Brett Pfarr was named male athlete of the year, Men's basketball was named the men's team of the year, Richard Pitino was named the men's coach of the year and Amir Coffey was named the male rookie of the year...all awarded at the Golden Goldys last night at TCF Bank Stadium. All of those honored are listed in the article below:
By the way...Female athlete of the year Sarah Wilhite (women's volleyball) is welcome to be on my team Any Time She Wants!!!
Here's the article from Gophersports.com, followed by another from Intermat:
2017 Golden Goldys Handed Out
Volleyball and men's basketball highlighted the 2017 Golden Goldys, awarded May 1, at TCF Bank Stadium.
Minnesota Athletes of the Year Brett Pfarr and Sarah Wilhite
Gophersports.com
May 1, 2017
Photo Gallery
University of Minnesota volleyball and men's basketball teams highlighted the 2017 Golden Goldys, held tonight at TCF Bank Stadium. The pair of teams took home seven Goldys awards as Intercollegiate Athletics recognized both the athletic and academic achievements of its more than 700 student-athletes.
Volleyball's Sarah Wilhite had her name called twice as the female athlete of the year and breakthrough athlete of the year. Freshman Alexis Hart was named the female rookie of the year, while volleyball and head coach Hugh McCutcheon was named team and women's team coach of the year.
Gopher volleyball advanced to its second-straight Final Four last year after going 29-5 overall and extending its home unbeaten streak to 36-straight matches spanning the past three seasons. Minnesota had three All-Americans and All-Big Ten selections and held the overall No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Wilhite went from never garnering a conference honorable mention accolade to becoming the program's first AVCA and ESPN National and Big Ten Player of the Year. She led the Big Ten in kills per set, was named the National Player of the Week once and a league-best, four-time Big Ten player of the week during her senior season. Hart was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and was named the AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year As a rookie, she also added All-America honorable mention accolades.
Men's basketball was named the men's team of the year, Richard Pitino was named the men's coach of the year and Amir Coffey was named the male rookie of the year.
The Big Ten and District 7 Coach of the Year, Pitino engineered the biggest win improvement in program history, and the best in the nation last year, as the team added 16 victories to its 2015-16 season total. The Gophers (24-10, 11-7) earned their highest finish in the Big Ten in 12 seasons. Minnesota earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, its highest seed since 1982, and its first NCAA berth since 2013. Coffey was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. He ranked second on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg), assists (102), and steals (35). Coffey ranked 27th among all Big Ten players in scoring and fifth among freshmen. He posted 19 double-digit scoring games and started 30 of the Gophers' 31 games.
Wrestling's Brett Pfarr was named the male athlete of the year, while track's Derek Wiebke was named the male breakthrough athlete of the year.
Pfarr earned his second career All-America finish at the NCAA Championships by reaching the NCAA finals at 197 pounds. Pfarr was the program's first national finalist since 2014, an accomplishment earned just two weeks after wrestling in the Big Ten finals at the conference tournament. Pfarr led the team in almost every major category: wins, dual wins, conference wins, wins over ranked opponents, dual points scored and average tournament placement.
Wiebke recovered from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome earlier in his college career and became the 2017 Big Ten Champion and First Team All-Big Ten in the indoor mile. His winning mile time of 4:01.85 was a personal best and the fourth fastest time in Gophers history.
Pfarr and women's hockey's Lee Stecklein were awarded the Male & Female Outstanding Student-Athlete Achievement Awards in honor of their success both in the classroom and in their respective sports. Pfarr is set to graduate with honors this spring with a degree in agricultural and food business management. In addition to his success in the classroom, Pfarr is also a two-time wrestling All-American, three-time NCAA qualifier and, as mentioned earlier, a 2017 national finalist at 197 pounds. Stecklein is set to graduate with honors this spring with degrees in entrepreneurial management and marketing. In addition to her success in the classroom, she is also an AHCA All-American and a three-time national champion. Their success in their respective sports and a high level of academic success solidifies their outstanding student-athlete achievements while representing the University of Minnesota and Golden Gopher Athletics.
Stecklein and men's track and field's Luca Weiland were selected as the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients. The conference's most exclusive award was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence. The Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had "attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work." Big Ten schools currently feature more than 8,200 student-athletes, but only 28 earn this prestigious award on an annual basis. In the 100-plus years of the Medal of Honor, more than 1,300 student-athletes have earned this distinction.
