SHERMAN, Texas — The Austin College coaches and team members honored more than 50 student-athletes, including the Austin College male and female athletes of the year, in its annual Athletics Convocation on Thursday night in Sid Richardson Gymnasium on the Austin College campus.
By virtue of head coaches' selections, senior football player Tyler James of Wills Point and sophomore women's water polo player and swimmer Sammi Thiele of Keller were selected as the Pete Cawthon Male Athlete and Gene Day Female Athlete of the Year, respectively.
Men's soccer player Louis Catchpole of Friendswood and women's basketball player Sarah Putnicki of Gunter were named the male and female Tim Jubela Award winners as the most outstanding freshmen student-athletes of the year. Both Catchpole and Putnicki were named second team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference performers in their first years with the 'Roos.
James, in addition to starting at quarterback for the 'Roo football team in 2021, was also a first team All-America punter after finishing second in the nation in punting average while also passing for more than 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns. Thiele has been a starter for the nationally-ranked women's water polo program and won every sprint during the 2022 campaign, as well as being an All-SCAC performer at the 2022 SCAC Swimming and Diving Championship Meet.
List of Award Winners:
Team Awards
- Baseball – Cecil Grigg Award (most outstanding baseball player) – Jake Webster
- Baseball – Newcomer of the Year – Trystan Mallory
- Men's Basketball – Hustle Award – Chanston Goodman
- Men's Basketball – Pat E. Hooks Award (most outstanding basketball player) – Jaylyn Cleamons
- Women's Basketball – Brittany Simpson Award – Lily Brown
- Women's Basketball – Pat E. Hooks Award (most outstanding basketball player) – Natalie McCoy
- Football – William B. Traylor Award (for hard work and dedication) – Keegan Nichols
- Football – Gene "Duke" Babb Award (most outstanding football player) – Aaron Rideaux
- Men's Soccer – Clayton Hustle Award – Diego Rodriguez
- Men's Soccer – Most Outstanding Player – Xander Spurlock
- Women's Soccer – Carole Lomangino Award – Meredith Harris
- Women's Soccer – Hustle Award – Hailey Woodard
- Softball – Spirit Award – Vanessa Garcia
- Softball – Most Outstanding Player – Elizabeth Preston
- Men's Swimming – Hannah Award (most outstanding swimmer) – Max Saenz
- Men's Swimming – Most Improved – Alex Lai
- Women's Swimming – Hannah Award (most outstanding swimmer) – Sammi Thiele
- Women's Swimming – Most Improved – Eleanna Martinez
- Men's Tennis – Carroll Pickett Award (most outstanding tennis player) – Tate Nelson
- Men's Tennis – Most Improved – Yudai Abe
- Women's Tennis – Carroll Pickett Award (most outstanding tennis player) – Gigi Francis
- Women's Tennis – Most Improved – Tara Tran
- Volleyball – Most Outstanding Player – Mari Prazak
- Volleyball – Team Impact – Brooklyn Talley
- Men's Water Polo – Golden 'Roo – Zach Griffith
- Men's Water Polo – Cap 15 Award – Nik Koelzer
- Women's Water Polo – Golden 'Roo – Valery Piachonkina
- Women's Water Polo – Cap 15 Award – Brooke Le
- Cheerleading - Most Improved Cheerleader - Godasi Ndihokubwayo
- Cheerleading - Most Outstanding Cheerleader - Emma Samaniego
- Athletic Training - Most Improved Student Athletic Trainer - Mike Rodriguez
- Athletic Training - Most Outstanding Student Athletic Trainer - Abigail Fuscone
Departmental Awards (selected by head coaches)
- Gene Day Award – Most outstanding female athlete – Sammi Thiele, water polo and swimming
- Pete Cawthon – Most outstanding male athlete – Tyler James, football
- Tim Jubela – Most outstanding female freshman athlete – Sarah Putnicki, basketball
- Tim Jubela – Most outstanding male freshman athlete – Louis Catchpole, soccer
- Robert T. Mason – Sportsmanship Award – Chanston Goodman, basketball
- Robert T. Mason – Sportsmanship Award – Victoria Smith, volleyball
- Slats McCord – Senior Perseverance and Improvement – Jonathan Voos, baseball, and Tanner O'Dwyer, water polo
- Slats McCord – Senior Perseverance and Improvement – Shannon Berry, water polo
- Bo Miller – Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Athletics – Jonathan Voos, baseball
- Bo Miller - Outstanding Achievement in Academics and Athletics – Sophie Oliver, water polo
- Sig Lawson – Dedication and Commitment to Austin College Athletics – Victoria Smith, volleyball; Gigi Francis, tennis; Emma Samaniego, cheer; Kalee Rush, softball; Erin McCormack, water polo; Bayleigh Howard, soccer; Marianna Bert, basketball; Liberty Chanin, swimming
- Sig Lawson – Dedication and Commitment to Austin College Athletics – Logan Ballard, baseball; Chase Antosca, basketball; Connor Tullis, soccer; Will Dixon, tennis; Andrew Galt, water polo; Keegan Nichols, football; Cristan Gutierrez, swimming
- Dr. Jack Pierce Academic Excellence Award – Highest Team GPA – Women's Swimming & Diving
- T. Ellis Lockhart Spirit Award - Bobby Brandon