BGSU Athletics Honors Student-Athletes At Annual Ziggy’s Awards

Bowling Green, Ohio – The fourth annual Ziggys Awards were held Sunday night at Bowling Green State University's Stroh Center, honoring and recognizing BGSU's 425 student-athletes and supporters of the department. The Ziggys follow in the tradition of the former Athletics Honors Night.

PHOTO GALLERY

BGSU alumnus George McPhee was the Distinguished Alumnus award winner. McPhee won the Hobey Baker Award as a hockey player at Bowling Green and is currently the general manager of the Vegas Golden Knights in the National Hockey League (NHL). Under his direction, the Golden Knights won the NHL Pacific Division and is arguably the greatest expansion team in North American professional sports history.

Ken Schoeni was the department's Distinguished Service Award winner. A BGSU Athletics Hall of Famer, Schoeni spent 35 years directing the grounds at Bowling Green.

Mitch McLain, of the hockey team, and Aspen Searle, of the softball team, earned the highest honor given to a student-athlete – The Falcon Medal of Honor. The award is given to one male and one female student-athlete who embody the essence of the qualities BGSU Athletics hold important for all student-athletes.

Track and field star Aliyah Gustafson earned both the Female Athlete of the Year award, for the second consecutive year, and the Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. Hockey player Alex Rauhauser was the Male Athlete of the Year, while Zac Carey was the Male Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Baseball's Joe McGuinness and women's soccer's Victoria Cope won the department's Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, while men's basketball player Justin Turner and volleyball player Katie Kidwell were named the Newcomers of the Year. The Comeback Performance of the Year Award was given to the women's soccer team, which overcame a 2-0 deficit against Buffalo to score three times in a 3-2 win.

The men's and women's cross country teams were recognized for having the highest team grade point averages in the department. The women boast a 3.73 cumulative GPA and the men hold a 3.59 GPA. Swimming's Amanda Washko was the Community Service Individual of the Year for the second straight year and the women's golf team was named the Community Service Team of the Year.

Finally, in voting via Twitter, the women's soccer team was named Best Dressed Team at the Ziggy's and women's basketball's Maddie Cole earned Best Dressed Individual.

A full rundown of awards is listed below:

Falcon Medal of Honor – Mitch McLain (Hockey) and Aspen Searle (Softball)
Athlete of the Year – Alec Rauhauser (Hockey) and Aliyah Gustafson (Track & Field)
Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Zac Carey (Baseball) and Aliyah Gustafson (Track & Field)
Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Joe McGuinness (Baseball) and Victoria Cope (Soccer)
Newcomer of the Year – Justin Turner (Basketball) and Katie Kidwell (Volleyball)
Highest Team GPA – Men's Cross Country and Women's Cross Country
Comeback Performance of the Year – Women's Soccer
Community Service Individual of the Year – Amanda Washko (Swim/Dive)
Community Service Team of the Year – Women's Golf
Distinguished Service Award – Ken Schoeni
Distinguished Alumnus Award – George McPhee

----
ABOUT THE FALCON CLUB
The Falcon Club Scholarship and Success Fund was created to align the Athletic Department's fundraising priorities with the increasing need for scholarship support. Falcon Club membership gifts allow our programs to recruit and retain the best student-athletes as we compete for championships in the MAC and WCHA, while also preparing our current Falcons for success upon graduation. We hope you will consider helping us change lives by making an investment in the 400+ student-athletes that represent BGSU on the field, in the classroom and in the community. To make a gift please visit https://falconfunded.bgsu.edu/project/5311 or call 419-372-2401 to learn more.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results