Western Colorado University’s athletics department hosted its annual WESPY’s awards celebration on Monday, April 28, an event sponsored and produced by the Mountaineers’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). One of the highlights of the evening was the announcement of the 2024-25 Paul Wright Award winners, presented annually to the top women and men senior athletes based on a combination of athletic accomplishments, scholarship and character.The evening concluded with the naming of women’s basketball player Rachel Cockman and Dean Noble of the men’s wrestling team as the 2024-25 Paul Wright recipients. Cockman is Western’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Woman of the Year awards, while Noble is Western’s nominee for the RMAC Man of the Year honor.Emcees Emily Jauch of the women’s swimming and diving team and Logan Butterfield of men’s track and field led their peers through a parade of award recipients. The first honor went to the men’s basketball team, which won the 2024-25 SAAC Olympics trophy.Next recognized were Western’s All-Americans from the winter season, including Leah Taylor and Lauren Willson of the women’s cross country team, Oliver Diaz of men’s cross country, Freymond and Nash on the football team and Noble from the wrestling program.Additionally, exercise and sports science professor Kanae Haneishi received the Jay Peck Spirit Award, presented annually for exemplary support of student-athletes.Jauch and Butterfield resumed the awards presentations, which included honors voted on by each of Western’s sports teams:
Newcomers of the Year: Grace Devall (Volleyball), Oliver Diaz (Men’s cross country)
Maddest Jack Spirit Award: Ainsley Rosenow (Women’s track and field), Logan Butterfield (Men’s track and field)
Clutch Performers of the Year: Sammie Bretz (Women’s track and field), Dean Noble (Men’s wrestling)
Comeback Athletes of the Year: Allison Beasley (Women’s track and field), Cole Gray (Men’s wrestling)
Best Team Performance: Women’s basketball
Top Academic Performers: Beasley (Women’s track and field), Caden Peters (Men’s cross country)
Top Academic Teams: Women’s basketball, Men’s basketball
Most Valuable Performers: Cockman (Women’s basketball), Freymond (Football)
RMAC All-Academic First Team during the winter sports season:Ricky Freymond, Drew Nash and Chance Wiening, FootballNatsuki Murakami, Women’s soccerKade Juelfs, Men’s basketballRachel Cockman, Women’s basketballAllison Beasley, Women’s indoor trackMakenna Lambert and Morgan Nielson, Women’s swimming and divingSage Harrison, Men’s wrestling(Gregg Petcoff is the assistant athletics director for communications at Western Colorado University and can be reached at gpetcoff@western.edu.)
Western Colorado University’s athletics department hosted its annual WESPY’s awards celebration on Monday, April 28, an event sponsored and produced by the Mountaineers’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
One of the highlights of the evening was the announcement of the 2024-25 Paul Wright Award winners, presented annually to the top women and men senior athletes based on a combination of athletic accomplishments, scholarship and character.
The evening concluded with the naming of women’s basketball player Rachel Cockman and Dean Noble of the men’s wrestling team as the 2024-25 Paul Wright recipients. Cockman is Western’s nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Woman of the Year awards, while Noble is Western’s nominee for the RMAC Man of the Year honor.
Emcees Emily Jauch of the women’s swimming and diving team and Logan Butterfield of men’s track and field led their peers through a parade of award recipients. The first honor went to the men’s basketball team, which won the 2024-25 SAAC Olympics trophy.
Next recognized were Western’s All-Americans from the winter season, including Leah Taylor and Lauren Willson of the women’s cross country team, Oliver Diaz of men’s cross country, Freymond and Nash on the football team and Noble from the wrestling program.
Additionally, exercise and sports science professor Kanae Haneishi received the Jay Peck Spirit Award, presented annually for exemplary support of student-athletes.
Jauch and Butterfield resumed the awards presentations, which included honors voted on by each of Western’s sports teams:
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