Colorado State Names Six Departmental Awards for 2019-20

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Six Colorado State student-athletes have been recognized for their performances in and out of competition, as CSU Athletics announced the recipients of the department's annual accolades for the 2019-20 season on Thursday.

Track and field's Eric Hamer received the Nye Trophy (most outstanding male athlete) and Katie Oleksak was named the Frank Award winner (most outstanding female athlete) as the awards for athletic achievement. The Thurman "Fum" McGraw Award winners were football's Marcus McElroy and volleyball's Jessica Jackson. Track and field's Forrest Barton and swimming's Andrea Basile received the Merrill-Gheen Award and Mencimer Memorial Award, respectively, as most outstanding scholar athletes.

The Thurman "Fum" McGraw Award, named after one of CSU's all-time greats, is given to the complete student-athlete and is selected by their peers. Thurman "Fum" McGraw Award winners must show athletic and academic excellence, character, leadership, be involved in the community and represent the spirit of CSU.

2019-20 ANNUAL AWARD WINNERS:

Nye Trophy (Most Outstanding Male Athlete)
Eric Hamer, Men's Track and Field

Eric Hamer was down in Albuquerque on the eve of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships when COVID-19 forced the NCAA to cancel all athletic events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The senior long distance runner qualified for the first time for indoors and later garnered USTFCCCA Indoor All-American honors for being in the field of competitors in the 5,000-meter race. The mark entering the national meet was ranked 14^th. Hamer joined the exclusive group along with former teammates – Jerrell Mock and Grant Fischer – on earning All-American status in the 5,000. Hamer was among the first to punch his ticket in the 5,000, doing so with a school record 13:40.11 back in December at the Boston Season Opener. Hamer season also included a Mountain West Men's Indoor Student-Athlete of the Year honor, an individual conference championship, and a team conference championship. Hamer, from Monument, Colo., joins Mostafa Hassan – winner of the MW Men's Indoor Student-Athlete of the Year award in 2017 and 2018 – as just the second Ram all-time to receive the accolade. The recognition adds to Hamer's seven All-Mountain West honors, including two from cross country throughout his time in the green uniform. He also ran a personal best in the 3,000 this season at the Colorado Invitational with a time of 8:22.30 – the No. 20 spot of CSU's all-time list. The Iowa State Classic in mid-February proved Hamer's December school-record performance was no fluke. Hamer placed third in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 13:43.62 that would have still set a CSU record if it wasn't for his performance in Boston. Lastly, Hamer provided 18 points for the Rams en route to helping CSU repeat as Mountain West Men's Indoor Champions. On Friday of the conference meet, Hamer won the 5,000-meter race after crossing at 14:24.30 for his first-ever All-MW indoor honor. A day later, he finished second in the 3,000-meter race to climb on top of the podium a second time.

Virginia K. Frank Award (Most Outstanding Female Athlete)
Katie Oleksak, Volleyball

Katie Oleksak capped her CSU career by leading CSU to a 28-match winning streak, which included wins against No. 22 Florida State and back-to-back victories against No. 19 Colorado. The Rams won their 21st Mountain West title (16th regular season) and posted a perfect 18-0 Mountain West record. She capped her career in the Green and Gold by leading the team to its 25th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Oleksak became the all-time assist leader (modern scoring) for CSU against Utah State on Nov. 14 and finished her career with 5,083 assists. On the postseason award circuit, Oleksak was named the Mountain West Player of the Year, an AVCA All-American, MW All-Conference, and AVCA All-Region.

Merrill-Gheen Award (Most Outstanding Male Scholar-Athlete)
Forrest Barton, Track and Field

Forrest Barton obtained a degree in Journalism and Media Communications and was a double major in Business Administration with a final semester GPA of 3.78 and final cumulative GPA of 3.79. He earned academic All-Mountain West and Mountain West Scholar-Athlete accolades a combined five times and was named 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 team. For cross country, the senior led the Rams with a second-place finish at the conference championships, earning All-MW First Team honors. In the indoor track season, Barton set personal records in the 3,000-meter run and 5,000m with the latter marking the 10th-best time in school history. At the MW meet, he finished sixth in the 5,000m to add three points to the men's score on the way to their second-straight MW Indoor Championship.

Mencimer Memorial Award (Most Outstanding Female Scholar-Athlete)
Andrea Basile, Swimming

Andrea Basile earned Academic All-Mountain West and Mountain West Scholar-Athlete honors each year at Colorado State, finishing her final semester on campus with a perfect 4.0 GPA, bringing her cumulative academic career to a 3.89 while majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Chemistry. In the pool, she served as a team captain and lowered her personal-best time in five separate events on the season, including the 200-yard freestyle at the Mountain West Championships.

Thurman "Fum" McGraw Award
Jessica Jackson, volleyball and Marcus McElroy, football

Jackson and McElroy were honored in a vote by their peers for total representation of the Colorado State spirit. On the court, Jackson appeared in all 31 matches as an outside hitter for the 2019 Mountain West champions and posted double-figure kills in nine different matches, including flooring a career-high 21 at Denver Nov. 30. She was also named the team's recipient for the Debbie Murphy Most Inspirational Award. On the turf, McElroy started seven games at running back and finished with 80 carries for 370 yards and three touchdowns, all career single-season bests. Away from the field, both Jackson and McElroy were routinely involved in community outreach projects and initiatives with Colorado State Athletics and were considered leaders in their locker rooms.

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