Wyoming’s Henry named Mountain West Scholar Athlete of the Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., — The Mountain West has announced that University of Wyoming Track & Field student athlete Christopher Henry was named the MW Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2020-21.

Established by the Mountain West Joint Council in 1999, the MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is the highest honor presented to a student-athlete by the Conference.

The award is bestowed annually to one male and one female who best exemplify the term “student-athlete” by achieving excellence in academics, athletics and community involvement over the course of their intercollegiate career.

Get our free mobile app

In addition to athletic achievement, recipients of the MW Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award must have a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average, demonstrate leadership, and exhibit good character and conduct on and off the playing field. Each honoree will receive a $2,500 postgraduate scholarship.

Henry becomes the fourth Cowboy, and sixth student-athlete from Wyoming to win the award from the Mountain West.

The Laramie native boasts degrees from the University in Molecular Biology, Physiology and Psychology with a perfect 4.0 GPA. Henry joins fellow Cowboys and Cowgirls, Nick Smith (Football 2018-19), Audra DeStefano (Cross Country/Track & Field 2016-17), Luke Ruff (Football 2012-13), Chaundra Sewell (Women’s Basketball 2012-13), and Greg Miller (Cross Country/Track & Field 2011-12) as award winners. 

For his accolades on the Track and in Cross Country, Henry finished his running career at Wyoming as a six-time All-Mountain West selection. Henry represented the Cowboys as an individual at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country National Championships and as a part of the team at the 2018 Championships. That team in 2018 was the first Cowboys Cross Country team to compete at the NCAAs since 1986. 

Henry finished in 136th place in 2019 and placed in 63rd overall in 2018 as the team wrapped up the competition in 12th place. 

During his career, Henry earned the NCAA Elite 90 Award at the NCAA Cross Country National Championships as the top academic competitor at a championship-level meet in 2018-19 and 2019-20. He is also a four-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete award recipient and a three-time Academic All-American.

* University of Wyoming press release

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players (Numbers 50-16)