What a year it has been!
Boise State shattered the school record of four Top 25 teams with eight this
year, and a record five of those finished in the Top 25. Boise State is
poised to break the school mark for the top finish in the NCAA Director's Cup,
currently ranked #41 in the nation. The Broncos
captured four conference championships as well.
Four of the teams nominated for 2008-2009 Bronco Team of the Year finished in
the Top 25 and four won conference championships. The other did not win
the Western Athletic Conference but rebounded for an outstanding run in the NCAA
Championships. The five nominees are
the #20 men's tennis team, the WAC championship football
team, the Pacific-10 Conference championship wrestling squad, the WAC champion
gymnastics team and the WAC champion men's indoor track team.
The Bronco tennis team achieved a sparking 24-8 record with a challenging
schedule that included matches with seven Top 25 teams. Boise State blew
away #17 Pepperdine 6-1 on the road, split with #14 Alabama, and battled #1
Virginia, #7 UCLA, #9 Stanford and #15 Texas A & M on the road. Boise
State reached the WAC tennis title before losing to host Hawai'i. Boise State was
selected as an at-large team in the NCAA's, where they disposed of Middle
Tennessee State 4-0 in the first round and downed #14 Alabama 4-3 on their home
courts in a thriller before losing to #3 Ohio State in the Sweet Sixteen.
Boise State reached as high as #19 in the College Tennis Online rankings
before finishing at #20. Coach Greg Patton was named WAC Coach of the
Year, while Clancy Shields was honored as the WAC's Player of the Year and James
Meredith was Freshman of the Year. Shields, Meredith and Kean Feeder all
made the All-WAC team for singles. Feeder and Meredith were on the All-WAC
doubles team and Shields & Stanley Sarapanich made the second team.
Patton guided Shields to becoming the #24 singles player in the nation.
Two of Patton's other stars, Kean Feeder (72) and James Meredith (84), were
ranked in the top 100 as well. Feeder and Meredith are ranked #43 in the
country in doubles. Shields received an automatic invitation to the NCAA
Singles Championship while Feeder and Meredith reached the top 16 in the NCAA
Doubles Championship.
The Bronco football team recorded an 11-0 regular season and a WAC title
before losing to TCU 17-16 in the Poinsettia Bowl. Boise State was ranked
ninth in the nation prior to their bowl loss and finished
the year #12.
Under the guidance of head coach Chris Petersen (who was named 2008-09 Bronco
Coach of the Year), Boise State was a complete team that ranked among the
nation's top 25 in nearly every category. The Bronco defense was second in
the nation in pass efficiency defense, third in the country in scoring defense
(just 12.6 points per game), fifth in interceptions (22), seventh in turnovers
gained (33), 18th in sacks (34), 20th in total defense (308.15 per game) and
22nd in rushing defense (118 per game). The Boise State offense ranked
13th in the nation in passing offense (288.5 yards per game), 18th in total
offense (440.85), 12th in scoring (37.62) and 11th in passing efficiency.
Boise State's special teams ranked fourth in net punting (44.57 yards per
punt), 14th in punt return yard defense ((5.28 per return) and 20th in punt
returns (12.25 per return).
11 Broncos were honored on the All-WAC team while quarterback Kellen Moore was named Freshman of the Year. Moore led the WAC in passing (259 of
370 for 3,264 yards, 25 touchdowns and a 161.53 efficiency rating). Wide
receiver Jeremy Childs (65 catches for 741 yards and 7 TD's), cornerback Kyle Wilson (28 tackles, 10 pass breakups and a WAC-leading five interceptions),
offensive lineman Andrew Woodruff (who helped Boise State to a #4 national
ranking for fewest sacks allowed at just one per game), defensive lineman Ryan Winterswyk (4.5 quarterback sacks and 10 tackles for loss) and Ellis Powers (71
tackles, 49 unassisted, eight tackles for loss, 2.5 quarterback sacks, one
forced fumble and two fumble recoveries for touchdowns) all made the All-WAC
first team.
