Courtesy: Wisconsin Athletics
MADISON, Wis. — Phoebe Bacon, a junior on the Wisconsin women’s swimming and diving team, and Jackson Sharp, a redshirt junior on the Wisconsin men’s cross country and track and field teams, have been named the Wisconsin Athletes of the Year for 2022-23.
The duo will be up for Big Ten Conference male and female athletes of the Year along with honorees from the other 13 conference institutions.
Bacon was named the 2023 Big Ten Women’s Swimmer of the Year after earning three first-team All-America honors at the 2023 NCAA Championships. She finished second in the 200 backstroke, fourth in the 200 backstroke and fifth in the 200 individual medley. Bacon also earned second-team All-America honors as a member of the ninth-place 800 free relay.
The Chevy Chase, Maryland, native also earned second-team All-Big Ten honors at the 2023 Big Ten Championships, finishing second in the 200 IM. She also earned a bronze medal in the 200 back at Big Tens while missing the rest of the meet due to illness.
A four-time U.S. National Team member, Bacon earned a silver medal in the 200 back at the 2022 FINA World Championships. She is also a 2020 U.S. Olympian, finishing fifth in the 200-meter back.
A standout in the classroom, Bacon is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and a College Swim Coaches Association of America Scholar Athlete.
Sharp swept the Athlete of the Year awards for men’s track and field, and cross country being named the 2022 Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year, 2023 Big Ten Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and 2023 Big Ten Outdoor Athlete of the Year. He was also named the 2023 Indoor Athlete of the Championships, aiding the Badgers to their first team title since 2014.
Sharp was also named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Great Lakes Regional Track Athlete of the Year during the indoor and outdoor seasons.
He finished second at the Big Ten cross country championships, aiding UW to its fifth consecutive title, and led the Badgers at the NCAA championships, earning All-America honors with a 16th-place finish. At the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships, Sharp won the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. He earned two All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships, finishing third in the 3,000 meters and third as a member of the distance medley relay.
During the outdoor track season, the Wentworth Falls, Australia, native won the Big Ten Outdoor title in the 1,500 meters and earned All-America honors in the 5,000 meters, placing third. Sharp was also a member of the distance medley relay that won the prestigious Penn Relays and a member of the school-record-setting 4xMile relay at Penn.
