Utah
Mendelson, Utah football, Tony Hawk headline Utah’s State of Sports awards
JOHN McCOY, Related Press
Followers activate their cellphone lights as Utah gamers sign the quantity 22, in remembrance of Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe, through the second half of the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2022, in Pasadena, Calif.
13 athletes or groups have been honored Thursday evening on the Governor’s State of Sports activities awards, the tenth annual version of the occasion placed on by the Utah Sports activities Fee.
As reported March 16 within the Commonplace-Examiner, Fremont Excessive’s Maggie Mendelson was named the feminine highschool athlete of the yr for 2021. She represents Northern Utah’s lone winner for this yr’s awards.
Mendelson is a two-sport signee to the College of Nebraska in basketball and volleyball, and was a nationally ranked recruit in each sports activities. She’s performed basketball and volleyball the previous three seasons at Fremont Excessive and has been a standout at each.
Mendelson additionally represented the USA in each sports activities, competing with Staff USA to play basketball on the U16 Americas Championship, successful gold, after which in volleyball for the U18 World Championships, successful bronze.
Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk was the keynote speaker. He’s the winner of this yr’s “occasion of the yr” for his Vert Alert skateboarding showcase and competitors on the Utah State Fairpark.
The College of Utah soccer staff was named the staff of the yr within the state for its run to the Rose Bowl regardless of the tragic deaths of teammates Ty Jordan and Aaron Lowe within the house of 9 months. The fee additionally named Kyle Whittingham because the coach of the yr throughout the state.
The winners are as follows.
Staff of the yr: College of Utah soccer
Coach of the yr: Kyle Whittingham, Utah soccer
Occasion of the yr: Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert
Spotlight of the yr: BMX rider Tom van Steenbergen’s flat drop frontflip through the twentieth anniversary of the Pink Bull Rampage, a freeride mountain biking occasion held on the rugged pink rocks in southern Utah.
Lewis Feild Memorial Award: Utahn Stetson Wright received the saddle bronc using world championship in 2021 and wins this rodeo-focused award.
Professional athlete of the yr: Salt Lake Metropolis native and golfer Tony Finau received his second PGA Tour occasion victory in 2021, had three second-place finishes and is at present ranked twenty fourth on this planet golf rankings, serving to his rise in reputation as the primary golfer of Tongan or American Samoan descent to carry a PGA Tour card.
Adaptive athlete of the yr: SLC’s Marybai Huking, a blind goalball athlete, received silver within the Tokyo Paralympics, making 101 blocks in 72 minutes through the Video games.
Olympic feminine athlete of the yr: After Erin Jackson, the No. 1 ranked long-track speedskater within the 500-meter race, slipped through the U.S. Olympic Trials, teammate Brittany Bowe forfeited her spot on the Olympic staff to permit Jackson, a Utah native, to go to Beijing. Jackson rewarded that unimaginable gesture by successful the gold medal, turning into the primary black lady in Olympic historical past to win a person medal in speedskating.
Olympic male athlete of the yr: Park Metropolis’s Alex Corridor used his signature right-side double-cork 1080 Pretzel One trick to win gold for the USA within the slopestyle snowboarding competitors on the Beijing Video games.
Faculty feminine athlete of the yr: BYU observe athlete Whittni Orton received each cross nation race she ran in 2021, together with successful BYU’s first ladies’s particular person nationwide title on the NCAA cross nation championship. She additionally broke the college report within the outside observe 5,000 meters race, qualifying for NCAA nationals and the Olympic Trials.
Faculty male athlete of the yr: Linebacker Devin Lloyd was a menace for Utah soccer’s protection in 2021, totaling 111 tackles, eight sacks, one compelled fumble and 4 interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. The Pac-12 defensive participant of the yr is unlikely to go later than the second spherical on this month’s NFL Draft.
Highschool feminine athlete of the yr: Maggie Mendelson, Fremont Excessive
Highschool male athlete of the yr: Cody Hagen earned a soccer scholarship to BYU after 51 profession landing catches, but in addition received state championships for Nook Canyon Excessive Faculty’s observe staff in 2021 within the 100 meters, 200 meters, 4×100 relay and 4×200 relay, operating the second-fastest 100 meters in Utah highschool historical past.