Baseball's Cody Campbell and women's track & field's Nicolle Murphy were awarded the Land O'Lakes Outstanding Achievement Award in Leadership and Service. Selected by the Land O'Lakes committee, this award is given to one male and one female student-athlete who are accomplished in the areas of leadership and volunteerism. A pitcher for the Gopher baseball team, Campbell's resume continues off the mound. He is a senior psychology major who also found time to volunteer more than 300 hours in the local community. Campbell added internships within Gopher Athletics and Be the Match this past summer. Murphy is a senior sports management major and has volunteered for more than 140 hours in her community. She organized the Wellness Corps program, which is a partnership with the Midwest Dairy Council. Together, they work closely within the Twin Cities area with a focus on healthy lifestyles.
Baseball's Lucas Gilbreath and soccer's Tarah Hobbs received the Richard Pinky McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award, given to individuals who have inspired all by making an extraordinary effort to succeed despite difficult circumstances, persevering during a time of tremendous adversity and/or overcoming a great challenge. Both Gilbreath and Hobbs have gone through bouts of depression after each dealt with deaths in their immediate family.
The Outstanding Academic Team Award was presented to the men and women's teams representing both the large and small team categories. Large teams are made up of 22 members or more, while small teams are made up of 21 members or fewer and includes the grade point averages of the past spring and fall semesters. The women's small team winner was women's golf and the large team winner was cross country. On the men's side, it was swimming and diving (large) and men's tennis (small).
The Top Five Award were also handed out, which recognize the five highest grade point averages by male and female student-athletes: Rashida Beal (soccer), Kate Bishop (track & cross country), Sabrine Garrison (golf), Patricia O'Brien (track & field/cross country), Emily Stock (rowing), Jessica Flakne (rowing), Micah Coffey (baseball), Michael Kroells (wrestling), Chris Pfarr (wrestling), Yaroslav Pochinka (gymnastics), Mitch Rogge (hockey) and Jack Tribble (men's swimming and diving). Kroells and women's gymnast Bailey Abernathy received the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship.
The teams who had the most community service hours during the 2016-17 season were women's cross country/track & field and men's gymnastics. This number is based on community service hours per team member from April 2016 to April 2017. Cross country/track & field logged more than 4,360 hours (51.3 per person), while men's gymnastics volunteered more than 285 hours (15.2 per person). Women's hockey and softball were awarded the Gladys Brooks Commitment to Academic Excellence Award, while men's track & field was awarded the Norman Borlaug Commitment to Academic Excellence Award.
The Teammate of the Year Award went to student-athlete development's Anissa Lightner. Arriving on campus in 2001, Lightner is an instrumental part of the Gopher student-athletes' efforts in career-development and within the local community. Lightner reaches out to some of the largest groups, both internally and externally, on behalf of the student-athlete development office and Gopher Athletics. She received the University of Minnesota's Golden Achievement Award this past January, as well as the President's Award for Outstanding Service in 2009.
The Tom H. Swain Campus Recognition Award was given this year to the department of Physics Student Services and the College of Science Engineering Advising offices.
This year's banquet marked the 11th Golden Goldys gala and the 28th year of the Scholar Athlete banquet. The two banquets consolidated in 2010.
