Barringer and Higgins Earn CU Athletes of the Week

BOULDER- Cross-country standout Jenny Barringer (senior) and basketball guard Cory Higgins (junior) were named CU Athletes of the Week for the week of November 9-15; this is the first honor of the year for Higgins and the sixth for Barringer. This award is also marks the sixth time Higgins has won the award during his career and the 23rd time for Barringer.

Barringer, an Oviedo, Florida (Oviedo) native, won her first NCAA Mountain Region Individual Championship on November 14th after finishing runner up her last two tries (2006, 2007). Barringer crossed the finish line in 20:29.0 and had 12 seconds on the runner-up. The shorter gap between her and competition was due to the fact that she stayed with the pack for the first 4k and then started to pull away with 2k remaining. She became the first CU woman to win the individual title since Renee Metivier did so in 2004 and the No. 6 Buffs won the team title for the first time since 2006 to automatically qualify for nationals. Barringer is on pace to have an undefeated season as she not lost a race up to this point.

Higgins, a Danville, Calif. (The Pendleton School [Bradenton, Fla.]) native, scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half helping Colorado defeat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 88-72 in the season opener for both schools. Higgins was perfect from the free throw line, making all 16 of his attempts and tying a school record for made free throws in a game. His school record at the free throw line equaled the mark previously set by Chauncey Billups (Oklahoma, Feb. 17, 1996) and JoJo Hunter (Iowa State, Jan. 20, 1980). It was also Higgins' fourth career game in which he has connected on 10 or more free throws. Higgins also added two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 33 minutes of play time. The game also marked the 13th time that Higgins has scored 20 or more points in a game and now stands in 40th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 830 points.

Other athletes nominated for the award this week: Becah Fogle (volleyball), Jordan Kyle (cross-country).

Volleyball: Becah Fogle, sophomore, Leander, Texas

Fogle led Colorado offensively and defensively with 3.00 kills and 3.29 digs per set last week. Fogle recorded eight kills and 11 digs against No. 21 Baylor and earned her eighth double-double of the year with 13 kills and 12 digs in a hard fought loss to Missouri. She also served up a pair of aces in the match and hit .225.

Cross Country: Jordan Kyle, senior, Fishers Ind.

Kyle was the highest finisher for the Buffs at the regional championship on Saturday. He crossed the line fourth overall in 30:24.4 to earn his best finish in the black and gold this year. Kyle ran in the lead pack for the entire race and didn't let up after a disappointing 15th-place finish at the Big 12 Championship two weeks ago.  Kyle's finish helped CU to a second-place team finish, earning an automatic qualifying position for nationals.