A pair of Nebraska student-athletes are among 10 national semifinalists for the Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Athlete of the Year Award. Mohamed Barry, who was a senior on the Husker football team last fall, and track and field junior Givon Washington each made the distinguished list of semifinalists.
As the name denotes, the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar program recognizes outstanding minority young men and women who have distinguished themselves in their academic and athletic pursuits. Nominees must be at least an academic sophomore, hold a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher and be active on campus or in their communities. Nearly 1,000 athletes were originally nominated, and Barry and Washington are two of twenty nominees (10 men, 10 women) remaining.
A Lott IMPACT Trophy quarterfinalist and honorable-mention All-Big Ten performer, Barry led Nebraska with 89 tackles in 2019. He also led the Huskers in tackles as an All-Big Ten selection as a junior in 2018, becoming the first Husker to lead Nebraska in tackles in back-to-back seasons since All-Americans Ndamukong Suh (2008 & 2009) and Lavonte David (2010 & 2011). Away from the field, Barry was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was a four-time member of both the Brook Berringer and Tom Osborne Citizenship teams. He graduated with a degree in ethnic studies in May of 2019 and played his senior season as a graduate student.
Washington, a sprinter, helped the Big Red men win the 4×400-meter relay at the Mark Colligan Memorial with a time of 3:10.96 during the 2020 indoor season. Last season, he was a member of the 4×400-meter relay team that finished fifth at the Big Ten Indoor Championships with a time of 3:09.12. Washington also won the 400-meter title at the Nebraska Tune-Up and was a member of the winning 4×400-meter relay teams at the Graduate Classic, Big Ten Invitational and Mark Colligan Memorial in 2019 during the indoor season, while also helping the 4×400-meter relay squads take the Husker Invitational and Crimson Tide Invitational titles during the outdoor season. Washington is a three-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team, a two-time Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and was on the Academic-All Big Team twice. He was a member of the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team in 2019 and is a six-time member of the Nebraska Scholar Athlete Honor Roll.
Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Athlete of the Year Semifinalists
Mohamed Barry, Football, Nebraska
Rodrigo Blankenship, Football, Georgia
Aaron Boyd, Swimming & Diving, Virginia Tech
Talha Farooq, Wrestling, George Mason
Uriel Garcia, Soccer, Houston-Victoria
Jordan Holly, Baseball, Murray State
Rayden Murata, Tennis, Pacific
Dontelius Ross, Basketball, Jackson State
Matthias Schmid, Golf, Louisville,
Givon Washington, Track & Field, Nebraska
