖs NCAA West (St. George) Regional with a 72.89 figure (her spring average of 71.88 is also threatening the record). She has five rounds in the 60s, most in a season at CU and already third all-time for a career, and she claimed medalist honors at the Bay Area Intercollegiate among her seven top 10 and nine top 20 finishes. She recently was named first-team All-Pac-12, the first player at Colorado to earn the honor.

Erin Clark (cross country) and Taylor Simpson were the other finalists from the deep pool of worthy nominations.

Simpson, however, didnGÇÖt leave the ceremony empty-handed, as she was honored with the Female Career Athletic Achievement Award. CUGÇÖs first ever AVCA first-team All-American, she started all 66 matches her junior and senior seasons and led CU to a 38-28 record and to two NCAA tournament berths, the schoolGÇÖs first back-to-back appearances since the 2005-06 seasons. The two-time team offensive MVP, she recorded 981 kills, 632 digs and 140 blocks in just two years. As a senior, in addition to her All-America honor, she also earned first-team All-Pac-12 and All-AVCA Pacific South Region accolades. She played key roles in some of CUGÇÖs biggest wins in recent memory, including a pair over Washington when the Huskies were No. 1 her junior year and No. 2 last fall. She was also selected as the stateGÇÖs Female College Athlete of the Year for 2014 by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.

The other three finalists were Lexy Kresl (basketball), Brooke Wales Granstrom (skiing) and Julyette Steur (tennis).

The Male Career Athletic Achievement Award went to Rune Oedegaard (skiing), who helped the Buffaloes to a pair of NCAA championships, first as a sophomore in 2013 and then as a senior this past winter. A seven-time All-American, including five first-team honors, he won 19 races in his career, the most ever by a male CU skier. Included in that count are two NCAA individual titles in the classical race in 2013 and 2014. In 44 career races, he recorded a school record 36 podium finishes (19 wins, 12 seconds and five thirds). He was a five-time Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association champion, a four-time, first-team All-RMISA performer and a four-time Division I National All-Academic Ski Team member. He also was a nine-time CU Athlete of the Week and a four-time RMISA Skier of the Week honoree.

Oedegaard bested Will Oliver (football), David Oraee (golf) and Blake Theroux (cross country).

The Male Freshman Athlete of the Year Award was captured by Shay Fields, a wide receiver on the football team. He caught a CU freshman record 50 passes last fall, gaining 486 yards and scoring four touchdowns. He also tied the CU record for the most receptions in a first game of a career (eight versus Colorado State) as well as in the first two games (14); his 21 catches over his first three games did set the school mark. He had 46 yards against CSU, also a first game freshman high, and his 75-yard reception from Sefo Liufau for a touchdown to open the Arizona game was the second longest catch by a freshman in CU history (and also was the quickest-ever score by CU in a game: only 11 seconds in).

Other nominations included Derek McCartney (football) and Ian Boucher (skiing).

Golfer Brittany Fan won the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award. Easily enjoying one of the top freshman seasons in program history, her 74.7 stroke average for 28 rounds is on pace to set a frosh record. She has six top 20 finishes to her credit (all in the top 45), and 27 of those 28 rounds (96.4 percent) have counted toward CUGÇÖs team total in tournaments. Consistent from the start, 21 of her rounds are between 70 and 77, and like Lee, has played an integral part in the teamGÇÖs ranking and conference finish.

Fan had solid competition for the honor from Petra Hyncicova (skiing), Darby Kiernan (lacrosse) and Gabby Simpson (volleyball).

The selection committee does leave open the possibility that the Athlete-of-the-Year and freshmen awards could be augmented once the spring sport seasons are complete in fairness to those sports (golf, lacrosse, outdoor track, tennis) that still have important portions of their seasons and/or NCAA events still ahead of them. At present, the committee will keep a watchful eye on, among others, what golfers like David Oraee and Jeremy Paul do in the NCAA championships; postseason accomplishments of lacrosse stars Johnna Fusco and Marie Moore, and monitor several athletes in outdoor track, including Ana Holland, Abrianna Torres, Morgan Pearson and Alex Kizirian, who has enjoyed a record setting senior season.

SAAC members selected several award winners, including the CU Sports "Moment of the Year." The winning moment came when the ski team found out it had won the national championship on March 14. The slalom wrapped up the meet in Lake Placid, N.Y., and a true team effort on the final day secured CUGÇÖs third title in the last five years, and a record eighth title under coach Richard Rokos. That moment edged out the menGÇÖs cross country team repeating as national champions and the volleyball team dealing Washington its first defeat of the season for the second straight year; in 2013, the Huskies were ranked No. 1, last fall, UW was No. 2.

Assistant trainer Eric Mann was recognized as the staff member of the year. While still assisting with all the needs of the 100-plus member football team, he also took on a new sport for him GÇô skiing GÇô and managed all the chores for both despite severe overlap during the first part of the spring semester. Other finalists were nutritionist Laura Anderson and sports psychologist Chris Bader.

The Student Athlete Support Award was given to the new Performance Nutrition staff. The students cited their both friendly and hard-working nature in coordinating efforts for the athletes being GÇ£well-fueledGÇ¥ for training and competitions. The Sports Performance and the Sports Medicine staffs were also finalists.

The highest award a graduating senior can receive from the Pac-12 Conference is the Tom Hansen Medal, named for the leagueGÇÖs longtime commissioner, and is based on the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership. Each school selects a male and female recipient, and these were presented to a pair of skiers, Oedegaard and Granstrom.

The SAAC Distinguished Service Award, presented to senior members who contributed significantly to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, was given to 10 seniors: Granstrom, Jenny DeSouchet and Hugh Dowdy (cross country), Bianca Jones and Darcy Jerman (soccer), Alex Kizirian (track & field), Catrina McAlister (cross country & track), Shane McLean (skiing), Jasmine Sborov (basketball) and Ashley Tiefel (tennis).

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 the entire menGÇÖs and womenGÇÖs cross country and track team. They lost a teammate, sprinter Kyle MacIntosh, due to complications from EwingGÇÖs sarcoma on Jan. 29. This honor is presented to the student or students who demonstrated outstanding spirit, enthusiasm and leadership while overcoming adversity. MacIntosh, who was 23 and was the 2014 recipient of the award, fought the cancer for over a year and was often inspired and comforted by many of his teammates.

The Sports Performance Awards for strength and conditioning accomplshments were presented to Shaw Gifford (track) and Kahlia Hogg (soccer).

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.

CUGÇÖs SAAC would like to recognize and sincerely thank the food and beverage sponsors for the 15th Annual CUSPYGÇÖs; all items were donated:

Blackjack Pizza

Chick-fil-A

Fate Brewing Company

Hapa Sushi

K-M Concessions

Pepsi

Protein Bar

RC Special Events

Safeway

SnarfGÇÖs

Top Drawer Photography