The Golden Goldys voting process includes spring sports of 2016 (baseball, men's and women's golf, rowing, softball, men's and women's outdoor track & field and men's and women's tennis) and the fall and winter sports of the 2016-17 athletic year.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
MATT FIEDLER, baseball
JUSTIN KARSTADT, gymnastics
NATE MASON, basketball
BRETT PFARR, wrestling (winner)
TYLER SHEEHY, hockey
DEREK WIEBKE, track & field
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
RASHIDA BEAL, soccer
SARA GROENEWEGEN, softball
KIERRA SMITH, swimming
LEE STECKLEIN, hockey
SARAH WILHITE, volleyball (winner)
YU ZHOU, diving
MALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
AMIR COFFEY, basketball (winner)
THOMAS LONGBELLA, golf
CONNOR OLSON, cross country
REM PITLICK, hockey
TERRIN VAVRA, baseball
ANTOINE WINFIELD JR., football
FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
SARAH BACON, diving
ALEXIS HART, volleyball (winner)
MEGAN HASZ, cross country
LINDSEY HOREJSI, swimming
MADDIE HOULIHAN, softball
SHANIQUE WRIGHT, track & field
MALE BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
EMMIT CARPENTER, football
ETHAN LIZAK, wrestling
VINNI LETTIERI, hockey
DEREK WIEBKE, track & field (winner)
ALEX WITTENBERG, gymnastics
FEMALE BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
CHANTAL NACK, swimming
KELLY PANNEK, hockey
RYLIE WARGO, rowing
KAYLA WENNER, softball
SARAH WILHITE, volleyball (winner)
MEN'S TEAM OF THE YEAR:
BASEBALL
BASKETBALL (winner)
GYMNASTICS
HOCKEY
WOMEN'S TEAM OF THE YEAR:
SOCCER
SOFTBALL
TRACK & FIELD
VOLLEYBALL (winner)
MEN'S TEAM COACH OF THE YEAR:
JOHN ANDERSON, baseball
MIKE BURNS, gymnastics
DON LUCIA, hockey
RICHARD PITINO, basketball (winner)
WOMEN'S TEAM COACH OF THE YEAR:
JESSICA ALLISTER, softball
MATT BINGLE, track & field
STEFANIE GOLAN, soccer
HUGH McCUTCHEON, volleyball (winner)
Pfarr named Minnesota's top male athlete
InterMat Staff
5/2/2017
Two-time All-American wrestler Brett Pfarr was named Minnesota's male athlete of the year at the school's Golden Goldys held last night held at TCF Bank Stadium.
This past season Pfarr finished runner-up at the Big Ten Championships, and two weeks later became Minnesota's first national finalist since 2014. He led the Gopher wrestling team in almost every major category: wins, dual wins, conference wins, wins over ranked opponents, dual points scored and average tournament placement.
In addition, Pfarr was awarded the Male Outstanding Student-Athlete Achievement Award in honor of his success both in the classroom and in wrestling. He is set to graduate with honors this spring with a degree in agricultural and food business management.
Pfarr and All-American heavyweight Michael Kroells both earned the Top Five Award, which recognize the five highest grade point averages by male and female student-athletes. Kroells also received a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship.
NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak was a finalist for Minnesota's male breakthrough athlete of the year.
By the way...Female athlete of the year Sarah Wilhite (women's volleyball) is welcome to be on my team Any Time She Wants!!!
Here's the article from Gophersports.com, followed by another from Intermat:
2017 Golden Goldys Handed Out
Volleyball and men's basketball highlighted the 2017 Golden Goldys, awarded May 1, at TCF Bank Stadium.
Minnesota Athletes of the Year Brett Pfarr and Sarah Wilhite
Gophersports.com
May 1, 2017
University of Minnesota volleyball and men's basketball teams highlighted the 2017 Golden Goldys, held tonight at TCF Bank Stadium. The pair of teams took home seven Goldys awards as Intercollegiate Athletics recognized both the athletic and academic achievements of its more than 700 student-athletes.
Volleyball's Sarah Wilhite had her name called twice as the female athlete of the year and breakthrough athlete of the year. Freshman Alexis Hart was named the female rookie of the year, while volleyball and head coach Hugh McCutcheon was named team and women's team coach of the year.
Gopher volleyball advanced to its second-straight Final Four last year after going 29-5 overall and extending its home unbeaten streak to 36-straight matches spanning the past three seasons. Minnesota had three All-Americans and All-Big Ten selections and held the overall No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Wilhite went from never garnering a conference honorable mention accolade to becoming the program's first AVCA and ESPN National and Big Ten Player of the Year. She led the Big Ten in kills per set, was named the National Player of the Week once and a league-best, four-time Big Ten player of the week during her senior season. Hart was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and was named the AVCA North Region Freshman of the Year As a rookie, she also added All-America honorable mention accolades.
Men's basketball was named the men's team of the year, Richard Pitino was named the men's coach of the year and Amir Coffey was named the male rookie of the year.
The Big Ten and District 7 Coach of the Year, Pitino engineered the biggest win improvement in program history, and the best in the nation last year, as the team added 16 victories to its 2015-16 season total. The Gophers (24-10, 11-7) earned their highest finish in the Big Ten in 12 seasons. Minnesota earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, its highest seed since 1982, and its first NCAA berth since 2013. Coffey was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. He ranked second on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg), assists (102), and steals (35). Coffey ranked 27th among all Big Ten players in scoring and fifth among freshmen. He posted 19 double-digit scoring games and started 30 of the Gophers' 31 games.
