Crimson Carpet Awards Presented at Annual Event at Ken Garff Red Zone

SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah student-athletes hosted their annual Crimson Carpet Awards on Monday night at the Ken Garff Red Zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium, celebrating the best of student-athlete and team achievement and leadership during the 2023-24 school year. Organized by the Crimson Council, Utah's student-athlete advisory group, the evening began with a reception in the Diglisic Family Lounge and the awards program in the Julie M. & David S. Layton Field Club.

The Crimson Carpet Awards gather all student-athletes together for an evening to celebrate academic success, athletic talent, community service and leadership. Teams put forth their nominees for many of the awards while coaches made the nominations for the senior awards. Student-athletes voted on the winners.

Crimson Council President Jenna Johnson, a junior forward on the women's basketball team, delivered the event's introduction, and kicked off the evening by introducing Athletics Director Mark Harlan for opening remarks. Harlan congratulated the student-athletes on their many accomplishments, as well as their resilience and determination in overcoming adversity. He also recognized and expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Ute Tribe, who were guests of honor at the event and presented the Ute Proud Most Inspirational Awards.

Gymnastics student-athlete Abby Paulson served as the event's senior speaker, and wrapped up the evening with an address to her fellow student-athletes.

Crimson Carpet Award Winners for 2023-24

WELLNESS ADVOCATE AWARD
Kendall Lundberg (Softball)
Demonstrated commitment to personal wellness and showed courage in advocating for mental health awareness among student-athletes.

SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE AWARD
Alissa Pili (Women's Basketball)
Committed to creating and maintaining actionable change in the athletics department, at the University of Utah and within the Salt Lake City community surrounding social justice issues.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE AWARDS
Women's: Maryn Granger (Soccer)
Men's: Preston Planells (Swimming & Diving)
Presented to the individual recognized by the Utah Athletics High-Performance Team who goes above and beyond in areas that support all facets of performance, including athletic training, strength and conditioning, nutrition, sport science and mental performance.

JAMES R. "BUD" JACK TEAM COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Men's Basketball
Team that has gone the extra mile to give back to Salt Lake City. Not only does it have a powerful reflection of who this team is, but also reflects what it means to be a caring student-athlete at Utah. This award honors the legacy left behind by Bud and Ila Jack, who dedicated 40 years of their lives to the University of Utah. Bud served in many capacities including 17 years as the Athletics Director and Assistant Vice President for Athletic Development. Bud was also an instrumental part of starting women's scholarship athletics at Utah in the 1970s.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARDS
Women's: Emilia Nilsson Garip (Swimming & Diving)
Men's: Colter McAnelly (Baseball)
Excelled in his/her first season of competition at the collegiate level by demonstrating dedication, ability and spirit.

SENIOR AWARDS

DR. BURTIS EVANS SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
Randon Hostert (Baseball) and Holden Ellsworth (Swimming & Diving)
Male student-athlete who has made significant achievements in the classroom, as well as in his sport. Burtis and Jan Evans showed equal devotion to the University. Dr. Evans served as a team physician for Ute Athletic teams for 37 years

FERN GARDNER SCHOLAR-ATHLETE AWARD
Megan Quiggle (Soccer)
Female student-athlete who has made significant achievements in the classroom, as well as in her sport. Fern Gardner was hired as the Head Women's Basketball Coach & Director of Athletics for all of women's sports in 1975. She became the first Senior Associate Athletics Director at Utah and was instrumental in growing Utah's women's programs as the senior woman administrator

OCCIE EVANS LEADERSHIP AWARD
Alissa Pili (Women's Basketball)
Outstanding senior female athlete in a team sport, based upon qualities of athletic ability, leadership and scholastic achievement (This award is nominated and selected by the Athletics Department Senior Staff). Occie Evans was selected as one of the top 50 Utah athletes of the Century by Sports Illustrated and was elected to the Utah Sports Hall of Fame before he passed away in 1996. He played freshman football and basketball at the University of Utah before leaving to play professional baseball.

JOHN CRAWFORD COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Maddie Woznick (Women's Swimming & Diving)
John Crawford devoted much of his life to Utah Athletics. He started the formalized Crimson Club and was a favorite in the Athletic Department. This award recognizes a student-athlete who has performed a significant amount of community or university service during his/her years at Utah.

UTE PROUD MOST INSPIRATIONAL AWARDS
Women's: Haley Denning (Softball)
Men's: Justus Peterson (Lacrosse)
Senior male and female student-athletes who exemplify what it means to be a Ute by displaying a positive attitude, dedication, and pride in representing their school and team, while inspiring others to do the same.

DR. CHRIS HILL LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Women's: Abby Paulson (Gymnastics)
Men's: Tyler Bradbury (Lacrosse)
Senior student-athletes who exemplified leadership for their teams, the athletics department, the campus and the community. Dr. Chris Hill retired as one of the longest tenured Division I Athletic Directors for the same school. Over 31 years, he navigated Utah Athletics into the Pac-12 and left a lasting legacy.

MOST OUTSTANDING ATHLETE AWARDS
Women's: Alissa Pili (Basketball)
Men's: Cole Bishop (Football)
Senior student-athletes who have been exceptional in the athletic arena during their careers at Utah.

FINAL AWARDS

PLAY OF THE YEAR AWARD
Cross-Country (13th-place finish at NCAA Championships after replacing six of the seven runners who placed 12th the year before; top two finishes in program history)
Presented for the moment that illustrates the most extraordinary athletic accomplishment during the 2023-24 school year.

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR AWARDS
Women's: Alissa Pili (Basketball)
Men's: Tyler Bradbury (Lacrosse)
Consistently performed at a high level throughout the 2022-2023 season; raising the bar for all other competitors in their sport.

CONTRIBUTE AWARD
Gymnastics
Presented to the team that has collectively contributed the most to the community, enriched themselves through Ute Academy workshops and events, and participated in student groups.

MOST INSPIRATIONAL TEAM AWARD
Gymnastics
This team is one that inspired all student-athletes at the University of Utah with its performances for the entire 2023-2024 season.

Gallery: (4-15-2024) 2024 Crimson Carpet Awards

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Crimson Carpet Awards Presented at Annual Event at Ken Garff Red Zone

Players Mentioned

Cole Bishop

Tyler Bradbury

Haley Denning

Holden Ellsworth

Maryn Granger

Randon Hostert

Jenna Johnson

Kendall Lundberg

Colter McAnelly

Emilia Nilsson Garip

Abby Paulson

Justus Peterson

Alissa Pili

Preston Planells

Megan Quiggle

Maddie Woznick

Completed Event: General versus Arizona on January 18, 2002

Completed Event: General versus Utah St on November 30, 2001 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: General versus San Diego St on November 17, 2001 , Win , 166, to, 120

Completed Event: General versus UNLV on November 10, 2001 , Loss , 114, to, 117

Completed Event: General versus UNLV on November 10, 2001 , Loss , 89, to, 189.5

Completed Event: General at Oregon St on October 26, 2001 , Loss , 89, to, 116

Completed Event: General versus Utah St on October 23, 2001 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: General versus UNLV on November 10, 2000

Completed Event: General versus UNLV on November 10, 2000 , Loss , 82, to, 120

Crimson Carpet Awards Presented at Annual Event at Ken Garff Red Zone

Players Mentioned

Cole Bishop

Tyler Bradbury

Haley Denning

Holden Ellsworth

Maryn Granger

Randon Hostert

Jenna Johnson

Kendall Lundberg

Colter McAnelly

Emilia Nilsson Garip

Abby Paulson

Justus Peterson

Alissa Pili

Preston Planells

Megan Quiggle

Maddie Woznick

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