Oct. 8, 2000

LARAMIE, Wyo. -

A highly decorated wrestler and an individual who helped organize the "6th Man Club" for men's and women's basketball were honored for their contribution to the University of Wyoming Athletic Department on Saturday. The winners for the 45th annual Admiral Emory S. Land award and trophy for this year are Corey Hamrick of Wheatland and Baend (Bane-d) Buus (rhymes with juice) of Moorcroft, respectively.

The Admiral Land Award is presented annually to the top UW student athlete or athletes and the Admiral Land Trophy is presented to a student who has exhibited excellence in promoting UW athletics. The two were recognized at halftime of the Wyoming - San Diego State football game.

During his career at Wyoming, Hamrick was a four-year starter for the Cowboy wrestling team. He often served as a speaker and volunteer in the community's classrooms, youth functions and camps. Hamrick is a former president of the UW Student-Athlete Committee. He was selected for the Land Award based on his academic and athletic accomplishments and the leadership role he played at UW - including representing the University of Wyoming at the 1998 NCAA Foundations Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla. As an undergraduate, Hamrick majored in health science and maintained a 3.6 GPA. After his first year in graduate school, he has a 3.8 GPA. He was a two-time Western Athletic Conference scholar athlete, named to the Academic All-WAC team 1997-1998 and a Mountain West Conference Scholar Athlete last year. Hamrick was also named Academic All American by the National Wrestling Coaches Association twice. He placed in the WAC Championships four times and was a NCAA Tournament qualifier in 2000. Hamrick was also named to the National Strength Coaches All-American team in 2000. He is the son of John and Edna Hamrick.

Buus is a senior majoring in business administration. He began working in the equipment room from the spring of 1996 until the end of 1998. He is currently working with the UW athletic marketing and promotions departments. He actively participates in the promotion of all Cowboy and Cowgirl programs. Last fall, Buus helped start the "6th Man Club," which is a club organized for enthusiastic and active Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball fans to participate with various events throughout the basketball seasons. Buus is also an active member of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon. Buus was a recipient of the UW Presidential Honors Scholarship as a Wyo. high school graduate. His parents are David Buus of Gillette and Linda Buus of Moorcroft.

The Admiral Land awards have been a special part of the University of Wyoming since 1953. They are given as a tribute to distinguished UW alumnus Admiral Emory S. Land, class of 1898. Land was a World War II Shipping Administrator and head of the U.S. Maritime Service. At UW, he was a member of the first football team and four of the first five teams in school history.