Reporter
The 7th annual Rowdy Awards were held on Wednesday night at the Fox Theater. In total, there were 16 different categories and 21 awards were awarded to student-athletes of CSU Bakersfield.
There were two different categories that featured more than a dozen student-athletes winning an award. The event started off with the Golden Circle Award given annually for their leadership and spirit shown through several different criterias including community involvement and sports participation. A total of 20 students were given the award. Next, the All-Academic Award was given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on their team. 13 different student athletes won the award.
Three different team awards were given out. The women’s volleyball team and men’s track & field won the Roadrunner Olympics award. Kagey-McCall award was won by the women’s soccer team, the Kagey-McCall award was given to the team with the highest cumulative GPA. The men’s swimming and diving won for the Rudy Carvajal Community Service Award.
Several student-athletes took home multiple awards including men’s wrestler Matt Williams, men’s basketball player Brent Wrapp, women’s cross country/ track and field’s Angel Valdez, and women’s volleyball player Sydney Haynes.
Williams and Valdez both took home the Flachmann Award, which is given to the student-athletes that excelled both academically and athletically throughout the entire season while setting an example for their team and their program.
“Winning tonight was an honor. It’s really neat to put all the work in all these years and have it recognized,” Williams said.
“It’s humbling because we get to do what we love and yes, it’s a lot of hard work but we love every second of it. It’s a humbling experience,” he added.
Angel Valdez, who excelled in cross country and track and field in her senior year, said, “It’s really exciting, it’s just putting in all this work and really nice to be recognized. It’s just amazing to see what everyone else has done throughout the year.”
Brent Wrapp, who holds the tied record CSUB basketball all-time assists (520) and volleyball leader Sydney Haynes were the winners of The President’s Award. The award is awarded to the student-athlete that represents CSUB both on and off the field throughout their entire tenure at CSUB.
“It was awesome especially with it being my senior year and ending on this note. I feel like it’s such an honor to win this award. I’m just really thankful and I’m really happy,” Haynes said.
“It’s a cool feeling, a lot of nominees that are definitely deserving of the award. To be mentioned and winning the award is a cool feeling,” Wrapp said.
“I just think it’s a culmination of my career here and I’m just thankful to the people at CSUB,” he added.
Here is the list of individual winners from the 7th annual Rowdy Awards:
Newcomer of the Year
Vanessa Austin (basketball) and Kris Rogic (swimming & diving)
Weight Room Warrior Award
Sidney Wicks (volleyball)
AD’s Make a Difference Award
Jazmyne Bartee (basketball) and Naithen Dewsnap (baseball)
Clutch Performer of the Year
Aleksandra Djordjevic (volleyball)
Best Individual Turnaround
Jayssie Haynes (swimming & diving) and Sergio Mendez (wrestling)
Blue-Gold Award
Emily Lopes (volleyball) and Jamie Carey-Morrell (soccer)
Heart of a Champion Award
Alec Daily (baseball), Aleksandra Djordjevic (volleyball) & Audrey Willoughby (swimming & diving)
Best Academic Performance Award
Ariel Lee (golf)
Best Individual Contest
Tori Peers (golf) and Sean Nickell (wrestling)
President’s Award
Brent Wrapp (basketball) and Sydney Haynes (volleyball)
Photo by Peter Castillo/ The Runner
