Sports
Top Award Winners Announced at 2025 The Evergreen State College Athletics Banquet
Submitted by The Evergreen State College
The Evergreen State College honored its student-athletes for their accomplishments at the 2025 Athletics Banquet on Friday, May 30 at the Costantino Recreation Center. The top awards for 2024-25 were presented at the banquet, while graduating seniors and first-year athletes also were recognized.
Evergreen’s top awards were the Dig Deep Award, Male Athlete of the Year Award, Female Athlete of the Year Award, and the Career Achievement Award.
Dig Deep Award
The Dig Deep Award is a recognition of the athlete who has encapsulated the meaning of being a student-athlete at Evergreen. They were an active leader on their team and in the student body, as well as participating in student governance and excelling in classes.
Joshua Coetzee (Sr.) from the men’s soccer team received the Dig Deep Award. Coetzee was very active as a student-athlete at Evergreen, participating in student governing bodies, working as a student representative to the Board of Trustees, recording statistics at home athletic events, and competing as a defender in men’s soccer. His areas of academic focus are business management and computer science. He was named Academic All-Cascade Conference in 2024.
At Evergreen, Coetzee played soccer in 2023 and 2024. He saw action in a total of 27 games including 13 starts. As a senior, he played in 15 games and made 11 starts. He scored goals on headers against Rocky Mountain College and Southern Oregon University in 2024.
He approached all his commitments with a positive attitude. He was always volunteering his efforts and helping others. He was recognized on the soccer team for his exceptional leadership and unwavering friendship. He led the team by example through his hard work, skill, and determination.
Male Athlete of the Year Award
The Male Athlete of the Year Award is given to an outstanding athlete for their exceptional performance, excellence, and impact in and out of their respective sport(s) this year. Consideration is given to athletes who have also received conference, national, scholarly, and/or other special recognition. The winner must possess outstanding demonstrable character and sportsmanship in representing Evergreen.
Max Baeder (So.) from the men’s cross country and track and field teams was chosen for the Male Athlete of the Year Award. Baeder earned NAIA All-American in the marathon in December of 2024 in Sacramento, California, by finishing in eighth place with a time of 2 hours, 30 minutes, and 24. His time set the Evergreen school record.
He also set a Geoduck record in the men’s 6-kilometer cross country event with a time of 18:44.9 at the Green River Gator Invitational. He placed ninth in cross country at the Puget Sound Invitational. Later in the fall, he competed at the Cascade Collegiate Conference Cross Country Championships. This spring, he participated in the 5,000-meter run and the 10,000-meter run at the CCC Track and Field Championships. He placed ninth in the 10,000.
Baeder holds the second-fastest 5,000-meter run in Evergreen history and the fourth-best 1,500-meter run for the Geoducks. He also has achieved the fifth-best 8-kilometer cross country time in Evergreen history.
Female Athlete of the Year Award
The Female Athlete of the Year Award is given to an outstanding athlete for their exceptional performance, excellence, and impact in and out of their respective sport(s) this year. Consideration is given to athletes who have also received conference, national, scholarly, and/or other special recognition. The winner must possess outstanding demonstrable character and sportsmanship in representing Evergreen.
Alauna Carstens (Jr.) of the women’s cross country and track and field teams received the Female Athlete of the Year Award. Carstens was an NAIA All-American three times in 2024-25. She won the NAIA Marathon while setting the Evergreen record and the Cascade Collegiate Conference record in 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 4 seconds. It was the second fastest time in the 44-year history of the NAIA women’s marathon.
Carstens took third place in the 3,000-meter run at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 9:43.40. She placed eighth in the 10,000-meter run in 35:47.91 at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She was named the NAIA West Region Athlete of the Year in NAIA indoor track and field.
At the CCC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she won the 10,000-meter run to earn All-Conference recognition for the third time in her career.
Carstens holds nine Evergreen school records. This year, she was named CCC Athlete of the Week a total of four times between indoor and outdoor track and field.
During, 2024-25, she was named Academic All-CCC in cross country and track and field, and was chosen as a Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete in track and field. She will be nominated for Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Communicators.
Career Achievement Award
The Career Achievement Award goes to a graduating athlete, or an athlete who has been awarded a degree from Evergreen. The award honors their outstanding contributions and accomplishments throughout their athletic career. Athletes nominated in this category must have participated for a minimum of two years in at least one sport. They also need to have received conference or national recognition for their efforts in at least one sport.
Jalyn Sackrider (Sr.) from the women’s basketball, track and field, and volleyball teams was presented with the Career Achievement Award. Sackrider played four seasons of basketball, participated in track and field for three seasons, and competed in volleyball for one season.
In basketball, she was named First Team All-Conference in 2024-25, when she also earned CCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors. She was selected Honorable Mention All-CCC in basketball in 2023-24. She helped Evergreen qualify for the CCC Tournament each of the past three seasons, and was the Geoducks’ Most Valuable Player in 2024-25.
