O'Keefe named finalist for Oregon's Top Athlete in 2007

Team USA's Shannon O'Keefe, a native of Oregon City, Ore., has been named a women's finalist for the 2007 Harry Glickman Professional Athlete of the Year Award, an honor bestowed upon Oregon's top athlete for the calendar year.

The winner will be announced on Jan. 27 at the 56th annual Oregon Sports Awards show, which air live from 7-9 p.m. Pacific on Comcast SportsNet in Oregon from the Tiger Woods Center on the Nike World Campus in Beaverton, Ore.

O'Keefe, 28, had a breakthrough year in 2007 - highlighted by her singles gold medal at the Women's World Championships in Monterrey, Mexico, and runner-up finish at the U.S Women's Open. In the U.S. Women's Open quarterfinals, she rolled a 299 game - nationally televised on ESPN - to defeat fellow Team USA member Stefanie Nation.

"It's nice that all the hard work and dedication I've put into the sport, along with the support I've received from my teammates and family, is being recognized with this honor," said O'Keefe, a former softball standout at Portland State University who is entering her fourth consecutive year on Team USA in 2008.

"Not only is it an honor for me, but it's also an honor for our sport to be recognized alongside other sports and athletes. This year has helped me grow, as a better bowler and as a better person."

More highlights for O'Keefe in 2007 include a fifth-place finish at the prestigious United States Bowling Congress Queens and helping lead Team USA to the team silver medal at the Women's World Championships for the second time in her career.

Other women's finalists for the Harry Glickman Professional Athlete of the Year Award are Kara Braxton of the WNBA's Detroit Shock and Christine Sinclair of the Canadian national soccer team as well as track and field athletes Kara Goucher and Maria Mutola, who won the award in 2003.

The Oregon Sports Awards, which are voted on by a state-wide media panel, annually honors the state's top athletes, coaches and teams. Emmy award-winning sportscaster Ahmad Rashad will be the master of ceremonies, and numerous sports celebrities will present the various awards.