Wilson also made the second team as a punt returner despite leading the
conference in punt returns (470 yards) and three returns for touchdowns.
Joining Wilson on the second team were Moore, running back Ian Johnson (738
yards and 12 touchdowns), receiver Austin Pettis (45 receptions for 502 yards
and nine TD's), defensive end Mike T. Williams (35 tackles, four sacks and six
tackles for loss) and safety Jeron Johnson (84 tackles, 60 unassisted, with
three fumble recoveries). Ian Johnson broke Marshall Faulk's all-time WAC
rushing touchdown record with 57 career TD's.
Boise State's wrestling team finished the season ranked ninth in the country
with a 17-3 record (8-0 in the Pac-10) and broke an all-time record for points in dominating the Pacific-10 Conference
Championships. Seven of Randall's
wrestlers were ranked in InterMat's top 20: Andrew Hochstrasser (#4 at 133
pounds), Kirk Smith (#4 at 184), Brent Chriswell (#6 at 197), Adam Hall (7th at
157), Nate Lee (13th at 174), Jason Chamberlain (16th at 149) and Tyler Sherfey
(#18 at 165 pounds).
Six Broncos (Hochstrasser, Chamberlain, Sherfey, Lee, Smith and
Chriswell) won individual titles in leading Boise State to a second
consecutive dominating Pac-10 Championship. In this one, though, the
Broncos outdid every other team in league history, shattering the 13 year-old
championships point record (155) with 172.5 points. Adam Hall finished second
in his weight class while
Brian Owen, Cory Fish and Sam Zylstra took fourth place.
Nine of Boise State's 10 starting wrestlers were invited to
the NCAA National Championships in St. Louis, where they finished 12th.
Three Broncos were named All-America Hochstrasser finished fourth in the
nation, Brent Chriswell ended up sixth and Sherfey placed eighth in his weight
class.
Bird and Resnick teamed up to lead the Broncos to their second consecutive
WAC gymnastics championship and their best finish ever at the NCAA Regional
Championships (third). Under the guidance of WAC Coaches of the Year Bird
and Resnick, Boise State recorded the seventh best team score in school history
of 196.525 to win the conference title, shattering their season-best by .300 and
topping their closest opponent by 1.175. Boise State was ranked in the
national Top 25 for nearly the entire season and finished 20th. Boise
State was 30th in the country in attendance, averaging nearly 1,000 fans per
meet.
Hannah Redmon (Bars and Floor), Mallory Dziawura (Bars and Beam), Chelsee
Apple and Shaniece Craft (Vault), Kelsey Lang (Beam) and Sarah Smith (Floor) all
were honored as All-WAC performers for Bird and Resnick while Lindsay Kazandjian
(Beam), Redmon (Vault) and Katie Tuller (Bars) were named to the second team.
Craft (Vault) and Lang (Beam) won individual apparatus WAC championships.
The Broncos were ranked 18th in the nation in floor exercises (48.802), 21st
in the country in vault (48.903) and 22nd in uneven bars (48.745).
The Boise State men's indoor track team was a 35-point underdog to Utah State
going into the WAC Championships. However, the Broncos put the best
performances of their careers on display to finish with 150 points to Utah
State's 145.5 points in a dramatic victory. The Broncos were 1-2-3-4 in
the long jump with senior Ryan Grinnell (25-feet, 4.75 inches) leading the
way. Behind Grinnell were freshman Eetu Viitala (24-7.75), Per Strandquist
(24-6.25) and junior Zacharias Arnos (24-1.50). Grinnell (52-10.25) and
Arnos (51-10.50) finished 1-2 in the triple jump.
Senior Simon Wardhaugh (71-8) won the weight throw by nearly seven
feet. Caleb Cazier (1:53.43) captured the WAC title in the 800 while
freshman Eric Capelle and Strandquist (both with 6.84) finished second and
third, respectively in the 60-meter dash. Sawyer Bosch won the 3,000 with
a time of 8:30.55.
Boise State finished 26th in the country at the NCAA Indoor National
Championships.
Five teams with incredible credentials await your vote on the Blue Turf
Board.