Last night was the BIG year-end awards show for CU student- athletes, the CUSPY's.
Hope everyone had a wonderful time, and thanks and congrats to all the student - athletes and all who help them excel for all the great times watching them do their thing(s.)!
Article -
Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2024/4/30/general-several-honored-with-top-honors-at-2023-24-cuspy-s
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BOULDER — Several major awards were presented Monday night as the University of Colorado honored its best in athletics at the 24th annual CU Sports Performers of the Year (CUSPY) Awards.
Almost 400 student-athletes, coaches, staff and C-Club board members attended the annual year-end celebration, which as always was organized by CU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the 2023-24 athletic year.
There were co-recipients for both the Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards, as the voting for both by the selection committee had the pair in each distance themselves from the pack.
The Male Athlete of the Year Award was shared by sophomore Travis Hunter (football) and junior KJ Simpson (basketball).
Hunter won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation's Most Versatile Player, CU's 11th major player of the year trophy dating back to the first one in 1990. He was a consensus first-team All-American, the school's 26th with consensus status, but the first since Nate Solder in 2010, and a first-team All-Pac-12 performer. Also an Academic All-American, joining Solder as the only two players in school history to be first-team All-Americans on and off the field in the same year. He played receiver on offense (57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns), and cornerback on defense (30 tackles, three interceptions and five pass deflections). He led the nation in snaps played with 1,032.
Simpson earned first-team NABC All-District and All-Pac-12 honors in leading CU to a 26-11 record, the most wins in team history. He set CU single-season records for minutes played (1,224), free throw percentage (.876) and double-figure scoring games (35), and cracked the top five season marks in points (third, 728), assists (third, 181), three-point field goal percentage (fourth, 43.4) and field goal attempts (fifth, 512). He was the only player in a major conference to average 19 points, five rebounds and four assists per game (one of just five overall in the NCAA). He was on the in-season watch lists for several honors, most notably the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20. And he hit the buzzer-beater (a 17-foot baseline jumper with 1.7 seconds left) to give CU a 102-100 win over Florida to advance CU into NCAA second round.
Two others were finalists, freshman Filip Wahlqvist (alpine skiing) and senior Will Koch (Nordic skiing).
Jaylyn Sherrod, in her fifth-year and who won the honor for the '22-23 athletic year, this time shared the women's honor with skiing's Magdalena Luczak, a sophomore.
Luczak swept the NCAA individual championships, as by winning the giant slalom and slalom, she was a big factor in helping the Buffaloes to the NCAA crown. In the process, she became just the seventh woman in NCAA history and second from CU to accomplish the rare sweep (out of 41 seasons the NCAA has sponsored the sport). She never finished lower than second in her six college races with four wins and two runner-up performances, owning 176-2 record against the competition. At the time, became the 12th CU athlete to win at least three individual NCAA career titles (joined by Boee the next day).
Sherrod made the most of things after returning for a fifth-year with the Buffs, leading the team to a 24-10 record, at one point the No. 2 ranking in the nation and the opening season victory over defending champion LSU. She earned honorable mention All-American honors from both the Associated Press and the WBCA, as well as garnering first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and All-Pac-12 Defensive team accolades. Selected as the conference's Scholar Athlete-of-the-Year for 2023-24, she was also an Academic All-District selection. She started all 34 games, averaging a career-high 12.8 points per game (second on the team), matched her career-high dishing out 5.1 assists per game, while hauling in 3.1 rebounds and making 2.1 steals per game.
There were two other finalists, seniors Avery McMullen (track and field) and Madeline Pisani (lacrosse).
Nordic skier Magnus Boee was the unanimous choice for Male Career Athletic Achievement Award. One of 13 CU athletes in history to claim at least three individual NCAA titles, his final one put a bow on his storybook career. By winning the 20-kilometer classic, the final race at the NCAA Championships, it secured CU's comeback for the team title. Boee skied in 58 of a possible 62 races in his Buffalo career, with 40 top 5, 50 top 10 and 57 top 20 finishes, which included 16 wins and 30 podiums (top three finishes). He is just the third eight-time All-American in CU history, and just the 13th to earn five or more first-team All-America honors. He previously had won the 2021 NCAA crowns in both the classic and freestyle Nordic races, and ranks fifth in career wins by a CU skier with 16.
