2008 - Jordan White
Jordan joined the team in the 2004-2005 season just oozing with potential. He had a linebacker's frame at 6'4 and 190 pounds. He was fast, aggressive and could jump through the roof. He came into the sport pretty raw, skill-wise, but immediately became a down field contributor while developing the rest of his game throughout the four years he played on the team.
Beyond his time on the Ultimate field, Jordan was (is) an avid climber, skier and mountaineer. In May of 2005, between his freshmen and sophomore years, tragedy struck as Jordan and his dad, Kip, fell while climbing in the Maroon Bells. Kip didn't survive the fall and Jordan had to descend another 600 feet, then hike out on a broken leg to report the accident.
Jordan came back to Hib the next season a humble individual, but he didn't let that heartbreak phase his competitive spirit for ultimate or for climbing. He has since then become the youngest person to climb and ski all the 14ers in Colorado as well as making trips all over the world to climb/ski including Alaska, South America and Mongolia.
For Hib, Jordan really came into his own as a devastating threat in his third and fourth years. He quickly gained a reputation as a big deep, but didn't let himself be one-dimensional as he also became one of the biggest huckers on the team. It was a true pick your poison for defenders and he was a nightmare match up.
Jordan and I had spectacular chemistry and I couldn't even begin to guess the number of times we connected on hucks. I think some of my favorite moments were Jordan sneaking hucks to me, rather than the far more common opposite occurrence. Jordan and I just knew what the other was going to do - it was some of the most fun I ever had playing ultimate.
Jordan captained the team in 2008, in his fourth and final year, and led us to a near upset of Mamabird at sectionals and a huge performance at regionals, narrowly missing nationals.
During college, Jordan played club for DTL in Fort Collins, then moved on to Bravo after he graduated, despite living up in Aspen and having to commute. Jordan retired from competitive men's and spent a few years playing mixed in Denver before finally hanging up his club cleats to focus more on his mountaineering.
Jordan remains one of the most physically gifted players to ever come through CSU, but I think the thing I admire most about him, is how much he re-dedicated himself to his mountaineering after his dad's death. That takes such a strong person and that force of will is what made Jordan such a special player for Hib. For anyone interested in reading more about his mountain adventures check out his amazing blog: Elks and Beyond.
-TK
Honorable Mentions: Tim Kefalas (yup), Derek Arrington, Dan "Rambus" Delude
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