Ottumwa, IA – The Indian Hills Athletic Department celebrated its student-athletes, programs, staff, and community members at its annual Athletic Choice Awards on Monday night, recognizing another remarkable year in Warrior Athletics.
2023 ATHLETIC CHOICE AWARDS PHOTO GALLERY
Academic Achievement Award – 2021-22 Softball (3.61 GPA)
The Academic Achievement Award recognizes the athletic team that achieved the highest team GPA during the previous year.
Heart of Service Award – 2022-23 Baseball
The Heart of Service Award recognizes a team or individual that contributes to the college campus and surrounding communities in the Indian Hills Community College region.
President's Award – Riley Bettich - Men's Wrestling
The President's Award honors an individual that displays sportsmanship regardless of team challenges and individual hardships that the individual may have faced.
Athletic Appreciation Award (1) – Dr. Bianca Myers, Indian Hills Executive Dean, Advancement
Athletic Appreciation Award (2) – Noel Gorden, Indian Hills Executive Dean, Centerville Campus & Academic Services
The Athletic Appreciation Award honors an employee of Indian Hills Community College or local entity that doesn't work within the Athletic Department on a day-to-day basis, but impacts the department by going above and beyond for IHCC and its student-athletes.
Athletic Partnership of the Year (1) – JBS
Athletic Partnership of the Year (2) – Billy Thomas, Thomas Funeral Home
The Athletic Partnership of the Year award recognizes an individual, group of individuals, or business that contributes resources to Indian Hills Community College and the Athletic Department.
Athletic Staff Member of the Year – Ricky Webster, Associate Athletic Director
The Athletic Staff Member of the Year award honors an Athletic Department staff member that has gone above and beyond to contribute to the Athletic Department and its student-athletes.
Competitive Excellence Award
The Competitive Excellence award recognizes an individual from each athletic team that has contributed to the goals set forth by their team
- Baseball – Daniel Figueroa
- Men's Basketball – Trevion LaBeaux
- Cheer – Ceyera Jensen
- Women's Cross Country – Lizeth Flores
- Men's Cross Country – Logan Soedt
- Women's Track & Field – Haleigh Hadley
- Men's Track & Field – Rivaldo Marshall
- Men's Golf – Taimur Malik
- Women's Soccer – Dare Kroeten
- Men's Soccer – Daniele Verdirosi
- Softball – TJ Stoaks
- Sports Shooting – Landon Hubble
- Volleyball – Lisa Bonnefoy and her teammates
- Women's Wrestling – Malia Cook
- Men's Wrestling – Matthew Lewis
Sport Highlight of the Year – Men's Basketball 15-point comeback win vs. Odessa at the 2023 NJCAA National Tournament
The Sport Highlight of the Year recognizes an athletic related highlight during the sport season that was an impressive achievement for that athletic team or individual.
Facing elimination at the national tournament, the Warriors trailed No. 3 seed Odessa by 15 points with 5:53 to play in regulation. Indian Hills made a ferocious comeback down the stretch with a 14-0 run while holding the Wranglers scoreless for the next 4:52, eventually forcing overtime. The Warriors built an early lead in the extra session and finished the game 6-6 at the free throw line to advance to the semifinal round for the first time since 2014 with a 79-75 victory.
Team of the Year – 2022 Volleyball
The Team of the Year award is presented to an athletic team that has achieved success in their competition season, in the classroom, and been a positive representation of Indian Hills Community College.
A historic season for the Indian Hills Volleyball team culminated with a fourth-place finish at the 2022 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) DI Volleyball Championship in West Plains, MO. The Warriors wrapped up their record-breaking season with a 42-4 record.
Student-Athlete of the Year – Enoch Kalambay - Men's Basketball
The Student-Athlete of the Year award is presented to the student-athlete that has achieved success in their competition season and in the classroom. This individual must have also demonstrated leadership skills and been a positive representation of Indian Hills.
Kalambay, an NJCAA All-American and first-team NJCAA All-Region XI selection on the court has served as an instrumental leader on the Indian Hills Basketball team for the last two seasons. Kalambay, a two-time member of the ICCAC All-Academic team has also made a campus-wide impact in the student life department with his service on both the Ottumwa and Centerville campuses.