The other finalists were Tristan da Silva (basketball) and Austin Vancil (cross country and track).
McMullen did capture the Female Career Athletic Achievement Award. She has qualified for the NCAA six times in her career, most recently earning first-team All-America honors in the pentathlon in March with an eighth place finish (with a personal best and a CU record 4,259 points). She is a five-time All-American (one first-team honor, four second-team accolades) and holds CU's indoor records for the 60-meter hurdles, long jump, 4-400 and pentathlon indoors, and the long jump outdoors. She shattered two four decades-old records this past indoor season and over the course of her career, has posted 76 first place finishes between indoor and outdoor competitions (added 13 this past winter).
The three other finalists for the honor were Sherrod, Abbey Glynn (track) and Anna-Maria Dietze (Nordic skiing).
Alpine skier Filip Wahlqvist won the Male Freshman of the Year honor. The NCAA slalom champion who helped ignite CU's rally for the national title; he was the 16th Buf to win the slalom, but just the third this century. The RMISA most valuable skier in the slalom, he was also the RMISA/NCAA West Regional champion. He won four slalom races on the winter (out of seven), just the third alpine skier in school history to win over half his starts, and in the process, was just the third to win four slaloms in a single season. He won his first two races as a collegian, joining very good company at CU, as only three others alpiners did it: Buddy Werner, Spider Sabich and John Skajem.
Other finalists were Dylan Edwards (football), Brandon Knight (golf) and Cody Williams (basketball).
Faith Leyba the soccer team earned the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award honor. She earned Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors and was also a third-team All-Pac-12 performer, starting all 21 matches last fall. She led the field players in minutes played (1,776, or an average of 84.6 per game), and helped the Buffs' backline record eight shutouts. The third-team All-Pacific Region honoree scored three goals – on just five shots.
The other three finalists were Aiden Carr (lacrosse), Lily Dwinell (volleyball) and Pia Rebec (tennis).
...
"
(Due to the length of the article, need to break it into 2 separate posts.)
Hope everyone had a wonderful time, and thanks and congrats to all the student - athletes and all who help them excel for all the great times watching them do their thing(s.)!
Article -
Direct link - https://cubuffs.com/news/2024/4/30/general-several-honored-with-top-honors-at-2023-24-cuspy-s
"
BOULDER — Several major awards were presented Monday night as the University of Colorado honored its best in athletics at the 24th annual CU Sports Performers of the Year (CUSPY) Awards.
Almost 400 student-athletes, coaches, staff and C-Club board members attended the annual year-end celebration, which as always was organized by CU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the 2023-24 athletic year.
There were co-recipients for both the Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards, as the voting for both by the selection committee had the pair in each distance themselves from the pack.
The Male Athlete of the Year Award was shared by sophomore Travis Hunter (football) and junior KJ Simpson (basketball).
Hunter won the Paul Hornung Award as the nation's Most Versatile Player, CU's 11th major player of the year trophy dating back to the first one in 1990. He was a consensus first-team All-American, the school's 26th with consensus status, but the first since Nate Solder in 2010, and a first-team All-Pac-12 performer. Also an Academic All-American, joining Solder as the only two players in school history to be first-team All-Americans on and off the field in the same year. He played receiver on offense (57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns), and cornerback on defense (30 tackles, three interceptions and five pass deflections). He led the nation in snaps played with 1,032.
Simpson earned first-team NABC All-District and All-Pac-12 honors in leading CU to a 26-11 record, the most wins in team history. He set CU single-season records for minutes played (1,224), free throw percentage (.876) and double-figure scoring games (35), and cracked the top five season marks in points (third, 728), assists (third, 181), three-point field goal percentage (fourth, 43.4) and field goal attempts (fifth, 512). He was the only player in a major conference to average 19 points, five rebounds and four assists per game (one of just five overall in the NCAA). He was on the in-season watch lists for several honors, most notably the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20. And he hit the buzzer-beater (a 17-foot baseline jumper with 1.7 seconds left) to give CU a 102-100 win over Florida to advance CU into NCAA second round.
