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BOULDER — Several major awards were presented Monday night as the University of Colorado honored its best in athletics at the 23rd 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 2022-23 athletic year.
The Female Athlete of the Year was Jaylyn Sherrod, who led the women's basketball team to a 25-9 record, a third place finish in the Pac-12, a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament and a No. 21 final national ranking. In earning first-team All-Pac-12 Conference and All-Pac-12 Defensive team honors, she started all 33 games she appeared in, averaging a career-high 11.3 points per game. She had 167 assists, tied for the fourth-most in a single season at CU, along with the ninth-most steals (78). She scored the tying points with 34 seconds left that forced overtime in CU's eventual 61-53 win at No. 3-seeded Duke to advance the Buffs into the Sweet 16.
Sherrod recently announced she would return for her fifth year at CU, taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three others were finalists for the honor, Bailey Hertenstein (cross country), Civana Kuhlman (soccer) and Charlie Rudy (lacrosse).
The Male Athlete of the Year Award was shared by graduate student Filip Forejtek (skiing) and sophomore Dylan McDermott (golf).
Forejtek repeated as the individual champion in the NCAA Giant Slalom, earning first-team All-America honors in the process. In the 70-plus years of the NCAA Championships, he was just the third skier to repeat as the GS champion, and the first Buffalo to accomplish the rare feat. That effort gave CU the first day lead and helped the Buffs to an eventual runner-up finish. He won two races out of six he finished, with five top 10 finishes including three podium (top three) efforts. He also earned second-team All-Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association accolades, and was also a member of the National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team.
McDermott has enjoyed a stellar sophomore season to date, and should contend for Pac-12 medalist honors later this week at Stanford. Through last Saturday, he owned a 70.17 stroke average for 30 rounds (which included a record 13 in a row of either par or better), as he is flirting with the school's single season record. He has the fourth-best stroke number in the Pac-12 and is tied for the 38th-best nationally with seven top 10 finishes to his credit. He has been under par in nine of 10 events, already another school mark that included a record seven in a row, with his 69.67 fall stroke average also a CU-best. He opened the season with medalist honors at Notre Dame's Fighting Irish Classic, his 200 total a 54-hole Buffalo record for courses of all par configurations.
The three other finalists were Magnus Boee (Nordic skiing), Tristan da Silva (basketball) and Isaiah Givens (track).
Forejtek was the unanimous choice for Male Career Athletic Achievement Award. The two-time RMISA Most Valuable Skier was the 2022 National Skier of the Year and earned six total All-American honors, including four first-team. The aforementioned just third skier to win back-to-back giant slalom titles at the NCAA championships, he snapped a 60-year old school record with 29 total top five finishes in alpine events.
The other finalists included Alex Fontenot (football) and Adam Matteson (golf).
Rudy of the women's lacrosse team was the recipient of the Female Career Athletic Achievement Award. The current leader in the Pac-12 Conference in both goals (61) and points per game (4.1), including this year will have led the Buffaloes in scoring three of her five seasons. Heading into this week's regular season finale against Oregon, in 69 career games she has 189 goals and 37 assists for 226 total points (second all-time at Colorado in goals and points). She has those goals on 451 career shots, which translates to a 41.9 percentage. She has made an All-Pac-12 team all four previous seasons (first-team in 2022), and is a five-time Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week.
The three other finalists for the honor were Antonia Balzert (tennis), Kaitlyn Harsch (alpine skiing) and Meegan Hart (volleyball).
Isaiah Givens of the indoor track team won the Male Freshman of the Year honor. In establishing a school record for the indoor mile in a time of 3:55.99 in Seattle in late February (nearly one second better than the previous mark), he qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships as a freshman, a rare accomplishment. Unfortunately, he was unable to compete at nationals due to an illness. He had already become the youngest Buffalo to ever break the 4-minute mile when he ran 3:59.57 two weeks earlier in the Husky Classic.
