You know you are doing something right when you enter a Hall of Fame before your 21st birthday.
Both Elise Cranny and Valarie Allman, who are currently competing at Stanford, were recognized for the third time by the Sportswomen of Colorado for their athletic brilliance. By doing so they automatically qualified for induction into the organization’s Hall of Fame.
They will join Alexa Beckwith (diving, St. Mary’s Academy), Becky Hammon (San Antonio Spurs assistant coach), Ellen Hart (triathlon), Shayla Kipp (track and field, CU) and Olympic skier Michaela Shiffrin at the 41st Annual gala on March 8 at the Marriott Denver Tech Center.
Also being honored among the 45 top female athletes in Colorado will be Jefferson Academy senior Jennifer Kupcho. The reigning 2014 Class 4A state champion, who was also named CWGA Player of the Year as well as Junior Player of the year in 2014, is gearing up for her final high school season before heading to Wake Forest in the fall.
The former Niwot Cougar, Cranny, was an easy selection after her freshman cross country season in Palo Alto. After winning her first collegiate race at the University of Washington Invitational, Cranny went on to finish 12th at nationals (the best for any freshman in the country), earned All-American honors and was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Silver Creek’s Allman is rewriting the record books at Stanford. She broke a 30-year old freshman record when she threw the discus 177 feet, 7 inches and went on to throw a personal best 187-7 later in the season. Like Cranny, Allman was also named the Pac-12 Newcomer/Freshman of the Year.
Former CU basketball player and current ESPN.com writer Kate Fagan will be the keynote speaker at the event where both Susie Wargin and Marcia Neville will be handing out the awards.
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