Linfield University

Thirteen Linfield University football players were named to the 2024 All-Northwest Conference offensive teams last week. The announcement comes after the Wildcats claimed the NWC title and continue their season into the third round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. Read the full NWC announcement at https://nwcsports.com/news/2024/11/25/2024-football-all-nwc-teams-announced-pirates-blair-boxers-booker-pioneers-kamakawiwoole-and-wildcats-rybar-smith-earn-top-honors.aspx

Linfield's newcomers dominated the postseason awards in 2024, with graduate transfer Rae Gerking and freshman Julia Alvarez both receiving recognition for their impactful play this season. Gerking was voted to the All-Northwest Conference second team while Alvarez was voted both All-NWC honorable mention and Rookie of the Year. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/22/womens-soccer-gerking-alvarez-recognized-with-all-northwest-conference-honors.aspx

Linfield ended the 2024 regular season as Northwest Conference champions after a 34-7 slogging of Whitworth. A large part of the Wildcats' success this season has been due to the dominant play of the defense. Linfield is the 15th ranked defense nationally and led the conference in sacks (34), interceptions (20), interceptions returned for touchdowns (4), pass yards allowed (1,766), total yards allowed (2,378) and several other categories. Star senior, Blake Rybar, becomes the first player in the history of the Northwest Conference to win three Defensive Player of the Year awards, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest players to come through Linfield. Rybar joins ten other Wildcats on the 2024 All-NWC defensive teams. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/26/football-blake-rybar-headlines-11-wildcats-named-to-all-nwc-defensive-teams.aspx.

E.J. Sablan, a student-athlete on the Linfield University men's soccer team, earned All-Northwest Conference honors following the conclusion of the 2024 season. The sophomore out of Emerald Ridge High School has been selected to the All-NWC Second Team given his impressive performance on the field this season. This marks the first such award of his career. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/21/mens-soccer-e-j-sablan-named-to-all-northwest-conference-second-team.aspx.

Radule Bozovic and Sam Haynes from the Linfield men's soccer program have received honors for their accomplishments both on and off the soccer pitch. They have been named to the 2024 College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-District Men's Soccer Team, which was announced Tuesday. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/19/mens-soccer-haynes-and-bozovic-receive-csc-all-district-honors.aspx.

Linfield University volleyball player Nora Myre has secured her first career postseason award, being named to the All-Northwest Conference honorable mention list on Tuesday. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/19/volleyball-myre-named-all-nwc-honorable-mention.aspx.

After a legendary career in a Linfield volleyball uniform, Paige Richards closed the 2024 season on a high note, earning Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week honors. Read the full story at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/11/volleyball-paige-richards-closes-career-with-student-athlete-of-the-week-honors.aspx.

After a 72-0 victory over Willamette on Saturday afternoon, Linfield University linebacker Blaze Holani has been voted with the Northwest Conference Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week. This is the second time that a Linfield defensive player has been given the award during the 2024 season, joining Caleb Sell who won the award on Sept. 23 after Linfield's win over Redlands. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/10/7/football-blaze-holani-earns-nwc-defensive-student-athlete-of-the-week.aspx

Five members of the Linfield women's soccer team have earned College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-District honors. Sidra Griffin, Mia Curtaz, Alexa Fritz, Sofia Pietrok and Riley Omonaka received recognition for their performances both on the pitch and in the classroom. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/11/19/womens-soccer-five-wildcats-earn-csc-all-district-honors.aspx.

Linfield defensive end Caleb Sell has been honored with the Northwest Conference Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week.

Fifteen collegiate cross country squads were greeted with oven-hot conditions Saturday morning at The Nines Golf Course where the Linfield Wildcats hosted the annual Harrier Classic. The women competed across a compressed four-kilometer course, while the men raced across a six-kilometer circuit. During competition, three Wildcats recorded personal-best times. Sophomore Jayden Taylor turned in the women's top time of 16:10.63, recording a personal best. Her mark placed the sophomore in 54th position in a field of 102 runners. Senior Alex Oathout led the Wildcat men with a 20th-place showing in a person-best time of 19:13.91. Sophomore Devin Harrison also turned in a personal-best effort of 19:28.33. Full story online at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/8/31/cross-country-oathout-taylor-ignore-heat-clock-best-times-at-harrier-classic.aspx.