Sackrider played in 96 basketball games to rank third all-time at Evergreen. She ranks fourth in career scoring with 966 points and is second with 736 career rebounds. She set the Evergreen record with 190 career blocks, and also set the school records for blocks in a season with 71 in 2024-25 and blocks in a game with eight.
In track and field, she qualified for the CCC Championships in the discus throw in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Sackrider placed third in the CCC in the discus this spring with a school record distance of 40.82 meters (133′ 11″), as she earned All-Conference recognition.
In volleyball, she played in 19 matches in 2021 while competing in 63 sets. She earned 48 total blocks, including 13 solo blocks, and provided the Geoducks with 56 kills.
Sackrider earned Academic All-CCC honors three times in basketball, three times in track and field, and once in volleyball. She was chosen Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators in basketball this year and will be nominated in track and field. She was named a Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete in basketball and track and field in 2024-25.
Senior Recognition
Each graduating senior received a stole from Evergreen Athletics.
Women’s Cross Country: Olivia Pare, Tabea Shepler
Men’s Cross Country: River Scheuerell
Women’s Soccer: Amity Brookshire, Chloe Dolman, Iris Campesino, Cayla Muenchow, Peyton Rhyne, Brieanna Dell, Alex Olvera, Kaitlyn Hansen
Men’s Soccer: Alan Barragan, Joshua Coetzee, Raymundo Curiel, Adrian Fong, Brendan Gribek, Isaiah Luna, Emmanuel Nicasio, Kainoa Wong
Volleyball: Maloree Calzadillas, Marin Collins, Jessica Mitchell, Molly Packer, Lucendy Perez, Ashley Walker Campbell
Women’s Basketball: Maloree Calzadillas, Allison DeBerry, Honey Let Padasdao, Mikail Montez, Abby Mundy, Jalyn Sackrider, Thuyvi Tran, Sydney VanNess
Men’s Basketball: Nick Gutierrez, Jourdan Joseph, Daniel Thomas, Caleb Washington
Women’s Wrestling: Alexia Fabian, Nizhoni Tallman-Olney
Men’s Wrestling: Jeramias Sandoval
Women’s Track and Field: Corona Parker, Jalyn Sackrider, Abigail Strickland
First-year Participation Awards
Each first-year athlete received an Evergreen letter.
Women’s Cross Country: Mara Schwenneker, Madeline Morgan, Sherlyn Perales
Men’s Cross Country: Max Baeder, Jaydon Blackburn, Osvaldo Calderon, Luis Esquivel, Harlan Estrada, Rowan Hicks, Cooper Osborn, Atticus Pullis-Lauderdale
Women’s Soccer: Angela Celedon, Aidyn Fulton, Emma Stock, Macey Swensen
Men’s Soccer: Raine Fujimura, Alejandro Gallegos, Juan Mendez, Walton Nichols, Jonas Olvera, Connor Scanlon, Marvin Sea, Finley SchumacherSundberg
Volleyball: Bright Brubaker, Amaialyne Cepeda, Zofia Formella, Joy Miyazawa
Women’s Basketball: Kadance Blankers, Maloree Calzadillas, Amaialyne Cepeda
Men’s Basketball: Nate Behr, Gerald Boston, Solomon Campbell, Jemoi Davis, Bradley Graham, Nick Gutierrez, Zach Jefferson, Garret Long, Tyler No
Women’s Wrestling: Emma Desotell, Elexis Kalar, Karen Mariah Salas, Charlie White-Duringer
Men’s Wrestling: Hassan Rashid Abdi, Horacio Godinez, Ronnell Parker-Borrero, Orion Rhinehart, Isaias Rodriguez Troche, Caden Sullivan, Mason Townsend, Malachi Wallway
Women’s Track and Field: Viktoriya Dovhoruka, Katie Gresham, Madeline Morgan, Maddy Palek, Sherlyn Perales, Mara Schwenneker, Izabelle Trefts
Men’s Track and Field: Max Baeder, Jaydon Blackburn, Osvaldo Calderon, Luis Esquivel, Harlan Estrada, Kaleb Everson, Rowan Hicks, Charles Norris, Evan Williams, Marek Wynn
LATHAM, N.Y. – Juniors Savannah Owens (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) and Jillian Zukley (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland women’s indoor track & field team claimed the United East Conference Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week awards as released by the league office Tuesday (Dec. 9).
Owens was named the United East Track Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career while Zukley garnered United East Field Athlete of the Week honors for the fifth time during her indoor career.
St. Mary’s College opened the 2025-26 campaign at the Christopher Newport University Holiday Open on Dec. 6.