Two others were finalists, freshman Filip Wahlqvist (alpine skiing) and senior Will Koch (Nordic skiing).
Jaylyn Sherrod, in her fifth-year and who won the honor for the '22-23 athletic year, this time shared the women's honor with skiing's Magdalena Luczak, a sophomore.
Luczak swept the NCAA individual championships, as by winning the giant slalom and slalom, she was a big factor in helping the Buffaloes to the NCAA crown. In the process, she became just the seventh woman in NCAA history and second from CU to accomplish the rare sweep (out of 41 seasons the NCAA has sponsored the sport). She never finished lower than second in her six college races with four wins and two runner-up performances, owning 176-2 record against the competition. At the time, became the 12th CU athlete to win at least three individual NCAA career titles (joined by Boee the next day).
Sherrod made the most of things after returning for a fifth-year with the Buffs, leading the team to a 24-10 record, at one point the No. 2 ranking in the nation and the opening season victory over defending champion LSU. She earned honorable mention All-American honors from both the Associated Press and the WBCA, as well as garnering first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and All-Pac-12 Defensive team accolades. Selected as the conference's Scholar Athlete-of-the-Year for 2023-24, she was also an Academic All-District selection. She started all 34 games, averaging a career-high 12.8 points per game (second on the team), matched her career-high dishing out 5.1 assists per game, while hauling in 3.1 rebounds and making 2.1 steals per game.
There were two other finalists, seniors Avery McMullen (track and field) and Madeline Pisani (lacrosse).
Nordic skier Magnus Boee was the unanimous choice for Male Career Athletic Achievement Award. One of 13 CU athletes in history to claim at least three individual NCAA titles, his final one put a bow on his storybook career. By winning the 20-kilometer classic, the final race at the NCAA Championships, it secured CU's comeback for the team title. Boee skied in 58 of a possible 62 races in his Buffalo career, with 40 top 5, 50 top 10 and 57 top 20 finishes, which included 16 wins and 30 podiums (top three finishes). He is just the third eight-time All-American in CU history, and just the 13th to earn five or more first-team All-America honors. He previously had won the 2021 NCAA crowns in both the classic and freestyle Nordic races, and ranks fifth in career wins by a CU skier with 16.
The other finalists were Tristan da Silva (basketball) and Austin Vancil (cross country and track).
McMullen did capture the Female Career Athletic Achievement Award. She has qualified for the NCAA six times in her career, most recently earning first-team All-America honors in the pentathlon in March with an eighth place finish (with a personal best and a CU record 4,259 points). She is a five-time All-American (one first-team honor, four second-team accolades) and holds CU's indoor records for the 60-meter hurdles, long jump, 4-400 and pentathlon indoors, and the long jump outdoors. She shattered two four decades-old records this past indoor season and over the course of her career, has posted 76 first place finishes between indoor and outdoor competitions (added 13 this past winter).
The three other finalists for the honor were Sherrod, Abbey Glynn (track) and Anna-Maria Dietze (Nordic skiing).
Alpine skier Filip Wahlqvist won the Male Freshman of the Year honor. The NCAA slalom champion who helped ignite CU's rally for the national title; he was the 16th Buf to win the slalom, but just the third this century. The RMISA most valuable skier in the slalom, he was also the RMISA/NCAA West Regional champion. He won four slalom races on the winter (out of seven), just the third alpine skier in school history to win over half his starts, and in the process, was just the third to win four slaloms in a single season. He won his first two races as a collegian, joining very good company at CU, as only three others alpiners did it: Buddy Werner, Spider Sabich and John Skajem.
Other finalists were Dylan Edwards (football), Brandon Knight (golf) and Cody Williams (basketball).
Faith Leyba the soccer team earned the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award honor. She earned Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors and was also a third-team All-Pac-12 performer, starting all 21 matches last fall. She led the field players in minutes played (1,776, or an average of 84.6 per game), and helped the Buffs' backline record eight shutouts. The third-team All-Pacific Region honoree scored three goals – on just five shots.
The other three finalists were Aiden Carr (lacrosse), Lily Dwinell (volleyball) and Pia Rebec (tennis).
...
"
(Due to the length of the article, need to break it into 2 separate posts.)