NCAA champions JuVaughn Harrison and Lisa Gunnarsson from the LSU track and field team swept the Tiger Athletic Foundation’s Male and Female Athlete of the Year award for the 2020-21 athletics year.
LSU and the TAF announced the award winners virtually on Sunday as part of the annual Mikey’s Award ceremony. The Mikey Award winners are voted on by the student-athletes.
Harrison became one of the most decorated student-athletes in LSU history in 2021, sweeping the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles in the long jump and high jump. He also represented the United States in both events at the Olympics last month.
Harrison’s efforts helped the LSU men’s track and field team win the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He was also named the NCAA Field Athlete of the Year both indoors and outdoors.
Gunnarsson won the program’s first NCAA pole vault titles with the sweep of the indoor and outdoor in 2021. She became the first woman to complete the sweep of pole vault titles since 2010. Gunnarsson is a five-time All-American for the Tigers.
Also named the TAF Scholar Athlete of the Year, Gunnarsson owns a 4.158 GPA in mechanical engineering. She was named the USTFCCCA Scholar Athlete of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor and is a two time CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team.
Baseball’s Tre Morgan, a freshman All-America who helped the Tigers to a Super Regional appearance, was named the Male Rookie of the Year. Gymnastics’ Haleigh Bryant was selected as the Female Rookie of the Year after winning the 2021 NCAA Vault title and being named the SEC Freshman of the Year and WCGA Region 1 Gymnast of the Year.
The LSU men’s tennis, which reached the NCAA Tournament, posted the highest grade point average among all men’s teams on campus at 3.663. The women’s swimming and diving team paced all women’s sports on campus with a 3.494 average the classroom.
The following is a list of LSU’s 2020-21 Mikey Awards winner:
Female Rookie of the Year – Haleigh Bryant (Gymnastics)
Male Rookie of the Year – Tre Morgan (Baseball)
Female Record Breaking Performance – Kristen Nuss (Beach Volleyball)
◦ became the winningest player in college beach volleyball history, finishing her career with 135 victories, surpassing the previous record of 123.
◦ became 34th player in LSU history to reach milestone
Male Record Breaking Performance – JuVaughn Harrison (Men’s Track and Field)
◦ Had the best long jump/high jump combo performance in world history at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships as he swept titles in both events while scoring 20 points for the LSU track and field team.
◦ He started the day by clearing a bar of 7’ 6.50” (2.30 meters) in the high jump and then followed that with a mark of 27’ 8.75” (8.45 meters) in the long jump to become the third best collegiate performer of all time. The sweep was completed in a span of 2 ½ hours.
Female Sport Play of the Year – Lisa Gunnarsson (Track and Field)
◦ Cleared the winning height of 14’5.25” in the pole vault at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to become the first female in LSU history to win both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles in the event.
◦ Became first female in the NCAA to sweep both indoor and outdoor titles in the same year since 2010.
Male Sport Play of the Year – Brooks Curry (Swimming and Diving)
◦ swam a 48.19 in the 100-meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing in the top 4 in the event, to become the first American swimmer in LSU history to qualify for the Olympics
Highest Team GPA Male: Men’s Tennis (3.663)
Highest Team GPA Female: Women’s Swimming (3.494)
Male Leadership: Avery Atkins (Football)
Female Leadership: Kit Hanley (Swimming and Diving)
Tiger Cup: Beach Volleyball
TAF Male Scholar Athlete of the Year: Braden Nyboer (Men’s Swimming and Diving)
TAF Female Scholar Athlete of the Year: Lisa Gunnarsson (Women’s Track and Field)
Male Volunteer of the Year: Eric Edwards (Men’s Track and Field)
Female Volunteer of the Year: Courtney Henderson (Women’s Soccer)
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