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Best Air Force Academy athlete

Shane Rogers

This year, junior distance runner Shane Rogers of Wilcox, Arizona, was the Mountain West Conference champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and he won the flat 3,000-meter run at the Air Force Classic, against Oklahoma, Colorado State and Stanford. He's even swifter (and clears higher hurdles) in the classroom: As a physics major at the Air Force Academy, Rogers carries a 3.58 grade-point average and is a member of the U.S. Track Coaches Association's all-academic team.

Best Air Force Academy athlete

Shane Rogers

This year, junior distance runner Shane Rogers of Wilcox, Arizona, was the Mountain West Conference champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and he won the flat 3,000-meter run at the Air Force Classic, against Oklahoma, Colorado State and Stanford. He's even swifter (and clears higher hurdles) in the classroom: As a physics major at the Air Force Academy, Rogers carries a 3.58 grade-point average and is a member of the U.S. Track Coaches Association's all-academic team.

Best name for the new football stadium

Mile High Stadium

The winner, and still the champ.

Readers' Choice: Mile High Stadium

Best name for the new football stadium

Mile High Stadium

The winner, and still the champ.

Readers' Choice: Mile High Stadium

Best college athlete you've never heard of

Kara Wheeler

An All-American at the University of Colorado, Kara Wheeler won both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter events in early June at the NCAA Track and Field championships at Duke University. Only former CU star Adam Goucher has earned more national track titles (three) for the school, and Wheeler was the first CU runner to win multiple events at the same meet. CU's female athlete of the year ran the second-fastest 3,000 in the world this year and qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials in July.

Best college athlete you've never heard of

Kara Wheeler

An All-American at the University of Colorado, Kara Wheeler won both the 3,000- and 5,000-meter events in early June at the NCAA Track and Field championships at Duke University. Only former CU star Adam Goucher has earned more national track titles (three) for the school, and Wheeler was the first CU runner to win multiple events at the same meet. CU's female athlete of the year ran the second-fastest 3,000 in the world this year and qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials in July.

Best examples of genuine athletic role models

Colorado's scholar athletes

It can be easy to forget that outstanding college athletes are also capable of being outstanding college students. Many top university football and basketball players, in particular, never bother to graduate; others attend classes just so they can showcase their talents on the field as a warmup for a lucrative professional career. But it is possible to both study and sweat. This past year, seniors Tyler Church (DU-basketball), Corte McGuffey (UNC-football), Cale Bonds (Air Force-football), Ryan Hollingshead (Adams State-football), Adam Batliner (CU-track and field), Kristina Andersson (DU-skiing), Shelly Borrman (CSU-track and field), Heather O'Brien (Colorado College-track and field) and Heather Burroughs (CU-track and field) were athletic standouts. (McGuffey, a quarterback, earned a tryout with the world-champion St. Louis Rams.) Yet each also was diligent enough in the classroom to earn a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for great grades. And there's not a "recreation studies" major among them: Church studied biology, McGuffey and Bonds majored in biochemistry, and Andersson mastered mathematics.

Best examples of genuine athletic role models

Colorado's scholar athletes

It can be easy to forget that outstanding college athletes are also capable of being outstanding college students. Many top university football and basketball players, in particular, never bother to graduate; others attend classes just so they can showcase their talents on the field as a warmup for a lucrative professional career. But it is possible to both study and sweat. This past year, seniors Tyler Church (DU-basketball), Corte McGuffey (UNC-football), Cale Bonds (Air Force-football), Ryan Hollingshead (Adams State-football), Adam Batliner (CU-track and field), Kristina Andersson (DU-skiing), Shelly Borrman (CSU-track and field), Heather O'Brien (Colorado College-track and field) and Heather Burroughs (CU-track and field) were athletic standouts. (McGuffey, a quarterback, earned a tryout with the world-champion St. Louis Rams.) Yet each also was diligent enough in the classroom to earn a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship for great grades. And there's not a "recreation studies" major among them: Church studied biology, McGuffey and Bonds majored in biochemistry, and Andersson mastered mathematics.

Best reason to wear Vaseline in the cheap seats

Denver Police Department

After Colorado State's 41-14 upset win over arch-rival Colorado in the football-season opener at Mile High Stadium, CU players were pelted in the end zone with bottles and taunts from the CSU faithful. This, in turn, prompted a worked-up army of helmeted and shielded Denver police to Mace and teargas every animal, vegetable and mineral in sight -- including old people and children. "We didn't want them on the field," one police lieutenant explained. But by whose order? "The cops were out of control," one older fan said. "They showed no regard for anyone." Look for the CU/CSU series to resume on campus.

Best reason to wear Vaseline in the cheap seats

Denver Police Department

After Colorado State's 41-14 upset win over arch-rival Colorado in the football-season opener at Mile High Stadium, CU players were pelted in the end zone with bottles and taunts from the CSU faithful. This, in turn, prompted a worked-up army of helmeted and shielded Denver police to Mace and teargas every animal, vegetable and mineral in sight -- including old people and children. "We didn't want them on the field," one police lieutenant explained. But by whose order? "The cops were out of control," one older fan said. "They showed no regard for anyone." Look for the CU/CSU series to resume on campus.

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