MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State celebrated another outstanding athletics year on Tuesday night as student-athletes from each of the school’s 16 varsity sports converged for the ninth annual Mark A. Chapman Powercat Choice Awards.
The ceremony resembles the ESPY Awards and includes all team and individual highlights from the past year both on the field and in the classroom. All the performance-related awards were voted on by members of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Top team honors on the night went to the men’s basketball and women’s track and field squads. The men’s basketball team reached the NCAA Elite Eight for the 12th time in program history and the first time since 2010. Overall, the team secured a record of 25-12 during the 2017-18 season.
The women’s track and field squad won its first Big 12 Championship since 2002 by capturing the 2017 Big 12 Outdoor Championships. The program continued to excel through the end of the 2017 season, climbing to a ninth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships which marked the third straight top-10 finish for the program.
Barry Brown’s layup against Kentucky in the Sweet 16 captured the Showstopping Moment of the Year honor, while men’s basketball head coach Bruce Weber was named the Coach of the Year from the student-athletes.
Rowing garnered the Wildcat Cup on the night for its excellence in the five core areas of student-athlete well-being: academics, athletics, career, personal and service.
Dean Wade (men’s basketball) took Male Athlete of the Year honors after having a highly decorated junior season which included All-Big 12 First Team honors from the league’s coaches and United States Basketball Writer’s Association (USBWA) All-District VI team.
Nina Schultz of track and field won Female Athlete of the Year after her runner-up finish in the heptathlon at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She was also named the 2017 Midwest Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.
Trent Tanking, a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team recipient and 2017 Campbell Trophy Semifinalist was crowned Male Scholar Athlete of the Year, while Shaelyn Martin of women’s basketball, who is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection and a 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team honoree, took home top female scholar honors. Karyla Middlebrook (women’s basketball) was named Best Female Athlete in a Supporting Role, while Barry Brown (men’s basketball) took honors as the Top Male Athlete in a Supporting Role.
In addition, Cartier Diarra (men’s basketball) and Peyton Williams (volleyball/women’s basketball) were named the male and female Newcomers of the Year.
The recipient of the Most Inspirational Award was Bryna Vogel of the volleyball team, while Mason Schoen of the men’s basketball team and Rhizlane Siba earned the Purple Pride Award, which is given to the student-athlete who demonstrates the most school spirit.
Brogan Heinen (baseball) and A’Keyla Mitchell (track and field) were this year’s recipients of the Bob and Lila Snell Award of Excellence and Effort, recognizing the outstanding male and female student-athletes who improved their academic standing through sustained effort and commitment to learning.
Siba (track and field) was honored with the Gina Sylvester Memorial Award. The award recognizes an arts and sciences student who has progressed toward graduation and used the advising system to overcome challenges.
Jade Anderson (soccer) was the recipient of the Veryl and Fern Switzer Campus Leadership Award. The award recognizes a student-athlete who is involved in student organizations and multicultural affairs, demonstrates leadership on a team and on campus, and is active in community service. Dalton Risner (football) and Martin (women’s basketball) were also honored with the Outstanding Service to the Community awards.
Three student-athletes were awarded the Scholastic Achievement Award, which recognizes a senior letterwinner with the highest cumulative grade-point average in undergraduate work, as Kelcy Fiser (soccer), Jaclyn Means (soccer) and Martin (women’s basketball) were honored.
K-State has had an outstanding start to the 2017-18 academic year. The Wildcats saw 31 student-athletes graduate in December of 2017. The fall and winter sports were recognized with the following honors: 56 Academic All-Big 12 recipients, football’s Adam Holtorf was named a Second Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), while women’s basketball student-athletes Shaelyn Martin (first team), Kayla Goth and Peyton Williams (second team) were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII teams. Martin would also take home 2018 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team honors and earn the 2017-18 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
Kansas State also had a total of 243 K-State student-athletes named to the Fall 2017 Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. The 243 student-athletes to earn the honor marked the 18th straight semester K-State has placed 200 or more student-athletes on the honor roll.
Of the 243 K-State student-athletes earning the citation for their academic excellence, 50 registered a GPA of 4.0 in the fall semester. K-State ranks among the league’s best in terms of academic success as it continues to set a national standard in terms of APR, as all programs are currently well above the required NCAA standard.
2017-18 Mark A. Chapman Powercat Choice Awards
Athletic Award Winners
Male Newcomer of the Year – Cartier Diarra, men’s basketball
Female Newcomer of the Year – Peyton Williams, women’s basketball/volleyball
Best Supporting Male Athlete of the Year – Barry Brown, men’s basketball
Best Supporting Female Athlete of the Year – Karyla Middlebrook, women’s basketball
Purple Pride Award – Mason Schoen, men’s basketball
Purple Pride Award – Rhizlane Siba, women’s track & field
Most Inspirational Award – Bryna Vogel, volleyball
Outstanding Service to the Community – Dalton Risner, football
Outstanding Service to the Community – Shaelyn Martin, women’s basketball
Men’s Team of the Year – Men’s Basketball
Women’s Team of the Year – Track and Field
Coach of the Year – Bruce Weber, men’s basketball
Showstopping Moment of the Year – Barry Brown’s go-ahead layup against Kentucky
Female Athlete of the Year – Nina Schultz, track and field
Male Athlete of the Year – Dean Wade, men’s basketball
Academic Award Winners
Scholastic Achievement Award – Kelcy Fiser, soccer
Scholastic Achievement Award – Jaclyn Means, soccer
Scholastic Achievement Award – Shaelyn Martin, women’s basketball
Bob & Lila Snell Academic Award for Excellence & Effort – Brogan Heinen, baseball
Bob & Lila Snell Academic Award for Excellence & Effort – A’Keyla Mitchell, track and field
Gina Sylvester Memorial Award – Rhizlane Siba, women’s track & field
Veryl & Fern Switzer Campus Leadership Award – Jade Anderson, soccer
Male Scholar Athlete of the Year – Trent Tanking, football
Female Scholar Athlete of the Year – Shaelyn Martin, women’s basketball
Wildcat Cup Trophy Winner
Rowing
– k-statesports.com –
Kansas State University, the nation’s first operational land-grant institution and a Carnegie Foundation Tier One university, is recognized as one of the nation’s best colleges with world-class research and academic excellence located in America’s No. 1 College Town (Manhattan, KS).
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KENNY LANNOU
Sr. Associate A.D. for Communications and Public Relations | K-State Athletics