Club Sports Athletes of the Year

The men's and women's club Athletes of the Year were named at the Club Sports Banquet last week. For the men, Tyler Wren of the cycling team was honored, and for the women, Sarah Apgar of the skiing and rugby teams was given the distinction. The 'Prince' would like to recognize these two athletes who play not for the honors, but rather for the love of sport.

Tyler Wren

A climbing specialist, sophomore Tyler Wren recently captured the season-long individual points title in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference overall (Division I and Division II). Wren was not only the winner in Division II in which the Tigers competed, but was also the champion point getter in Division I.

Wren's acheivement placed him at the top of the ECCC. This was no small feat, since the East Coast league consists of over 50 schools and 500 riders. Throughout the regular season, Wren stormed to eight top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes in just 14 races, leading the Tigers to one of their best finishes in recent years.

The ECCC Championship weekend in Burlington, Vt. on April 28-29 was highlighted by Wren's astounding ascent of the infamous Mt. Philo access road, which reaches a maximum gradient of 21 percent, to a second place finish in the 67 mile Men's A road race. The solid finish highlighted Wren's skill at climbing. The last Princeton rider to win the prestigious championship race was John Kelly '00, in 1997. Kelly is now riding for Kissena, the top amateur team in the Nation, and is on his way to becoming a professional road racer, a dream Wren is still considering.

With his podium finish, Wren was able to qualify for nationals in Colorado Springs on May 19-21. The winner of that race gets the honor of wearing the national champion's red, white and blue jersey for one year. Wren competes on mountain bikes in the fall and on road bikes throughout the summer for personal sponsors all over the country.

Sarah Apgar

A fullback and captain on the women's rugby team and the captain of the women's alpine ski team, junior Sarah Apgar is shy about discussing her exploits; however, Apgar's hard work and exceptional play cannot be hidden once she starts competing.

During the winter, Apgar led the ski team to the league championship and five wins in its six races. The team finished fifth at regionals and was only three seconds away from making the national championship.

Apgar herself was a Top 15 finisher at regionals and was a solid performer for the team. A highlight of the season was an overall title at the Fairfield Invitational, one of the qualifiers for for regionals.

A member of the Princeton Army ROTC program, Apgar starred for the rugby team on its run to the Final Four this spring, scoring five tries in the national tournament. The team lost in the semifinals to Chico State before coming back to beat Virginia in the consolation game to finish third in the nation.

Considered a great captain by her teammates, Apgar is quick to take the spotlight off of herself. She credits her teammates as the key to her two team's success this year and would rather her team receive the accolades than herself — the mark of a true leader.