University of Minnesota Athletics
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/ Men's Track & Field
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/ Women's Hockey
Ali, Peters, Whalen Honored at Minnesota Sports Awards
10/24/2018 8:51:00 PM | Athletics, Men's Cross Country, Men's Track & Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – A trio of representatives from the University of Minnesota athletic department were recognized on Wednesday night at the second annual Minnesota Sports Awards presented by Sports Minneapolis with Obsa Ali selected as the Men's Collegiate Athlete of the Year, Sidney Peters being named the Women's Collegiate Athlete of the Year and Lindsay Whalen being honored as the Women's Professional Athlete of the Year.
Ali closed out the 2018 track & field season in dramatic fashion by winning the national championship in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at historic Hayward Field last summer. The redshirt junior became Minnesota's 14th national champion in track & field with the victory and first in the steeplechase. His time of 8:32.23 in the NCAA final stood as the fastest time in the nation last year and bested his own school record. Ali, who also claimed the 2018 Big Ten title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, broke Don Timm's nearly 47-year old school record heading into the national meet at the NCAA West Preliminary.
Peters wrapped up her career with the Gophers in 2017-18 as the Most Outstanding Player of the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff along with earning a place on the all-tournament team. The Geneva, Ill., native ended her career ranked fifth among all-time Gopher goaltenders with 53 wins, 16 shutouts, 1.65 goals against average, and 1,464 total saves and ranked sixth in program history with a .921 career save percentage. The goaltender was honored as college hockey's finest citizen when she received the 2018 Hockey Humanitarian Award, given annually to a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team, but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism. She was also selected as a top-nine finalist for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Peters' contributions on the ice are only topped by her impact in the community as she logged over 830 hours of community outreach and volunteer activities during her Gopher career. A certified Emergency Medical Technician, Peters spent significant time volunteering with the University of Minnesota EMS and the Rush-Copley Emergency Department in Aurora, Ill. She also traveled to Haiti during the summer of 2016 with Project Medishare and spent eight days volunteering at Hospital Bernard Mevs, the country's only critical care and trauma hospital. An AHCA All-American Scholar, Google Cloud Academic All-America Third Team and Academic All-District honoree, WCHA Scholar Athlete, and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Peters graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Kinesiology and a minor in biology. She is currently enrolled in medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences where she is serving in the Air Force.
Whalen, who is entering her first season as the Gophers head women's basketball coach, retired this August after a 15-year career during which she became the winningest player in WNBA history. A three-time All-American and the Gophers' all-time leading scorer, Whalen led the Maroon & Gold to a Final Four appearance in 2004 before embarking on a legendary professional career.
After playing five seasons with the Connecticut Sun, Whalen returned to her home state with the Minnesota Lynx and won four WNBA championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017). Whalen was named All-WNBA five times and is the first player in league history to amass 5,000 points, 2,000 assists and 1,500 rebounds and, last year, she became the winningest player in WNBA history, having now been a part of more than 320 wins. In international competition, Whalen played for two gold medal teams at the World Championships (2010, 2014) and has also won two Olympic gold medals (2012, 2016).
Additionally, long-time Gopher baseball coach John Anderson was honored as a finalist for Coach of the Year.
Ali closed out the 2018 track & field season in dramatic fashion by winning the national championship in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at historic Hayward Field last summer. The redshirt junior became Minnesota's 14th national champion in track & field with the victory and first in the steeplechase. His time of 8:32.23 in the NCAA final stood as the fastest time in the nation last year and bested his own school record. Ali, who also claimed the 2018 Big Ten title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, broke Don Timm's nearly 47-year old school record heading into the national meet at the NCAA West Preliminary.
Peters wrapped up her career with the Gophers in 2017-18 as the Most Outstanding Player of the 2018 WCHA Final Faceoff along with earning a place on the all-tournament team. The Geneva, Ill., native ended her career ranked fifth among all-time Gopher goaltenders with 53 wins, 16 shutouts, 1.65 goals against average, and 1,464 total saves and ranked sixth in program history with a .921 career save percentage. The goaltender was honored as college hockey's finest citizen when she received the 2018 Hockey Humanitarian Award, given annually to a student-athlete who makes significant contributions not only to his or her team, but also to the community-at-large through leadership in volunteerism. She was also selected as a top-nine finalist for the 2018 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
Peters' contributions on the ice are only topped by her impact in the community as she logged over 830 hours of community outreach and volunteer activities during her Gopher career. A certified Emergency Medical Technician, Peters spent significant time volunteering with the University of Minnesota EMS and the Rush-Copley Emergency Department in Aurora, Ill. She also traveled to Haiti during the summer of 2016 with Project Medishare and spent eight days volunteering at Hospital Bernard Mevs, the country's only critical care and trauma hospital. An AHCA All-American Scholar, Google Cloud Academic All-America Third Team and Academic All-District honoree, WCHA Scholar Athlete, and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, Peters graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Kinesiology and a minor in biology. She is currently enrolled in medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences where she is serving in the Air Force.
Whalen, who is entering her first season as the Gophers head women's basketball coach, retired this August after a 15-year career during which she became the winningest player in WNBA history. A three-time All-American and the Gophers' all-time leading scorer, Whalen led the Maroon & Gold to a Final Four appearance in 2004 before embarking on a legendary professional career.
After playing five seasons with the Connecticut Sun, Whalen returned to her home state with the Minnesota Lynx and won four WNBA championships (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017). Whalen was named All-WNBA five times and is the first player in league history to amass 5,000 points, 2,000 assists and 1,500 rebounds and, last year, she became the winningest player in WNBA history, having now been a part of more than 320 wins. In international competition, Whalen played for two gold medal teams at the World Championships (2010, 2014) and has also won two Olympic gold medals (2012, 2016).
Additionally, long-time Gopher baseball coach John Anderson was honored as a finalist for Coach of the Year.
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