Wyoming’s Kevin Bretting Named MWC Sportsmanship Award Recipient

Wyoming's Kevin Bretting Named MWC Sportsmanship Award Recipient

LARAMIE, Wyoming, June 27. UNIVERSITY of Wyoming senior diver Kevin Bretting was announced today as the Mountain West Conference Sportsmanship Award recipient for the 2006-07 academic year.

The award is given to the student-athlete who has best distinguished him or herself through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The student-athlete also must demonstrate good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting and be in good academic standing.

"Kevin is perfect for this award because he exemplifies the term student-athlete," said UW swimming and diving coach Tom Johnson. "Kevin always carries himself with the utmost class and character in everything he does. He has been a tremendous asset to this program over the past four years."

A native of Loveland, Colo., Bretting competed as a member of the Cowboys' diving team for four years, closing out his career with All-MWC accolades in 2006 and 2007 and three Top-25 finishes at the 2007 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Despite participating in an athletic discipline that rewards individual success, Bretting routinely portrayed the ideals of sportsmanship and competitive respect. His character was evident during the 2007 MWC Swimming and Diving Championships, when he finished third behind an opponent whom he had defeated in several previous meetings. Upon recognizing that the opponent's final dive had secured that individual the conference title, Bretting showed his respect by making a point of approaching the opponent and congratulating him on his victory.

A four-time Academic All-MWC and MWC Scholar-Athlete honoree, Bretting carries a 3.81 grade point average while majoring in kinesiology and health promotions with a minor in psychology. Additionally, Bretting is a familiar face in the Laramie community, founding the Swing Dance Club on campus and participating in a wide range of service projects.

"I have always respected others and tried to take traits from them that are worth looking up to and because of that, I am very humbled by this award," said Bretting.

"I have a quote from Aristotle hanging in my room that says, ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence therefore is not an act but a habit.' I apply this to a lot of things in my life and it fits well with sportsmanship. If you compete with excellence and treat others well, good things will happen."

Special thanks to Wyoming for contributing this report.

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