DeHarde, Merrill win Robins Award honors

The 2020 Robins Awards — put on by Utah State University’s student involvement department — winners were announced on Saturday, with both the men’s and women’s athletes of the year up for grabs.

For the second straight year, USU basketball’s Sam Merrill was the recipient of the men’s award, while Autumn DeHarde won her first after a spectacular season for USU gymnastics.

Women’s athlete of the year

DeHarde’s 2020 season was filled with individual accolades. The junior set multiple personal records and even a few Utah State records, including career beam titles, which she now holds with 12. DeHarde grabbed an incredible six beam titles in 2020 in just nine meets. In the team’s final meet of the season, USU defeated No. 17 BYU and finished a perfect 4-0 home season. Naturally, DeHarde was instrumental in the win. The Wisconsin-native earned a pair of titles in beam and floor, setting a career-high 9.950 in the floor event.

Utah State’s beam group rose to as high as No. 18 in the nation this past season, with DeHarde being a large part of that revival. For her efforts, she was awarded the Gymnast of the Year honor in the Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference. 

Men’s athlete of the year

Merrill led Utah State men’s basketball to a Mountain West Tournament title in back-to-back seasons, a first in the program’s history. In addition, the senior guard became the first player in Mountain West history to win consecutive tournament MVPs. The Bountiful-native finished his career at USU with 2,197 points — second in program and MW history — and was the leader in two of the Aggies’ most successful seasons. In addition to being a prolific scorer, Merrill finished his career with the second-most assists in USU history, a testament to his effectiveness in all areas of the court.

In the 2019-20 season, Utah State started the season No. 15 in the nation and ended the season — which was shortened to due the novel coronavirus — receiving votes in the top-25 and as Mountain West Tournament champions. 

The awards memorialize William E. Robins, a Sigma Nu at Utah State who served as USU’s student body president in 1949. He was also the primary visionary of the Taggart Student Center. Students and faculty at Utah State are honored for their hard work and dedication to their individual goals, as well as the goals of USU.

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— sports@usustatesman.com