Wrestling's Brett Pfarr was named the male athlete of the year, while track's Derek Wiebke was named the male breakthrough athlete of the year.
Pfarr earned his second career All-America finish at the NCAA Championships by reaching the NCAA finals at 197 pounds. Pfarr was the program's first national finalist since 2014, an accomplishment earned just two weeks after wrestling in the Big Ten finals at the conference tournament. Pfarr led the team in almost every major category: wins, dual wins, conference wins, wins over ranked opponents, dual points scored and average tournament placement.
Wiebke recovered from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome earlier in his college career and became the 2017 Big Ten Champion and First Team All-Big Ten in the indoor mile. His winning mile time of 4:01.85 was a personal best and the fourth fastest time in Gophers history.
Pfarr and women's hockey's Lee Stecklein were awarded the Male & Female Outstanding Student-Athlete Achievement Awards in honor of their success both in the classroom and in their respective sports. Pfarr is set to graduate with honors this spring with a degree in agricultural and food business management. In addition to his success in the classroom, Pfarr is also a two-time wrestling All-American, three-time NCAA qualifier and, as mentioned earlier, a 2017 national finalist at 197 pounds. Stecklein is set to graduate with honors this spring with degrees in entrepreneurial management and marketing. In addition to her success in the classroom, she is also an AHCA All-American and a three-time national champion. Their success in their respective sports and a high level of academic success solidifies their outstanding student-athlete achievements while representing the University of Minnesota and Golden Gopher Athletics.
Stecklein and men's track and field's Luca Weiland were selected as the Big Ten Medal of Honor recipients. The conference's most exclusive award was the first of its kind in intercollegiate athletics to recognize academic and athletic excellence. The Big Ten Medal of Honor was first awarded in 1915 to one student-athlete from the graduating class of each university who had "attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work." Big Ten schools currently feature more than 8,200 student-athletes, but only 28 earn this prestigious award on an annual basis. In the 100-plus years of the Medal of Honor, more than 1,300 student-athletes have earned this distinction.
Baseball's Cody Campbell and women's track & field's Nicolle Murphy were awarded the Land O'Lakes Outstanding Achievement Award in Leadership and Service. Selected by the Land O'Lakes committee, this award is given to one male and one female student-athlete who are accomplished in the areas of leadership and volunteerism. A pitcher for the Gopher baseball team, Campbell's resume continues off the mound. He is a senior psychology major who also found time to volunteer more than 300 hours in the local community. Campbell added internships within Gopher Athletics and Be the Match this past summer. Murphy is a senior sports management major and has volunteered for more than 140 hours in her community. She organized the Wellness Corps program, which is a partnership with the Midwest Dairy Council. Together, they work closely within the Twin Cities area with a focus on healthy lifestyles.
Baseball's Lucas Gilbreath and soccer's Tarah Hobbs received the Richard Pinky McNamara Student-Athlete Achievement Award, given to individuals who have inspired all by making an extraordinary effort to succeed despite difficult circumstances, persevering during a time of tremendous adversity and/or overcoming a great challenge. Both Gilbreath and Hobbs have gone through bouts of depression after each dealt with deaths in their immediate family.
The Outstanding Academic Team Award was presented to the men and women's teams representing both the large and small team categories. Large teams are made up of 22 members or more, while small teams are made up of 21 members or fewer and includes the grade point averages of the past spring and fall semesters. The women's small team winner was women's golf and the large team winner was cross country. On the men's side, it was swimming and diving (large) and men's tennis (small).
The Top Five Award were also handed out, which recognize the five highest grade point averages by male and female student-athletes: Rashida Beal (soccer), Kate Bishop (track & cross country), Sabrine Garrison (golf), Patricia O'Brien (track & field/cross country), Emily Stock (rowing), Jessica Flakne (rowing), Micah Coffey (baseball), Michael Kroells (wrestling), Chris Pfarr (wrestling), Yaroslav Pochinka (gymnastics), Mitch Rogge (hockey) and Jack Tribble (men's swimming and diving). Kroells and women's gymnast Bailey Abernathy received the Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship.
