On the evening of April 14, Golden Grizzlies athletes gathered in the OU Credit Union O’rena to celebrate the annual Black and Gold Awards. This end of year event celebrates athletic, academic and community service achievements of student-athletes over the course of the past year.
Greeted by a red carpet upon entry to the event, attendees dressed to impress to enjoy photo opportunities available prior to and following the ceremony that began at 7 p.m. Appetizers and desserts were served, including a chocolate fountain.
Twenty-seven awards were given out, some with multiple recipients. Most notably, senior track and field athlete Romario Jackson won men’s athlete of the year, while senior swimmer Jordyn Shipps received women’s athlete of the year. For team of the year, men’s and women’s swimming and diving walked away with a tie.
Shipps would also receive the Golden Grizzlies Champions Club Future Leader Award, making her one of the most decorated student-athletes of the night.
“I honestly couldn’t have done it without my coaches and teammates, so I’m just thankful I was able to end my whole career on a high note and with the best team in the world,” Shipps said.
A new award this year, the Muscle and Hustle Award, was presented by Golden Grizzlies director of strength and conditioning Terry Sauerby. Awarded to student-athletes who consistently push themselves in the weight room, junior track and field athlete Alex Mansfield would walk away with the men’s award, with junior Anika Prisby of volleyball receiving the women’s award.
“It means that putting effort in the weight room actually pays off,” Mansfield said. “Even something like this means a lot, especially coming from Terry.”
Top play of the year went to Isaiah Jones and DQ Cole of men’s basketball for the assist from Jones to Cole, whose 3-pointer against the University of Detroit Mercy sent that game into overtime.
Jones, a junior, will use that moment as motivation heading into his senior year.
“It is definitely pushing me to go harder and be great,” Jones said. “Beating them off that shot, going to overtime, was really big.”
Other standouts from the night included senior baseball player Hunter Pidek, who received the Golden Grizzlies Champions Club Men’s Future Leader Award, and sophomore tennis player Emilia Jarvinen, named Women’s Newcomer of the Year. On the men’s side, freshman track and field athlete Tyler Donovan took home the Men’s Newcomer of the Year Award.
Charles Brown, Harry Nicholson, Micah Scheffer and Jack Wike of the men’s swim team were honored with Men’s Performance of the Year after breaking a 21-year old pool record in the 200 freestyle relay. Ellie Chalifoux earned Women’s Performance of the Year after securing first-place finishes in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events at the Horizon League Championships.
Competition of the Year was awarded to men’s soccer for their match against Michigan State, and Comeback of the Year went to women’s basketball for their first-round performance against IU Indianapolis.
In recognition of progress, sophomore Lucas Fehn of Esports earned Most Improved, while fifth year soccer player Gabe Babylon received the Tom Ford Award.
The Black and Gold Spirit Award was presented to the dance team, recognizing their energy throughout the year.
The Hollie L. Lepley Awards went to senior baseball player John Lauinger on the men’s side and graduate student and cross country athlete Grace Nolan on the women’s.
Fifth year soccer player Alex Flowers and senior volleyball player Emily Wichmann were awarded the Men’s and Women’s President’s Awards, respectively.
In academics, men’s cross country and volleyball were recognized as the highest-achieving teams. For community service, baseball and volleyball led the way.
Awards with multiple recipients included certificates for outstanding community service involvement and academic achievement, the latter awarded to student-athletes with a cumulative 4.0 GPA.
The evening capped off a year of achievement, recognizing student-athletes for their success in competition, the classroom and beyond.