Other finalists were Hugo Hinckfuss (Nordic skiing), Hunter Swanson (golf) and Van Wells (football).
Lily Assini of the lacrosse team and Juliauna Hayward of the soccer team shared the Female Freshman Athlete of the Year Award.
Assini has appeared in all 15 games to date for the Buffs, with the midfielder scoring six goals (on only 17 shots) with three assists on the season; she is seventh on the team with nine total points. She is currently second on the team in draw controls with 29, and is tied for eighth in ground balls with 12.
Hayward earned first-team Pac-12 All-Freshman team honors, and was also a third-team All-Pacific Region selection by the United Soccer Coaches. She finished sixth on the team in scoring with eight points (two goals, four assists), despite missing the last six matches due to injury. She scored a goal in her collegiate debut against Weber State.
The other finalists were Elena Grissom (Nordic skiing) and Carri Hayes (tennis).
SAAC members selected several award winners, including the staff member of the year which was awarded to Rawley Klingsmith, the head trainer for men's basketball and dance. He was selected among four finalists, the others being Heather Cracraft (assistant to athletic director Rick George), Katherine Kubancik (assistant director of CU's leadership and career development – and last year's recipient), and Skylar Rubalcaba (assistant sports performance coach).
The Student Athlete Support Award was presented to the sports medicine staff, with the other finalists the custodial staff and the psychological health and performance staff.
In addition, nominations are submitted by many for CU's Sports' "Moment of the Year." From a list of solid choices, they were narrowed down to four, with the winner selected during the event by votes from those in attendance. The four finalists were the hiring of Deion Sanders as football coach; the women's basketball team's Sweet 16 run; the women's cross country team winning the Pac-12 championship; and the ski team finishing second at the NCAA Championships. And the winner was … coach JR Payne's women's basketball team advancing to the Sweet 16 for the seventh time overall in school history, but for the first time in 20 years.
The SAAC Distinguished Service Award, presented to senior members who contributed significantly to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee during their CU careers, was awarded to eight student-athletes: Balzert, Carley Bennett and Alisa Meraz-Fishbein (cross country & track); Jaida Drame (track and field); Alyssa Duke (soccer); Joshka Gustav (football); Savannah Perry (volleyball); Issy Simpson (women's golf). Two Ralphie Handlers were also honored, Michael Duran and Caitlyn Mendik, along with two members of the cheer squad, Bianca Barrios and Emma Yang, and two from the dance team, Jacelyn Hays and Chloe Patterson.
The Spencer Nelson Buffalo Spirit Award, formerly the Athlete's Choice Award and renamed for the CU skier who died in a tragic hiking accident in August 2010, was presented to Carley Bennett (cross country and track) and Cleo Braun (alpine skiing). Bennett was a strong leader who overcame several injuries during her CU career. She was noted for always being a supportive friend on and off the track and coordinate many events for the cross country and track teams. Similarly, Braun overcame many injuries and despite those setbacks proved to be a terrific leader.
The other finalists were Sherrod, Brendan Fraser (cross country), Bella Grust (soccer).
The Sports Performance Awards for strength and conditioning accomplishments (or "lifters of the year") were presented to Ian Gilmore (men's track and field) and Jaida Drame (women's track and field).
Two honors in just their second year were the Championing Change awards, which were awarded to both a staff member, LaTonya Watson (associate director of academics) and a student-athlete, Gya'ni Sami (track and field).
The Ceal Barry Leadership Awards are given to those student-athletes who most effectively inspire their team, the CU campus and the community in general through their exemplary commitment, their composure in the way they represent themselves and in the integrity of their actions. The recipients were da Silva, Sami, Hannah Cardenas (soccer), Jake Derouin (cross country and track), Aya El Sayed (tennis) and Avery McMullen (track and field).
The selection committee annually leaves open the possibility that all of the above 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 (Pac-12 championships and NCAA's are still down the road for men's golf, lacrosse, track and field and tennis).
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.
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