Oregon Tech's 2007-08 men's basketball team shared the George Pasero Team of the Year Award with the U of O men's cross country team and the Northwest Star Academy Senior Babe Ruth baseball team. All three claimed national titles in 2008.
Oregon Sports Awards: Annie Hess, Ryan Fiegi Earn Small College Athlete of Year Honors; OIT Men's Basketball Shares 'Team of Year' Award
BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference swept the Ad Rutschman Small College Athlete of the Year honors at the annual Oregon Sports Awards Sunday night, with Concordia University track star Annie Hess claiming the female award and Oregon Tech basketball standout Ryan Fiegi earning the male award.
In addition, Oregon Tech’s national champion men’s basketball team was a co-recipient of the George Pasero Team of the Year Award. The Hustlin’ Owls, coached by Danny Miles, went 31-6 last year on their way to winning the school’s second national title in five seasons.
The awards, recognizing accomplishments during the 2008 calendar year, were voted on by a statewide panel of 81 sports experts from around the state.
Hess, a native of Bickleton, Wash., won her second consecutive NAIA discus crown with a mark of 192-7 in last spring’s national championship meet outside of St. Louis, Mo. Hess’ winning mark, the best ever by a female collegian in Oregon, shattered the NAIA national championship meet record and helped propel her to the meet’s Outstanding Performer Award.
In early May, Hess captured Female Field Athlete of the Meet honors at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championships at Mt. Hood CC after winning individual titles in the discus and hammer and finishing second in the shot put. Her performances helped Concordia claim its second straight CCC title.
Fiegi, a senior from Medford, Ore., was named the MVP of the NAIA’s Division II tournament, held outside Branson, Mo. In five games at the national championships, the 6-7 guard/forward scored 112 points – an average of 22.4 per game – despite playing on an injured knee he suffered in a collision in OIT’s opening game of the tournament.
In the NAIA tournament finale against top-seeded Bellevue (Neb.), Fiegi scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed four rebounds as the Hustlin’ Owls put the finishing touches on a 31-6 campaign.
A first team NAIA Division II All-American, Fiegi became the second player in CCC history to be named the NAIA Division II Player of the Year, joining Southern Oregon University’s Shea Washington, who earned the award in 2006.
Fiegi was named the CCC’s Player of the Year after ranking in the top 10 of eight league statistical categories. He was also named to the CCC’s five man All-Defensive Team. For the season, Fiegi averaged 20.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
The 57th annual event, saluting athletic excellence in Oregon, was staged at the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike World Campus. The awards show will air Monday at 8 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet, and it will be replayed Feb. 10 at 10 p.m., Feb. 13 at 10 p.m., Feb. 24 at 7 p.m., Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. and March 1 at 9 p.m.