Owens broke a school record in her return following a year away from the Seahawks indoor and outdoor track & field teams. The 5-5 sprinter took second in the 600m with a program record of 1:44.22, breaking the previous school record of 1:49.93 set by teammate Avery Arizzi ’27 on Dec. 2, 2023. She also placed third in the 800m in 2:35.81 while leading off the fourth-place 4x400m.
Following her performance, Owens leads the conference in the 800m while ranking 18th in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Zukley qualified for the 2026 All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference (AARTFC) Championships (Mar. 6-7) in the weight throw in the first indoor meet of the season. The 6-3 thrower opened her junior campaign with a bang as she captured the shot put with 11.67m. She then came in second in the weight throw with a school record 15.11m, knocking off her own record of 13.79m set on Jan. 31, 2025, at the Marlin Invitational.
Zukley currently leads the league in both events while ranking fourth in the Mid-Atlantic region in weight throw and sixth in shot put.
2025-26 United East Conference Women’s Indoor Field Athletes of the Week
2025-26 United East Conference Women’s Indoor Track Athletes of the Week
Related
Purdue has added a young star to its 2026 roster via the transfer portal. The Boilermakers landed a commitment from former Georgia Tech outside hitter Mimi Mambu. She comes to West Lafayette with three years of eligibility remaining.
Mambu spent her freshman season with the Yellow Jackets and was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. She averaged 2.923 kills per set and hit .155 for the year. The 6-foot outside hitter also totaled 48 blocks and averaged 1.067 digs per set.
“What a wonderful Christmas gift to get the commitment from a smart and dynamic student-athlete,” coach Dave Shondell said in a statement. “We’re excited to have this hard-hitting high-flyer join our team after such a strong first season at Georgia Tech where she helped lead them to an NCAA tournament appearance. We watched Mimi play in high school and knew she would be a special player. Mimi learned so much about our program from Kash [Akasha Anderson] and Isabelle Bardin who are good friends from the D.C. area.”
Welcome to West Lafayette, Lameen “Mimi” Mambu! ✍️ pic.twitter.com/JW1CDDrCRR
— Purdue Volleyball (@PurdueVB) December 28, 2025
Shondell saw Mambu up close during the 2025 season. On Sept. 3, the Boilermakers hosted Georgia Tech in the Stacey Clark Classic. The Yellow Jackets won the match 3-1, and the freshman hitter ended the evening with 10 digs and seven kills.
Georgia Tech ended the year with a 16-14 record.
Mambu will likely fill a void left by Purdue senior Akasha Anderson, who proved to be one of the top hitters last season. After transferring in from Michigan State, the senior averaged 2.911 kills per set and had a .282 hitting percentage. She only got better as the season progressed.
Mambu will join a talented and experienced roster in West Lafayette. She joins All-Big Ten selections Kenna Wollard and Grace Heaney at the pin-hitter spots. She will also be playing alongside All-Big Ten setter Taylor Anderson and All-Big Ten honorable mention libero Ryan McAleer.
Purdue closed out the 2025 season with a 27-7 record and a trip to the Regional Final round of the NCAA Tournament.
Mambu had ups and downs
As any freshman might, Mambu had some highs and lows throughout her freshman campaign. She reached a double-digit kill total in 13 of Georgia Tech’s 30 matches.
Mambu also had some off days, though. On five occasions, she ended a match with a negative hit percentage. Three of those came against Louisville, Pitt, and Purdue, all of which made deep runs into the NCAA Tournament.
Mambu is a tremendous athlete with high-flying ability and a strong arm. The biggest focus for Shondell and the Boilermakers will be to develop some consistency, but Purdue’s coaching staff has proven it can correct some of those issues.
Plus, with a full year of college volleyball now under her belt, Mambu is likely to show major improvement from her freshman to sophomore season.
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Related stories on Purdue volleyball
PURDUE FRESHMAN HITS TRANSFER PORTAL: One of Purdue’s freshmen from the 2025 recruiting class entered the NCAA transfer portal and has already found a new home. CLICK HERE
Sports
Cougars come back to win Pop-Tarts Bowl 25-21 over Georgia Tech – BYU Athletics – Official Athletics Website
Fourth Quarter
On second-and-nine, Bachmeier found Roberts in a tight window for a gain of 18. Damuni added four yards, and on third down, Roberts caught a 7-yard pass to move the chains. Bachmeier and Ryan connected for the seventh time, this time for 13 yards to pin BYU at the Yellow Jacket six-yard line. After Kingston recorded a four-yard carry, Nawahine took the direct snap and plowed into the end zone. Keeping the offense on the field to go for two, Bachmier rushed it into the end zone to cut the deficit to three.
BYU forced the game’s first three-and-out. Kingston returned the punt 34 yards to set BYU up at its 45.
Bachmeier pitched to Damuni for a gain of five on first down. The freshman running back gained one yard on the next play, but the Cougars were unable to convert on third-and-four, and Vander Haar and the punting unit returned to the field, resulting in the second three-and-out of the game.