The teams who had the most community service hours during the 2016-17 season were women's cross country/track & field and men's gymnastics. This number is based on community service hours per team member from April 2016 to April 2017. Cross country/track & field logged more than 4,360 hours (51.3 per person), while men's gymnastics volunteered more than 285 hours (15.2 per person). Women's hockey and softball were awarded the Gladys Brooks Commitment to Academic Excellence Award, while men's track & field was awarded the Norman Borlaug Commitment to Academic Excellence Award.
The Teammate of the Year Award went to student-athlete development's Anissa Lightner. Arriving on campus in 2001, Lightner is an instrumental part of the Gopher student-athletes' efforts in career-development and within the local community. Lightner reaches out to some of the largest groups, both internally and externally, on behalf of the student-athlete development office and Gopher Athletics. She received the University of Minnesota's Golden Achievement Award this past January, as well as the President's Award for Outstanding Service in 2009.
The Tom H. Swain Campus Recognition Award was given this year to the department of Physics Student Services and the College of Science Engineering Advising offices.
This year's banquet marked the 11th Golden Goldys gala and the 28th year of the Scholar Athlete banquet. The two banquets consolidated in 2010.
The Golden Goldys voting process includes spring sports of 2016 (baseball, men's and women's golf, rowing, softball, men's and women's outdoor track & field and men's and women's tennis) and the fall and winter sports of the 2016-17 athletic year.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
MATT FIEDLER, baseball
JUSTIN KARSTADT, gymnastics
NATE MASON, basketball
BRETT PFARR, wrestling (winner)
TYLER SHEEHY, hockey
DEREK WIEBKE, track & field
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
RASHIDA BEAL, soccer
SARA GROENEWEGEN, softball
KIERRA SMITH, swimming
LEE STECKLEIN, hockey
SARAH WILHITE, volleyball (winner)
YU ZHOU, diving
MALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
AMIR COFFEY, basketball (winner)
THOMAS LONGBELLA, golf
CONNOR OLSON, cross country
REM PITLICK, hockey
TERRIN VAVRA, baseball
ANTOINE WINFIELD JR., football
FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:
SARAH BACON, diving
ALEXIS HART, volleyball (winner)
MEGAN HASZ, cross country
LINDSEY HOREJSI, swimming
MADDIE HOULIHAN, softball
SHANIQUE WRIGHT, track & field
MALE BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
EMMIT CARPENTER, football
ETHAN LIZAK, wrestling
VINNI LETTIERI, hockey
DEREK WIEBKE, track & field (winner)
ALEX WITTENBERG, gymnastics
FEMALE BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE OF THE YEAR:
CHANTAL NACK, swimming
KELLY PANNEK, hockey
RYLIE WARGO, rowing
KAYLA WENNER, softball
SARAH WILHITE, volleyball (winner)
MEN'S TEAM OF THE YEAR:
BASEBALL
BASKETBALL (winner)
GYMNASTICS
HOCKEY
WOMEN'S TEAM OF THE YEAR:
SOCCER
SOFTBALL
TRACK & FIELD
VOLLEYBALL (winner)
MEN'S TEAM COACH OF THE YEAR:
JOHN ANDERSON, baseball
MIKE BURNS, gymnastics
DON LUCIA, hockey
RICHARD PITINO, basketball (winner)
WOMEN'S TEAM COACH OF THE YEAR:
JESSICA ALLISTER, softball
MATT BINGLE, track & field
STEFANIE GOLAN, soccer
HUGH McCUTCHEON, volleyball (winner)
Pfarr named Minnesota's top male athlete
InterMat Staff
5/2/2017
Two-time All-American wrestler Brett Pfarr was named Minnesota's male athlete of the year at the school's Golden Goldys held last night held at TCF Bank Stadium.
This past season Pfarr finished runner-up at the Big Ten Championships, and two weeks later became Minnesota's first national finalist since 2014. He led the Gopher wrestling team in almost every major category: wins, dual wins, conference wins, wins over ranked opponents, dual points scored and average tournament placement.
In addition, Pfarr was awarded the Male Outstanding Student-Athlete Achievement Award in honor of his success both in the classroom and in wrestling. He is set to graduate with honors this spring with a degree in agricultural and food business management.
Pfarr and All-American heavyweight Michael Kroells both earned the Top Five Award, which recognize the five highest grade point averages by male and female student-athletes. Kroells also received a Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship.
NCAA finalist Ethan Lizak was a finalist for Minnesota's male breakthrough athlete of the year.
