Big night for Beavers

OSU leads the way at Oregon Sports Awards

By Steve Brandon

The Portland Tribune, Feb 11, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

denise FARWELL / PortLAND TRIBUNE

Ahmad Rashad, former University of Oregon and NFL football star and an Emmy-award winning broadcaster, served as host to the Oregon Sports Awards Sunday night.

BEAVERTON — Oregon State University captured many of the top honors Sunday night in the 55th annual Oregon Sports Awards at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike World Campus.

Five major awards went to Beavers, past and present.

The Oregon State baseball team, which won the 2006 College World Series, took home the George Pasero Team of the Year Award.

Beavers baseball coach Pat Casey was named the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year.

Oregon State pitcher Jonah Nickerson, MVP of the College World Series, won the Bill Hayward Amateur Athlete of the Year Award for men.

OSU softball pitcher Brianne McGowan, who led the Beavers to the College World Series and a No. 8 ranking, was selected as the Bill Hayward Amateur Athlete of the Year for women.

Former Beaver running back Steven Jackson, now with the St. Louis Rams, was chosen as the Harry Glickman Professional Athlete of the Year for men.

The Oregon Sports Awards were televised live by Comcast and simulcast by 1080 AM the Fan. A sellout crowd of 750 attended the show.

Ahmad Rashad, former University of Oregon and NFL football star and an Emmy-award winning broadcaster, served as host.

Celebrity award presenters included Joey Harrington, Richie Sexson, Jared Zabransky, Christine Sinclair, Sammy Carlson, Josh Bidwell, Keith Ellison, Tom Pappas, Katy Steding, Rick Adelman, Kathy Adelman Naro, David Adelman and the Murrayhill Little League baseball team that reached the U.S. championship game at the Little League World Series.

In all, 15 awards were announced. Awards were based on performances during 2006. A statewide panel of sports media and other experts voted on the awards.

Oregon State’s baseball team was honored for the second year in a row. The Beavers shared the 2005 Pasero team award with the University of Portland’s NCAA women’s soccer champions.

Casey repeated as the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year winner, joining two-time recipients Bill Bowerman, Ralph Miller, Pokey Allen, Rick Adelman and Clive Charles. Rich Brooks has won the award three times, and Ad Rutschman won it five times.

Nickerson won three games in the College World Series, including the championship game. He finished the year with a 13-4 record and 2.24 ERA.

McGowan had a 1.36 ERA and 29-6 record on the mound, with 258 strikeouts in 267 2/3 innings. She also hit 10 home runs.

Jackson, the male pro athlete award winner, ranked fifth in the NFL in rushing in 2006 with 1,528 yards. He also led NFL running backs in receptions with 90.

The Johnny Carpenter Prep Athlete of the Year awards, for men and women, went to Lake Oswego High School basketball star Kevin Love and Tigard High School golfer Rebecca Kim.

The UCLA-bound Love led the Lakers to the 2006 Class 4A state championship. He shared the prep honor last year with Joey Wong of Sprague.

Kim, who now plays for Duke University, became the first golfer to win a Carpenter prep award. She won her third consecutive Class 4A state championship in 2006.

Sinclair won the Harry Glickman Professional Athlete of the Year Award for women. She helped the Canadian national soccer team qualify for the 2007 Women’s World Cup and led the Vancouver Whitecaps to the W-League pro title.

Willamette University athletes swept the Ad Rutschman Small College Athlete of the Year awards. Nick Symmonds won the men’s award, and Sarah Zerzan captured the women’s award. Symmonds won the NCAA Division III 800- and 1,500-meter titles and finished second in the U.S. outdoor championships. Zerzan was the Division III cross country champion.

The Nike-Steve Prefontaine Award went to Casey Masterson of Sheldon High School. The award goes to the high school senior distance runner who best exemplifies the competitive qualities of the late University of Oregon running champion.

In the Lou Burge Special Olympics Athlete of the Year category, Darrick Yarbrough of Bend was the winner. He has competed in six sports and was the fastest alpine skier at the 2006 Special Olympics Oregon Winter Games.

The Les Schwab Friend of Sports Award honors a corporation, group or individual for sustained and substantial contributions to local sports programs or events. The 2006 winner was Harvey Platt and Platt Electric Supply.

Platt, chairman and CEO, has supported numerous projects and causes, on and off the field. He helped bring lights to fields at Portland public high schools and has been a major backer of Sunset American Legion baseball. In 2006, he sponsored two events — the Bob Gilder Platt Golf Challenge and the Barry Manilow Benefit Concert — that raised more than $700,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Two merit awards also were presented during the show. They went to longtime Portland Trail Blazers broadcaster Bill Schonely and Penny Knight, founder of the Corvallis Knights semipro baseball team.

The Oregon Sports Awards are sponsored by Nike, the Portland Tribune, Jeld-Wen Windows & Doors, Les Schwab Tire Centers, Standard TV & Appliance and SportsOne Inc.

Comcast will replay the show on Feb. 14 (8 p.m.), Feb. 16 (8 p.m.), March 4 (11 a.m.) and March 25 (5 p.m.). The show also will be available to Comcast customers via On Demand, beginning Feb. 12.

The show also will run Feb. 18 on several Chambers Communications Corp. TV stations. It will air at 10 a.m. on KEZI in Eugene, 10 a.m. on KOHD in Bend, 11 a.m. on KDRV in Medford and 11 a.m. on KDKF in Klamath Falls.

2006 OREGON SPORTS AWARDS

Bill Hayward amateur athlete of the year (men)

Winner – Jonah Nickerson, Oregon State University baseball

Finalists – Cole Gillespie, Oregon State baseball; Kevin Gunderson, Oregon State baseball; Tommy Skipper, University of Oregon track and field; Shane Webster, University of Oregon wrestling

Bill Hayward amateur athlete of the year (women)

Winner – Brianne McGowan, Oregon State University softball

Finalists – Nicole Garbin, University of Oregon soccer; Megan Rapinoe, University of Portland soccer; Rebecca Ward, Oregon Fencing Alliance; Mariel Zagunis, Oregon Fencing Alliance and Notre Dame fencing

Slats Gill sportsperson of the year

Winner – Pat Casey, Oregon State University baseball

Finalists – Mike Clopton, Wilson High baseball; Ken Potter, Jesuit High football; Mike Riley, Oregon State University football; Kirk Walker, Oregon State University softball

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