2015-16 In Review: Fall

7/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | General

July 11, 2016 Boise State recently completed another successful year of intercollegiate athletics, highlighted by team and individual conference championships as well as postseason appearances and All-America honors. The department finished the year No. 70 in the Learfield Directors' Cup, the third consecutive top-75 year-end ranking and the school's 10th in the 23-year history of the award. This week BroncoSports.com takes a look back at the year that was. The series starts with the fall sports season.

Nine of Boise State's 16 All-America honors last year came during the fall sports season. It was also 'the fall of the freshman.' Elijah Armstrong (men's cross country), Allie Ostrander (women's cross country) and Brett Rypien (football) all made their Bronco debuts and took home Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors in their respective sports.

Ostrander would go on to have one of the best years in Boise State athletics history, but in the fall she paced the Bronco women's cross country squad to arguably the best season by a Boise State team in 2015-16.

The fall was about more than just freshmen competing beyond their years. It also included a coming-of-age story on the volleyball court. Sarah Baugh and Sierra Nobley led the team to a 23-7 record and second-place finish in the Mountain West with a 15-3 league mark.

Football

Poinsettia Bowl Champions: 55-7 win over Northern Illinois, sixth-largest margin of victory in bowl history
Darian Thompson: Four All-America awards
Brett Rypien: Mountain West Freshman of the Year
13 All-Mountain West honorees
Six first-team All-MW selections: Marcus Henry, Rees Odhiambo, Tyler Rausa, Brett Rypien, Thomas Sperbeck and Darian Thompson
Only MW team with three student-athletes taken in the first three rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft: Kamalei Correa, Rees Odhiambo and Darian Thompson

Women's Cross Country

11th place finish at NCAA National Championship
2nd place finish at NCAA West Regional
Allie Ostrander: NCAA National runner-up, NCAA West Region Champion, USTFCCCA West Region Athlete of the Year, MW Conference Champion, MW Athlete of the Year, MW Freshman of the Year
USTFCCCA All-America: Allie Ostrander and Brenna Peloquin
USTFCCCA All-West Region: Minttu Hukka, Allie Ostrander and Brenna Peloquin
All-Mountain West: Allie Ostrander (first-team), Anna Holdiman (second-team), Brenna Peloquin (second-team)
Corey Ihmels: USTFCCCA West Region Coach of the Year

Men's Cross Country

16th place finish at NCAA National Championship
5th place finish at NCAA West Regional
Michael Vennard: USTFCCCA All-West Region, All-MW First Team
Elijah Armstrong: Mountain West Freshman of the Year
All-Mountain West Second Team: Elijah Armstrong, Chandler Austin, Rhys Park

Volleyball

Finished with 23-7 overall record, 15-3 in Mountain West play to finish second and ranked No. 43 in final NCAA RPI
Most wins since 1990 (also 23 wins), and third most in school's Division I history (1982)
Best conference finish since 1998 (second in Big West's East Division)
National leader in kills per set (15.54) and assists per set (14.56); first time leading country in any statistical category
Led Mountain West and ranked No. 11 nationally in hitting percentage (.280)
Won 15 of final 16 matches, including six sweeps
Sierra Nobley: AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, AVCA All-Region, AVCA National Player of the Week (Dec. 1)
Sarah Baugh: AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention
All-Mountain West:
Sarah Baugh, Maddy O'Donnell, Sierra Nobley, Maddi Osburn and Kaitlyn Oliver
Shawn Garus: Mountain West Coach of the Year

Women's Soccer

Brooke Heidemann named to NSCAA All-Pacific Region Second Team, first all-region honor in program history
Brooke Heidemann named first-team All-Mountain West, becoming third women's soccer student-athlete in Mountain West history to earn first-team recognition four times
All-Mountain West: Brooke Heidemann (first-team), Hailey DeVries (second team), Baylee Blaser (honorable mention)
Broncos defeated San Diego State for second-straight year, first MW team to beat Aztecs in consecutive years since 2008
Sophomore midfielder Sarah Taylor called up to Canada U20 National Team
Sophomore goalkeeper Janelle Flores recorded three shutouts and earned third Mountain West Player of the Week Award of her career

Stay tuned all week to relive the best of the last year in Boise State Athletics.