Cornell athlete of the decade

[billhoward]

Who is Cornell's greatest athlete this decade?

(Edit add: I can add a poll but I'd like to hear some nominations.)

[scoop85]

Knee-jerk reaction -- Seibald or Maduka

[ugarte]

Travis Lee. Two time NCAA wrestling champion, at 125 as a soph and at 133 as a senior, and a 4-time All-American.

Troy Nickerson is going to straddle decades, but he'd be in the running as well. A second, a third and a championship in his first three years and he is the favorite for a second national title this year.

[semsox]

Seibald

[Josh '99]

Seibald

Has to be.  First Cornell athlete in years and years to be recognized as the best in the country in his/her sport.

[semsox]

Seibald

Has to be.  First Cornell athlete in years and years to be recognized as the best in the country in his/her sport.

Also holds the non-track record for fastest 40 yard dash.  He's a physical freak who is also probably the best leader a Cornell team in any sport has seen in quite some time.  His post game press conference from the national championship game last year brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.

[Chris '03]

Jamie Reynolds is up there.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Siebald for me too.

[Jim Hyla]

I've got to go with Jeomi Maduka. She's excelled in two sports and as mentioned in this IJ article might be the best female athlete ever at CU. It got her the "Best Female of 2009" for the IJ, and if those qualifications aren't enough to be the best of a decade, well then a woman may never win it.

[Trotsky]

and if those qualifications aren't enough to be the best of a decade, well then a woman may never win it.

... uncomfortable, un-PC silence ...

[bernie]

jordan leen, rayon taylor, and muhammad halim are worthy of mentions on the basis of winning individual ncaa titles in wrestling or track.  travis lee, however, would probably have them all trumped

one could make a strong case for ryan wittman for being the best player (ever?) on the best basketball team ever?

who would have been team of the decade and athlete of the decade for the 1970's?

[Al DeFlorio]

who would have been team of the decade and athlete of the decade for the 1970's?

Lacrosse for team; runner-up for Heisman for athlete?  French and McEneaney also in the running.

[billhoward]

who would have been team of the decade and athlete of the decade for the 1970's?

Lacrosse for team; runner-up for Heisman for athlete?  French and McEneaney also in the running.

The 1970 hockey team seems like the last of the 1960s hockey teams but it had no megastar like Dryden, just ordinary All-Americas like Dan Lodboa. Lacrosse as team of the decade without a doubt for its three NCAA titles and Eamon McEneaney (R.I.P 9/11) and Mike French as co-winners. Ed Marinaro played in a sport with far more participants than lacrosse, ergo he climbed to the pinnacle of a bigger mountain. But McEneaney and French brought us two national titles; Marinaro and team managed one tie for the Ivy title. Fate had it at that Dartmouth game (Cornell's lone FB loss Marinaro's senior year, 24-14) that the best wide receiver played sick and allowed Dartmouth to pretty much ignore the pass and key on running. But it's a long time ago and all that's remembered is 8-1 not 9-0, and runner-up to Pat Sullivan of Auburn for the Heisman (ignoring that Sullivan pretty much ran #2 in the voting everywhere except the South, and in the South a lot of voters left Marinaro off entirely.)