It’s that time of the year. You know the time — the time when every sports columnist at the Daily writes a year-end wrap-up to every sport that took place this past fall.

I originally thought I was going to do away with this tomfoolery and write another column on an ongoing sports topic. But what the hey, why break tradition?

So in keeping with tradition, I decided to compile a list of ISU athletes who deserve salutes and salutations.

So without going on anymore here it is:

Salutes go to Troy Davis, Tim Kohn and all nine senior Iowa State football players.

Even if Troy doesn’t win the Heisman this year, everyone on campus knows who the best player in college football was this season. Much of the yardage Davis compiled this year was created by the huge holes Kohn and company opened up for him on the offensive line.

Only one Cyclone offensive lineman was voted all-conference(Tim Kohn, second-team).The fact that only one Cyclone was voted has got to be a joke. As for the seniors, they stuck with the program and showed their toughness, they have my utmost respect.

A salute goes to the volleyball team for qualifying for ISU’s first NCAA tournament.

They proved their meddle by not only qualifying but also knocking off powerful Idaho in the first round. Seniors Kirstin Hugdahl, Steph McCannon and Dana Mucha set a good example for the team throughout the season, not only on the court but off the court as well.

Salutes go to men’s cross country coach Bill Bergan and women’s cross country coach Dick Lee. Both coaches hosted the NCAA Championships at ISU’s new home course. The women had their first top 20 national finish in five years, and the men had to overcome numerous injuries and illnesses to finish 18th in the nation.

There is enough young talent on both squads to suggest that a sweep of both team titles in the near future is not improbable.

A salute also goes to Cyclone cross country runner Dmitry Drozdov.

Drozdov, a senior from Russia, is ISU’s top finisher at nationals to go along with his all-American honors from the year before.

Salutes go to women’s soccer coach Cathy Klein and the entire soccer team.

Klein started a brand new women’s soccer team from scratch this season, and they were pretty good. Good enough to win five games in a row to close out the season.

Salutes go to coach Al Murdoch and his ISU hockey team. Even though they are only club status, they could beat a lot of NCAA Division 1 teams right now.

Coach Murdoch always has the Cyclones playing top-notch hockey. Cyclone hockey is also followed by thousands of fans who show up for every home game.

Salutes go to every athlete or coach who felt they were left off my salute chart, due to my ignorance. I’m not perfect, so here is your salute.

Because of space constraints of my column, I did not include sports that are still in session. This includes men’s and women’s golf because the major part of the season is in the spring.

And finally, salutes go to graduating and/or departing Daily staff members. These include: sports editor Jason Howland, news editor Chris Miller, copy editor Amy Potter and last and certainly not least, currents editor Scott Andresen, better known as the “Tattooed Guru.”

It’s been great, see ya next semester.