BOISE, Idaho – Boise State Athletics announced Allie Ostrander and Brett Rypien as its 2018-19 Male and Female Athletes of the Year, respectively, Friday.
Boise State enjoyed one of its most accomplished athletic campaigns in school history in 2018-19, winning conference championships in four sports and finishing as the top Group of Five school in the country in the Learfield Director’s Cup standings for the second-straight year. At No. 59 nationally, the finish is tied for the second-best in school history.
Student-athletes combined to win a dozen more individual/event conference championships. There were many to be proud of, but only one male and one female can be named Boise State Athlete of the Year. Those selections are below:
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Ostrander won a third-consecutive national championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2019, the first female in NCAA history to win three-straight titles in the event, and the 15th woman in collegiate history to win three-straight championships in a single event.
She is the only three-time national champion in Boise State history.
She also earned first-team All-America honors in cross country, during the indoor season in both the 3,000-meter and the 5,000-meter and added a second-team All-America selection during the outdoor season (5,000m).
She was named the West Region Women’s Athlete of the Year in cross country, and the West Region Track Athlete of the Year following the outdoor season during her final collegiate campaign.
She successfully defended her Mountain West title in the 5,000m during the outdoor season, while also earning all-league honors in the 1,500-meter. She posted nation-leading marks during the outdoor season in both the steeplechase and the 10,000-meter, an event in which she also set the conference record. For her efforts, Ostrander was named the MW Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year for a third-straight season, the first women’s athlete in conference history to accomplish the feat.
Ostrander was also a semifinalist for The Bowerman, track and field’s highest honor, in 2019 – the first athlete in Boise State history to be named a semifinalist for the award.
In the classroom, Ostrander picked up a second-straight first-team Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-America honor this past season, in addition to being named an NCAA Elite 90 Award recipient for a second time.
Ostrander graduated in May with a degree in kinesiology and a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Rypien, a Spokane, Wash., native, was thrust into the starting role as a true freshman in 2015, ultimately earning MW Freshman of the Year and Poinsettia Bowl Offensive Most Valuable Player honors, in additional to being the conference’s first-team signal caller. Over the course of his four seasons as the starter, Rypien etched his name throughout the Bronco – and MW – record books, all while leading the way in both the classroom and the community.
He helped lead the Broncos to bowl games in each of his four seasons, and to back-to-back MW Championship Games in 2017 and 2018. The Broncos were victorious in the 2017 edition of the game, with Rypien being named the game’s offensive most valuable player.
In 2018, his final collegiate campaign, Rypien joined former quarterback Kellen Moore as the Broncos’ only two individuals to be named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, and earned his fourth-straight All-Mountain West accolade in as many seasons as the Broncos’ starting signal caller – three of which were first-team honors. He concluded his career as the Mountain West’s all-time leader in passing yards (13,581), completions (1,036) and 300-yard games (21).
Rypien was a four-time academic all-conference honoree, a two-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete, a CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 selection in 2017 and was recently named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. For his efforts in the community, Rypen was named a Wuerffel Trophy Semifinalist and a member of the Allstate AFCA Good Hands Team Watch List.
Boise State enjoyed one of its most accomplished athletic campaigns in school history in 2018-19, winning conference championships in four sports and finishing as the top Group of Five school in the country in the Learfield Director’s Cup standings for the second-straight year. At No. 59 nationally, the finish is tied for the second-best in school history.
Student-athletes combined to win a dozen more individual/event conference championships. There were many to be proud of, but only one male and one female can be named Boise State Athlete of the Year. Those selections are below:
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Ostrander won a third-consecutive national championship in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 2019, the first female in NCAA history to win three-straight titles in the event, and the 15th woman in collegiate history to win three-straight championships in a single event.
She is the only three-time national champion in Boise State history.
She also earned first-team All-America honors in cross country, during the indoor season in both the 3,000-meter and the 5,000-meter and added a second-team All-America selection during the outdoor season (5,000m).
She was named the West Region Women’s Athlete of the Year in cross country, and the West Region Track Athlete of the Year following the outdoor season during her final collegiate campaign.
She successfully defended her Mountain West title in the 5,000m during the outdoor season, while also earning all-league honors in the 1,500-meter. She posted nation-leading marks during the outdoor season in both the steeplechase and the 10,000-meter, an event in which she also set the conference record. For her efforts, Ostrander was named the MW Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year for a third-straight season, the first women’s athlete in conference history to accomplish the feat.
Ostrander was also a semifinalist for The Bowerman, track and field’s highest honor, in 2019 – the first athlete in Boise State history to be named a semifinalist for the award.
In the classroom, Ostrander picked up a second-straight first-team Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-America honor this past season, in addition to being named an NCAA Elite 90 Award recipient for a second time.
Ostrander graduated in May with a degree in kinesiology and a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Rypien, a Spokane, Wash., native, was thrust into the starting role as a true freshman in 2015, ultimately earning MW Freshman of the Year and Poinsettia Bowl Offensive Most Valuable Player honors, in additional to being the conference’s first-team signal caller. Over the course of his four seasons as the starter, Rypien etched his name throughout the Bronco – and MW – record books, all while leading the way in both the classroom and the community.
He helped lead the Broncos to bowl games in each of his four seasons, and to back-to-back MW Championship Games in 2017 and 2018. The Broncos were victorious in the 2017 edition of the game, with Rypien being named the game’s offensive most valuable player.
In 2018, his final collegiate campaign, Rypien joined former quarterback Kellen Moore as the Broncos’ only two individuals to be named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, and earned his fourth-straight All-Mountain West accolade in as many seasons as the Broncos’ starting signal caller – three of which were first-team honors. He concluded his career as the Mountain West’s all-time leader in passing yards (13,581), completions (1,036) and 300-yard games (21).
Rypien was a four-time academic all-conference honoree, a two-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete, a CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 selection in 2017 and was recently named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. For his efforts in the community, Rypen was named a Wuerffel Trophy Semifinalist and a member of the Allstate AFCA Good Hands Team Watch List.
