Jenny Barringer – 2009

2009 Colorado Sportswoman of the Year Jenny Barringer had a year to remember, setting six NCAA records and seven CU records and was awarded several top honors in the process. In December, she won the inaugural USTFCCCA’s The Bowerman award, which recognizes annually the most outstanding collegiate male and female track & field athlete. Barringer was also named a finalist for the USATF’s Jesse Owens Athlete of the Year and was the only collegiate athlete in the field of five nominees. In June, she was named the recipient of the Honda Sports Award for track & field and was one of five finalists for the prestigious Honda Broderick Cup, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate female athlete of the year.

The native of Oviedo, Fla., won a trio of Big 12 titles in 2009 (indoor mile, steeplechase and cross country) and a pair of NCAA Championships (indoor 3k and the steeplechase). Barringer became the first Buff, male or female, to win three NCAA individual titles in the same event (three in the steeplechase) and the first female to win four NCAA crowns. Her mile time of 4:25.91 was the fastest run in the world during the 2009 season. On the track Barringer did not lose a single collegiate race in 2009 and was always the top American to cross the finish no matter where she raced (also in track).

The native of Oviedo, Fla., won a trio of Big 12 titles in 2009 (indoor mile, steeplechase and cross country) and a pair of NCAA Championships (indoor 3k and the steeplechase). Barringer became the first Buff, male or female, to win three NCAA individual titles in the same event (three in the steeplechase) and the first female to win four NCAA crowns. Her mile time of 4:25.91 was the fastest run in the world during the 2009 season. On the track Barringer did not lose a single collegiate race in 2009 and was always the top American to cross the finish no matter where she raced (also in track).

The 2009 Big 12 Indoor Performer of the Year was also the USTFCCCA Indoor and Outdoor Female Track Athlete of the Year. Barringer won her second USA Track & Field steeplechase title in June and then raced to a fifth-place finish at the IAAF World Championships in August; slashing 10 seconds off her personal and American record with a time of 9:12.50 to become the eighth fastest woman ever in the event.

Barringer was a member of the Academic All-Big 12 first team (cross country and track & field), the Dean’s List, the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was a 2008 and 09 Academic All-American. She owns a 3.7 GPA and graduated in December with a double-major in political science and economics. Barringer has also been recognized the past two years as a semi-finalist for the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup Award.