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Best Team — Men’s Cross Country
While many might expect to find Montee Ball and Co.’s resilient Rose Bowl squad here, the oft-forgotten men’s cross country squad pulled off an even greater feat — winning the national championship.
National Coach of the Year Mick Byrne boasted a roster replete with four All-Americans when the Badgers left Terre Haute, Ind., with the team’s first national title since 2005 and the fifth in program history. Much as he had all season, junior Mohammed Ahmed — who will likely be heading to London this summer to compete in the Olympics — placed a team-best fifth at the Nov. 21 NCAA Championship.
Taking home the national title by a commanding 42-point margin, the collective effort was a triumphant end to a season that surpassed this squad’s lofty standard of expected success.
Before bringing the national title trophy back to Madison, Wisconsin’s program continued its utter dominance by wrapping up its 13th consecutive Big Ten crown. The squad won six of its seven races last fall, with only one second place finish.
Joining Ahmed with All-American honors were seniors Elliot Krause and Ryan Collins along with junior Reed Connor.
— Ian McCue
Honorable Mentions: football, women’s hockey
Male Athlete of the Year — Montee Ball, junior running back, football
Junior running back Montee Ball gave one of the best performances over the course of a season, of any athlete at Wisconsin this year.
Ball amassed a total of 2,229 offensive yards en route to 39 touchdowns. As a result of his outstanding year, Ball was a top-five finalist for the Heisman Trophy, finishing fourth place in the voting.
Many expected the Wentzville, Mo., native to take his chance at the pros after such a prolific season, but Ball shocked everyone once again, deciding to return to Wisconsin for his senior year for another shot at the Rose Bowl and to earn his degree.
The junior’s achievements are compounded by the fact that he accomplished such a feat largely only playing in three quarters a game. There’s no knowing exactly what Ball’s stats would have looked like if he actually played a full four quarters for 14 games. Either way, being honored as the best male athlete at UW this year wasn’t much of a stretch.
— Kelly Erickson
Honorable Mentions: Mohammed Ahmed, track/cross country; Russell Wilson, football
Female Athlete of the Year — Brianna Decker, junior forward, women’s hockey
Junior forward of the Wisconsin women’s hockey team, Brianna Decker lit up the ice this past season, leading the team to a national championship appearance and an overall record of 35-5-2. Decker recorded 82 points during the season, a team high, and a tie for most points in the nation. She led the nation in goals, scoring 37 goals in the 40-game season.
Decker received the esteemed Patty Kazmaier award to honor her for the extraordinary season. The award is given out each year to the top women’s college hockey player. She also was named First Team All-American, and WCHA player of the year.
Throughout the season, Decker stepped up big at key moments. During the NCAA quarterfinal game against Mercyhurst, she scored a goal and assisted on another to give UW a 3-1 victory, advancing them to the Frozen Four. She also helped her team to a 4-3 overtime victory against then No. 8 ranked Minnesota-Duluth with two goals and a pair of assists, including an assist on the game-winner.
Decker also commanded Wisconsin’s top offensive line that netted 98 goals for the Badgers. Alongside wingmen Carolyne Prevost and Brooke Ammerman, the trio remained a consistent source of goals throughout the season.
— Caroline Sage
Honorable Mentions — Hilary Knight, women’s hockey; Cassandra Darrah, softball
Best coach — Bo Ryan, Men’s Basketball
Head coaches always have to make do with what they are given, and inevitably, some are more fortunate than others.
Men’s basketball head coach Bo Ryan, if anything, wasn’t as fortunate as he usually is with his personnel when it came to the 2011-12 season. He entered the season missing two of his three top scorers from the previous year and was tasked with implemented three new starters in the frontcourt.
Those replacements — Jared Berggren, Ryan Evans and Mike Bruesewitz — all took turns struggling with their increased demands, which allowed opposing defenses to concentrate on disrupting All-American guard Jordan Taylor. The result was a discombobulated offense that got caught playing hot potato a few times too many.
