A decade of Star Tribune Sportsperson of the Year winners
The 2019 Star Tribune Sportsperson of the Year will be revealed on Christmas Day. Here's a look back at the decade's first nine winners:
2018: Maggie Nichols, the gymnast from Little Canada, crushed the NCAA gymnastics championships as Oklahoma's star — just three months after courageously revealing herself as "Athlete A," the first source in the USA Gymnastics sexual-abuse scandal.
2017: The photograph accompanying the story of this honor was excellent: Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve with a big smile and four shiny WNBA championship rings on one hand.
2016: The Ryder Cup was a blast, and the tournament director at Hazeltine National, Jeff Hintz, was the man behind the curtain.
2015: Maya Moore hit a Game 3 buzzer-beater in the Finals, and many more big shots in the playoffs, to lead the Lynx to their third WNBA title.
2014: After four consecutive state football championships, and 10 overall, coach Mike Grant of Eden Prairie High School was the choice.
2013: The Gophers women's hockey team went 41-0 and won an NCAA championship — and had a 62-game winning streak over two seasons — so we gave the Sportsperson honor to the whole team.
2012: Adrian Peterson nearly broke the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season (finishing with 2,097) and was named the league's MVP in carrying the Vikings into the playoffs.
2011: Seimone Augustus was the first member of the Lynx to win Sportsperson, after inspiring her team to a WNBA title.
2010: Can an architect win Sportsperson of the Year? He can if he designed Target Field. Earl Santee is that guy.
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Minnetonka hoped to tie the game with 12 seconds left, but a deep pass was intercepted by Maple Grove's Dylan Vokal, sealing the Crimson's victory.