Oregon Sports Awards Caps 2020 Honors With Four Awards

CJ Billings - Lou Burge Male Special Olympic Athlete of the Year (Copy)

Deborah Muno - Lou Burge Female Special Olympics Athlete of the Year (Copy)

Evan "EJ" Holland - Prep Male Cross Country Runner of the Year (Copy)

Fiona Max - Prep Female Cross Country Runner of the Year (Copy)

Kaitlyn Dobler - Prep Female Swimmer of the Year (Copy)

Luke Bachart - Prep Male Swimmer of the Year (Copy)

Edgar Monroy - Prep Male Soccer Player of the Year (Copy)

Callan Harrington - Prep Female Soccer Player of the Year (Copy)

Nathan Bittle - Prep Male Basketball Player of the Year (Copy)

McKelle Meek - Prep Female Basketball Player of the Year (Copy)

Izzi Szulczewski – Prep Volleyball Player of the Year (Copy)

Casey Filkins – Prep Football Player of the Year (Copy)

Destiny Rodriguez – Prep Female Wrestler of the Year (Copy)

Santos Cantu – Prep Male Wrestler of the Year (Copy)

Sabrina Ionescu – Bill Hayward Female Amateur Athlete of the Year (Copy)

Payton Pritchard – Bill Hayward Male Amateur Athlete of the Year (Copy)

Mitchell Fink – *Ad Rutschman Small College Male Athlete of the Year (Copy)

Wyatt Smith – *Ad Rutschman Small College Male Athlete of the Year (Copy)

Taylor Ristvedt – Ad Rutschman Small College Female Athlete of the Year (Copy)

University of Football - George Pasero Team of the Year (Copy)

University of Oregon Women's Basketball - George Pasero Team of the Year (Copy)

Kelly Graves - Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year (Copy)

Dave Gunderson - DNA: Dedication to Oregon Sports (Copy)

PORTLAND, Ore. – This past week, the 2020 Oregon Sports Awards concluded with the announcement of the final four honors in celebration of the many outstanding athletic achievements in the state over the past year. Once again this year, Sport Oregon and NBC Sports Northwest teamed up to present the 2020 Oregon Sports Awards, with top athletes and coaches from 21 different categories highlighting the 68th year of the state’s annual sports awards.

During the final week of presentations, Oregon Sports Awards announced two recipients of the George Pasero Team of the Year award, the Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year and the DNA: Dedication to Oregon Sports honor.

Additionally, the Oregon Sports Awards introduced a new “Spring Prep Sports Spotlight,” to highlight and showcase the achievements of some of the top spring athletes in the state. The new Spotlight, presented through OSA’s social media platforms, gave special acknowledgement to a variety of standout performers in the state at a time when a number of OSA’s annual awards were suspended due to the cancelation of spring prep and college sports, and the suspension of professional sports in response to COVID-19.

2020 OREGON SPORTS AWARDS WINNERS (June 1-5 announcements)
George Pasero Team of the Year – University of Oregon Football

George Pasero Team of the Year – University of Oregon Women’s Basketball

Slats Gill Sportsperson of the Year – Kelly Graves, University of Oregon Women’s Basketball

DNA: Dedication to Oregon Sports – Dave Gunderson, Hopscotch Foundation

*Note to Editors: Honoree bios and a complete list of finalists for each category are available on SportOregon.org

The 2020 Oregon Sports Awards were held in partnership with NBC Sports Northwest, which announced all of the awards live exclusively on NBC Sports Northwest and Rip City Radio 620AM. All award-winners were revealed on The Brian Noe Show (9 a.m.-12 noon PT), and additionally were featured on SportOregon.org, NBCSportsNorthwest.com and through social media.

Finalists for the Oregon Sports Awards were nominated and selected through a statewide voting panel consisting of TV, radio and print journalists, and respected sports professionals. Originally the Hayward Banquet of Champions, the Oregon Sports Awards began in 1948 to honor Oregon’s outstanding professional and amateur athletes, teams, coaches and administrators from many levels and a wide range of sports.