But the frontcourt eventually got the hang of things, and the Badgers went on to have a more successful postseason than the year before. UW navigated through the rough terrain of the Big Ten, finished in fourth place and won a game in the conference tournament for the first time since 2008.
From there, Ryan guided the Badgers to a second-consecutive Sweet 16 NCAA tournament appearance before falling to No. 1 seed Syracuse, making the most of what he had.
— Elliot Hughes
Honorable Mentions: Mick Byrne, men’s cross country; Mark Johnson, women’s hockey
Best Game — Big Ten Championship vs. Michigan State
Wisconsin has participated in some pretty outstanding sporting events this year. From a high-strung 2012 Rose Bowl showdown with Oregon, to men’s basketball downing OSU in front of their own crowd and to men’s hockey sweeping a top-five ranked North Dakota. But none of them compare to the sweet, sweet victory that was the Big Ten Championship game against Michigan State.
It was a story written for the ages. Of course Wisconsin and Michigan State would face each other once again in the conference title game after a nail biting, heart breaking Hail Mary touchdown that decided the Oct. 22 instant classic in which MSU bested UW for the second year in a row. Fate wouldn’t have it any other way.
UW didn’t waste its shot at redemption.
In a true team effort, UW dominated the start of the game as junior running back Montee Ball ran for more than 100 yards in the first quarter. As he was slowed down, quarterback Russell Wilson made things happen. With one of the most memorable plays of the season, Jeff Duckworth made a 36-yard game-saving grab for UW on fourth and six, setting up a Ball touchdown.
To cap it all off, Brad Nortman gave an Oscar worthy performance on one of the game’s final plays, drawing a roughing the kicker penalty on MSU’s Isaiah Lewis, earning the Badgers a trip back to the Rose Bowl.
— Kelly Erickson
Honorable Mentions — men’s basketball at Ohio State; men’s soccer shuts out Indiana
Best moment — Jeff Duckworth’s catch, Big Ten Championship
Earlier in the 2011 season, the Wisconsin football team had twice been victimized by deep, Hail Mary-esque passes, resulting in the only two losses the Badgers had incurred up until they met Michigan State in the inaugural Big Ten championship game.
And while Jeff Duckworth’s catch in that game wasn’t quite a Hail Mary, it was similar enough in its desperation to make up for the bizarre series of events that prevented a national title campaign; finally, a prayer was answered in the name of UW.
Down 39-34, with just over four minutes remaining in the final quarter, quarterback Russell Wilson took the snap out of the shotgun on fourth-and-six at the MSU 43-yard line. He rolled left but green defenders quickly cornered him. With little time to think, Wilson set his feet and catapulted the ball and across the field in Duckworth’s direction.
With the ball sailing above, Duckworth jockeyed for position with safety Isaiah Lewis, as if battling for a rebound. But Lewis slightly overcompensated and couldn’t reach the pass even though Duckworth barely had enough momentum to leap for the ball.
Then came the equally memorable call over the televised broadcast:
“Aaaaah!” broadcaster Gus Johnson yelled, as Duckworth hit the turf with the ball tucked safely away in both hands. “What a catch! At the six-yard line, Duckworth! Thirty-six yards! And a first down for the Badgers!”
— Elliot Hughes
Honorable Mention — Brad Nortman’s fall, Big Ten Championship
Best Individual Performance — Rob Wilson, senior swingman, scores 30 points in Round 2 of Big Ten Tournament vs. Indiana
Prior to March 9, Rob Wilson’s biggest contribution to the Wisconsin Badgers came in his steady yet surprising late-season emergence as Bo Ryan’s most critical bench player.
That day in Indianapolis, the fourth-seeded Badgers met the fifth-seeded Indiana Hoosiers for a second-day Big Ten Tournament game. Indiana had dispatched Penn State the day before, while the Badgers’ top-four regular-season finish earned them a bye.
Wilson, who had started only two games in his four-year career and was averaging just 3.1 points in 10.7 minutes of playing time, stunned the college basketball world with a 30-point effort on 11-for-16 shooting, including 7-for-10 from 3-point range. Wisconsin won 79-71 by making the most of Wilson’s 32 minutes on the floor, a number nearly as staggering as his 30 points.
