EUGENE, Ore. — The Oregon volleyball team and the UO track and field program commanded the spotlight Tuesday at the “O Show,” the athletic department’s annual awards extravaganza celebrating achievements over the previous 12 months.
A run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last fall helped the UO volleyball program earn “best team” honors according to their colleagues in the athletic department. Program stalwart Brooke Nuneviller was named best female athlete of the year, national freshman of the year Mimi Colyer was named Oregon’s top freshman of the past year across all sports, and setter Hannah Pukis was named comeback player of the year.
Sprinter Micah Williams was named best male athlete after winning his second straight Pac-12 title at 100 meters this spring. His teammates Izzy Thornton-Bott and Colleen Uzoekwe shared the Jaqua Award for academic excellence, distance runner Hannah Seubert won the O Heroes Award for commitment to community service, and track and field athletic trainer Jackie Sher was honored with the Athletic Staff SAAC Award.
Two of the most prestigious awards of the night, the Emerald Athletic Award for the top senior male student-athlete and the Jackson Athletic Award as top senior female student-athlete, went to Alex Forsyth from football and Karly Nowak from acrobatics and tumbling, respectively.
Two-sport athlete Bryce Boettcher, who plays football and baseball, was honored with the Doyle Higdon Memorial Award as the department’s top sophomore based on athletics, scholarship and citizenship. His baseball teammate Tyler Ganus won the male Jaqua Award for academics.
The Herb Yamanaka Pride Award was shared by Katelyn Howard from softball and Lexie Likins from lacrosse.
The Faculty SAAC Award was given to Dr. Lina Shanley, a research assistant professor in the College of Education’s Center on Teaching and Learning.