Sports Editor
CSU Bakersfield will have its 2016 ROWDYs awards at The Fox Theater in downtown Bakersfield at 8 p.m. on May 31.
There will be 15 different categories that will feature a ‘Late Night’ talk show theme.
Of the 15 categories, the top five categories include Clutch Performer of the Year, Breakthrough Athlete of the Year, Team of the Year, Blue-Gold Award and Newcomer of the Year.
The nominees for the Clutch Performer of the Year are Kelsey Lange (women’s swimming), Dedrick Basile (men’s basketball), Jo Larios (softball) and Teo Chiesa (men’s golf).
Dedrick Basile will win Clutch Performer of the Year because of his performance in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game, in which he made the game-winning shot against rival New Mexico State.
Basile’s shot sent the Roadrunners to its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
Basile had a game high 18 points in the game on 8 of 16 shooting from the field.
Nominees for Breakthrough Athlete of the Year for female are: Carlee Burks (diving), Sophie Flemion (volleyball), Batabe Zempare (women’s basketball) and Amber Mills (softball).
For the males the nominees are: Jose Flores (men’s track), Reuben Franklin (wrestling), Jaylin Airington (men’s basketball) and AJ Monarrez (baseball).
The Breakthrough Athlete of the Year for females will be Carlee Burks.
Burks broke the CSUB 11-year record in the three-meter board with a score of 337.28 beating the previous record of 310.80 which was previously set by Laura Lafranchise.
Burks also earned WAC diver of the week four times this season.
Breakthrough Athlete of the Year for the male athletes will be Reuben Franklin.
Franklin was ranked eighth in the country in the 197-pound division and had an overall record of 30-8 and a PAC 12 record of 5-0. Franklin also scored the most dual points for CSUB this season with 61.
The Team of the Year award nominees are volleyball, men’s basketball, wrestling and softball.
The winner of the Team of the Year will be the men’s basketball team for their excellent performance in the WAC Tournament that sent the team to its first NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The men’s basketball team had the best scoring margin in the WAC with a plus-9.1 difference as it averaged 72.9 points per game on offense while only allowing 63.1 points per game on defense.
The nominees for the Heart of a Champion Award are for the males: Kevin Mays (men’s basketball), Matt Williams (wrestling), Lovre Soric (men’s swimming) and David Metzgar.
The female nominees are: Audrey Willoughby (women’s swimming), Tancy Aldridge (water polo), Sophie Flemion (volleyball) and Luiza Martins (volleyball).
The male Heart of a Champion Award winner will be David Metzgar.
Metzgar brought a leading presence to the team and had a batting average of .305.
The female Heart of a Champion award winner will be Luiza Martins.
Martins had led the WAC in assists with 922 and averaged 10.48 assists per game.
Martins was also named to the first team All-Conference in the 2015 season.
For Newcomer of the Year, the nominees will be for females: Addi Walters (women’s Basketball), Carol Grasso (volleyball), Chris Hipa (softball) and Aminah Settles (women’s soccer.
The male nominees are: Owen van Krimpen (men’s swimming), Dustin Frailey (baseball), Dedrick Basile (men’s basketball) and Isaiah Moten (baseball).
Addi Walters will take the Newcomer of the Year award for the women as she averaged 9.7 points per game and set the CSUB record for most three-pointers in a single game with nine.
Walters ended the game with a career high 33 points.
The male Newcomer of the Year award will go to Dustin Frailey.
Frailey finished second in the WAC for batting average (.376) for all players with at least 50 at bats.
Frailey started all 52 games that he played in and led the WAC in on base percentage with a .479.