Star point guard Jordan Taylor ultimately provided the greatest synopsis of Wilson’s effort against Indiana. As the team’s only other senior beside Taylor, Wilson might not have been the biggest contributor on the stat sheet, but the way in which Wisconsin’s bench emptied 3-pointer after 3-pointer in Indy personified his place on the team.
“I’m so happy, I almost feel like I had 30 [points],” Taylor said after the game to a smaller-than-usual throng of reporters that, probably for the first time ever, had their full attention on Wilson.
— Mike Fiammetta
Honorable Mentions — Montee Ball in Big Ten Championship, 137 yards, 3 touchdowns; Ball vs. Nebraska, 151 yards, 4 touchdowns
Unsung Hero — Alex Rigsby, sophomore goaltender, Women’s Hockey
Given the fact Wisconsin’s first line of forwards scored 98 goals this past season, it is not difficult to see why sophomore goaltender Alex Rigsby did not receive the attention she deserved. The Badgers are known for their high-octane offense, but their success leading up to the national championship would not have been possible without Rigsby.
As just a sophomore, she led the nation with 1,044 saves and ranked second nationally with a phenomenal .949 save percentage. In the Badgers 40 games last season, including postseason play, only on two occasions did Rigsby allow more than three goals.
Wisconsin players and fans have become accustomed to Rigsby’s consistent play over the past two seasons, but that does not change the fact she is the unsung hero of Wisconsin sports. At times when the Badgers’ offense stalled last season, Rigsby kept UW in contention with her play in net. It essentially was assumed that Rigsby would always perform well, so like many goalies, she did not receive the accolades she deserved for another outstanding season.
— Nathan Palm
Honorable Mentions — Brad Nortman, football; Hilary Knight, women’s hockey
Most Improved Athlete — Jared Berggren, junior forward/center, men’s basketball
Nobody thought it would be easy for Jared Berggren.
Replacing the giant void left in the frontcourt by the departure of senior All-American Jon Leuer, Berggren came into the season as the projected starter for the Badgers despite playing a very limited amount in his career, averaging 2.4 points and 6.9 minutes per game off the bench just a year before.
But, as any experienced coach or player would explain, stats rarely provide an accurate glimpse into potential.
Showing a balanced offensive arsenal with the ability to stretch the floor, Berggren proved to be a shining light for Wisconsin in his junior season, averaging 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 27.8 minutes per game. It was Berggren who was largely responsible for bottling up the likes of the conference’s talented posts — like Indiana’s Cody Zeller and Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger — as the center registered 60 blocks on the season, the third most by any Badger in a single season.
Perhaps there was no finer showing of Berggren’s progress as a player than the season’s final contest against Syracuse. Although limited by early foul trouble, the junior showcased his offensive prowess against one of the most athletic teams in the country on national television, scoring 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 showing behind the arc.
— Nick Korger
Honorable Mentions — Japheth Cato, men’s track; Mark Zengerle, men’s hockey
Most Improved Team — Softball
The work of Yvette Healy has gone largely unnoticed in her first two seasons as head coach of the softball team. That will not last much longer.
The Wisconsin softball team is every bit deserving of being named the most improved Wisconsin team. The Badgers’ 2012 season was headlined by their first .500-plus conference record since 2005, as well as a long list of program records.
The Badgers set program-bests in overall win streak, home win streak, conference victories and home runs in a single game. Two wins this weekend at Nebraska would set a program record of 35 victories in a season.
Wisconsin’s biggest improvement came on offense, with a team batting average 40 points higher than a year ago. On the same tune, the team’s ERA was 13 points better than 2011. A top-three conference finish is on the line in Lincoln, Neb., along with a possible NCAA berth coming selection Sunday. This would mark the first NCAA tournament appearance since 2005 and stands as a true illustration of their improvement.
With only one senior departing from this year’s team, the 2013 softball squad will have the opportunity for even greater improvement.
— Sean Zak
Honorable Mention — men’s soccer; men’s hockey
