University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Present 2014 Team Awards
1/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Jan. 23, 2015
By Tyson Peters, Athletic Communications Student Intern
MINNEAPOLIS - After a successful 2014 season, during which the Golden Gophers made their 10th-straight NCAA Championship appearance, the Minnesota women's cross country team handed out its annual team awards to the Gophers that made it all happen.
Minnesota revealed the awards at its annual banquet last weekend. The coaching staff awarded 11 annual honors to 14 different Gophers, all listed below along with a few highlights about the 2014 season.
MVP - Liz Berkholtz
Redshirt junior Liz Berkholtz was honored with the 2014 Team MVP Award. She led the Gophers in four meets this season and set a career-best time of 20:16.9 at the NCAA Midwest Regional, earning all-region honors. Berkholtz led the Gophers at the NCAA Championship in 80th overall, the first top-100 finish of her career.
Rookie of the Year - Danielle Anderson
In her redshirt freshman season, Danielle Anderson was a major contributor for the Gophers. After not racing for a year, she emerged as the Gophers' fourth runner in her rookie campaign. Anderson finished fourth for Minnesota and 35th overall at the Big Ten Championship. She ran her career-best time and earned all-region honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional as well.
Freshman of the Year - Bailey Ness
Woodbury, Minn., native Bailey Ness raced for the Maroon & Gold as a true freshman this season. She led the Gophers in the open race at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational, running a career-best 21:40 for 22nd overall. She finished eighth for Minnesota at the Big Ten Championship and was named an alternate for the NCAA Midwest Regional and NCAA Championships.
Tough as Nails - Kaila Urick
This award is given annually to the runners who "even on a bad day, are going to give you everything they've got," according to head coach Sarah Hopkins. This year, the award went to redshirt junior Kaila Urick. She ran seven races this season and was in the top three Gophers at each meet. She ran a career-best 20:25.9 at the NCAA Midwest Regional, earning all-region honors as the second Gopher in eighth overall. Urick also made her NCAA Championships debut, finishing third for Minnesota.
Most Improved - Haley Johnson, Madeline Strandemo
The Most Improved Award was given to a pair of Gopher student-athletes this season, redshirt sophomore Haley Johnson and redshirt freshman Madeline Strandemo. Johnson ran a career-best 21:14.6 as the fifth Gopher at the Big Ten Championship this season. She emerged as the Gophers' number five runner midway through the season and made her NCAA Championship debut. Meanwhile, Strandemo led the Gophers and placed second overall at Jack's Run with a career-best 22:10.1. She was named an alternate for the Big Ten Championship, NCAA Midwest Regional and NCAA Championships.
Blue Collar - Jamie Piepenburg, Kate Shelerud
Hopkins describes the Blue Collar award as going to the team's "worker bees," the consistent runners who get the job done. The 2014 award went to redshirt sophomores Jamie Piepenburg and Katie Shelerud. Piepenburg ran a season-best time of 21:44.6 at the Big Ten Championship as the seventh Gopher and 70th overall. She was also named an alternate for the NCAA Midwest Regional and NCAA Championship. Meanwhile, Shelerud stepped into a leadership role among the team's 800-meter runners during the fall season.
Carl Barylak Inspiration - Megan Bailey
The Carl Barylak Inspiration award, named after a devoted and loving father of a former Gopher athlete, is given annually to an athlete who manages to overcome adversity during the season. Redshirt junior Megan Bailey earned the award this season after running seven races and placing among the top nine Gophers in four of them. She had a breakout race as the third Gopher in 10th overall at the season-opening Oz Memorial and ran a career-best 23:18 at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational.
Comeback of the Year - Rebecca Rethwisch
After not competing in the 2013 season, redshirt junior Rebecca Rethwisch set some goals for herself and did enough to earn the 2014 Comeback of the Year. One of those goals was to travel with the team to the Wisconsin adidas Invitational. She did just that and finished sixth on the team in 23:05. Rethwisch also led the Gophers at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invite in a season-best 22:58.1.
Coaches Award - Kate Bucknam, Stacey Swatek
This award is given to the student-athletes who are not only exceptional on the course, but go above and beyond to help the program off the course. This year, two redshirt juniors received the award as Kate Bucknam and Stacey Swatek were honored for the leadership and commitment to the team.
Academic Commitment - Becca Dyson
Eighteen women's cross country student-athletes were recognized by the Big Ten for academic honors, but this year's Academic Commitment Award was given to Becca Dyson. She won her first collegiate individual title this season at the SDSU Classic 5K by running a 17:32.9. She also earned all-regional honors at the NCAA Midwest Regional as the third Gopher in 17th overall. Dyson finished second for the Gophers at the NCAA Championship, finishing 132nd overall in 21:26.3, all while working on her strategic communications major.
Iron Gopher - Chelsea Pettit
The winner of the Iron Gopher Award is selected by the team's strength and conditioning coach, for the athlete "that goes the extra mile in the weight room," according to Hopkins. Redshirt senior Chelsea Pettit came away with the award this season. She ran a season-best 22:43.7 at Jack's Run as the third Gopher and finished sixth overall.
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Players Mentioned