An illegal snap penalty pushed Georgia Tech back to its four-yard line. On second-and-14, King hit Rutherford for a gain of 12, and then another illegal snap penalty was enforced on the Yellow Jackets to set up third-and-seven. Haynes got just short of the line of gain before Glasker and Tanner Wall tackled him to force a punt. Kingston returned the punt four yards and set BYU up at its own 30 with 5:44 on the clock.
Following two incomplete passes, Bachmeier found Kingston at the BYU 34, and he advanced to the 43-yard line to grab the first down. Phillips secured a 14-yard pass from Bachmeier, and then Kingston caught a 15-yard pass to cap three consecutive first downs. After an eight-yard pass to Ryan to the Georgia Tech 20, the running back room led the way, kick-started by Nawahine picking up nine yards with a hurdle over a defender. Bachmeier passed to Damuni for a gain of seven, and then the Providence, Utah product powered into the end zone for his first career touchdown. Alongside Ferrin’s extra point, the Cougars took the lead, 25-21 with two minutes left.
Ferrin’s kickoff was returned 13 yards to pin Georgia Tech at its 21. Nusi Taumoepeau and Lutui hurried King and his pass fell incomplete on first down. On the next play, King lost the ball on a low snap but recovered his fumble for a loss of five yards. On third-and-15, another pass fell incomplete, forcing fourth-and-15. On the play, King went deep to Rivers for a gain of 66 at the BYU 18 with 52 seconds on the clock. The defense held the Yellow Jackets to three-straight incomplete passes, setting up fourth down with 14 seconds remaining. King attempted to hit Haynes in the end zone but his pass was intercepted by Johnson to seal the Pop Tarts Bowl victory 25-21.
The Bearkats (8-4) controlled the temp on both ends of the court, shooting close to 60 percent while limiting the Ambassadors to 31 percent. Sam Houston used its height advantage to dominate the paint, outscoring Biblical Studies 62-12 and outrebounding the Houston area team 66-29.
Isaiah Manning led the Kats with a career-high 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Freshman Jacob Walker also scored a new career high with 24 points, Veljko Illic added 16 points and nine boards, freshman Matt Dann chipped in a career-high 12 points, freshman Jacoby Coleman finished with 11 and Damon Nicholas Jr. had 10.
Sam Houston built a huge first-half lead and never looked back.
The Kats went on a 10-0 run thanks to back-to-back 3s by Walker and Manning, who added a pair of layups to grab a 23-10 advantage. Dann punched in consecutive dunks after a free throw and a two more layups by Nicholas to cap the run at 19-0 to put the game away early as the Ambassadors went more than seven minutes without scoring.
Sam Houston shot a blistering 66 percent from the field in the first half, making 25 of 40 shot attempts. The Bearkats also held Biblical Studies to just 23 percent shooting to build a commanding 59-21 lead at the break.
Conference USA action resumes Jan. 2 when Sam Houston heads to Bowling Green, Kentucky to face WKU at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.
Dec. 28, 2025, 12:20 p.m. CT
At the end of the season, after some of the adrenaline from the Texas A&M championship run had subsided, head coach Jamie Morrison revealed that a few players on his roster would have the opportunity to compete at the next level. While he didn’t name names, we had a pretty strong idea of which standout athletes he was referring to.
On Sunday morning, it was officially announced that senior middle blocker and 2025 NCAAVB Champion Ifenna Cos-Okpalla signed a professional contract to play with League One Volleyball (LOVB) Salt Lake. She joins senior opposite Logan Lednicky in the league, who recently signed with LOVB Houston. Cos-Okpalla was also drafted by MLV but ultimately chose to pursue her career with LOVB. We knew a move was coming soon after the news broke that she had signed with Valor Sports Agency just days before this announcement.
Cos-Okpalla is one of the foundational members of this Aggie championship team, having been part of the program for all four years and choosing to stay committed when Coach Morrison arrived to take over. She elevated her game each season under his leadership, helping her reach new heights and shatter multiple program records. She will leave Texas A&M as the all-time leader in total blocks (566), the single-season block leader (199), and the program’s hitting percentage leader (.422).
It’s fair to say she will be remembered as an Aggie legend, and she now turns her focus toward new goals with a promising professional volleyball career on the horizon.
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla Career stats:
Kills: 637 / 1.70 per set
Hitting %: .372
Blocks: 565 / 1.6 per set
Aces: 41 / .12 per set
Ifenna Cos-Okpalla Career Accolades:
- 2X All-SEC Team
- 4X SEC Player of the Week
- 10X SEC Defensive Player of the Week
- AVCA All-America First Team
- 2X AVCA All-Southwest Region Team
- NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team
- NCAA Champion
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on X: @whosnextsports1.
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