May 3, 2011

By Pat Iversen

For such an extravagant celebration of Missouri athletics, it was the smaller sports that came up big at the third annual ROARs awards ceremony Monday night, taking home three of the night’s biggest awards.

With all of Missouri athletics represented at the Oscars-styled event at Mizzou Arena, track and field senior Lars Rise and gymnastics junior Mary Burke took home honors for male and female Athletes of the Year honors.

A native of Trondheim, Norway, Rise expressed his gratitude to those who helped his transition to the United States.

“This is a great honor to stand here,” Rise said. “Thank you for welcoming me to America. I had a great welcome when I came here four years ago, and I’m very thankful for that.”

Swimming and diving coach Jamie Sweeny won Coach of the Year after leading his team to the highest level of success in program history in just his fourth season as coach. Freshman diver Loren Figueroa was named Rookie of the Year after her All-American season.

The “For the Love of the Game” Award, given to the best walk-on athlete, was presented to senior basketball guard Jarrett Sutton. Sutton didn’t join the team until he caught the attention of then-coach Mike Anderson as a freshman, when the two played against each other at the student recreation center.

“If someone had told me four years ago that I’d be standing up here in front of you all, I’d have said they were crazy,” Sutton said.

Sutton has been a contributor off the bench for the Tigers since then, but he admitted that he was a bit anxious before his first practice with the team.

“I was so nervous that my legs were shaking,” Sutton said. “I walked into the locker room and got a big hug from Kim English. Since then, it’s been the best three years of my life, and I’ve got my teammates to thank for that.”

Men’s basketball junior Marcus Denmon and women’s basketball senior Bekah Mills both earned the “Courage Award” for perseverance away from their sport. Mills, who battled four ACL tears during her career at Missouri, said she wasn’t bitter about lost opportunity.

“It’s been a great experience, despite everything,” Mills said. “If there was one piece of advice I’d give, it’d be to enjoy the time you have here, because it goes by fast.”

The event was hosted by radio voice Mike Kelly, who began the evening by highlighting the academic achievements of the athletic program. In 2010, Missouri athletes averaged a 2.9 grade point average, down a point from last year.

Missouri alum and former NBA player Kareem Rush performed the musical entertainment, with songs from his debut R&B album _Rehabbing R&B_.