Three members of the Linfield University football team have been recognized as Preseason All-Americans by D3Football.com, highlighted by a second-team selection for two-time All-American linebacker Blake Rybar. He is joined on the second-team by fellow fifth-year senior and All-American punter Thomas Tabor. Senior cornerback Chance Sparks was named to the third team. Read the full story at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/8/9/linfield-trio-named-to-d3football-com-preseason-all-america-team.aspx

The Northwest Conference has named the 2023-24 All-Northwest Conference Sportsmanship team. Nineteen student-athletes from Linfield University were selected for displaying good sportsmanship throughout the season. All nine member institutions elected one member from each sports team to be a member of the All-NWC Sportsmanship team. The Linfield Wildcat student-athletes included: Brett Joner (baseball), JT Estes (men's basketball), Miki Vermeulen (women's basketball), Bradley Kiltow (men's cross country), Jennifer Torres-Bermudez (women's cross country), Justin Pfau (football), Trevor Price (men's golf), Caitlin Hillman (women's golf), Maizri Chandler (women's lacrosse), Owen Schoner (men's soccer), Sidra Griffin (women's soccer), Jacey Leyvas (softball), Rocco Velie (men's swimming), Caley Haydu (women's swimming), Seth Lee (men's tennis), Sarah Forester (women's tennis), Jevon Cloy (men's track and field), Siera Crawford (women's track and field) and Marina Erosa (women's volleyball). See the complete All-NWC Sportsmanship team at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/documents/2024/7/15/2024_All_Sportsmanship_PDF.pdf.

Recent Linfield University graduate Colton Smith has received distinction as the Male Vern Marshall Award, becoming the 13th member of the Wildcats football program to earn the honor. Presented annually, the award is named in honor of former Linfield student-athlete and longtime college and professional sports referee Vern Marshall Sr. It recognizes the top male and female athletes who compete with the greatest tenacity. A total of 20 honorees representing six programs have earned the men's accolade dating back to 2002. Read the full announcement at: https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/6/5/general-interest-colton-smith-presented-male-vern-marshall-award.aspx

Leading Linfield University to an historic softball season, Brynn Nelson has been named the female recipient of the Vern Marshall Award. Presented annually, the award was created in memory of former Linfield student-athlete and longtime college and professional sports referee Vern Marshall Sr. of the Class of 1957. Established in 2002, the Vern Marshall Award salutes the top male and female athletes who compete with the greatest tenacity.

Recent Linfield University graduate Sarah Forester has been appointed to the prestigious College Sports Communicators Academic All-America team for a second straight year. She received CSC Academic All-America second team honors after being named to the third team a year ago. Forester becomes just the second Linfield Wildcat student-athlete to earn Academic All-America acclaim in consecutive seasons, joining baseball's Nick Fisher, who achieved the feat a decade ago in 2013 and 2024.

Linfield University tied the second most All-Northwest Conference selections in program history with five in an announcement released by the conference in May. First-year student Madison De La Trinidad led the group with the first team selection while Gabby Crist and Mackenzie Kulick were named second team. Star Pfleiger and Grayce Miller rounded out the selections after being named honorable mention All-NWC. Linfield doubled its win total in 2024 improving to 6-9 overall and 4-8 in Northwest Conference play. Read the full announcement at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/5/7/lacrosse-five-cats-land-on-all-northwest-conference-list.aspx.

Linfield University's Kira Hawaaboo is headed to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this week to compete in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The sophomore from Enumclaw, Washington, is among the leading challengers for a national championship in the women's long jump. She'll compete in that event Thursday at 11:30 a.m. PDT inside Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium. Hawaaboo enters the NCAA Championships ranked fourth in the long jump among a field of 22 entrants. Her best mark of the season came at the NWC Championships when she sailed 19 feet, 6 inches.

Linfield University's Kirsti Keppo earned Co-Swimmer of the Year with Whitman's Shaye Agnew and is one of five Linfield women's swimmers named first-team All-NWC in a conference release announced on Wednesday. Sarah Arpag earned first-team honors in the 200 butterfly. Avery Campbell earned first-team selections in the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke. Keppo earned honors in the 500 freestyle, 1650 freestyle and 400 individual medley. Two Linfield relays earned first-team awards. The team of Arpag, Whitney Averall, Kalea Mullins and Campbell comprised the 200-medley relay. Arpag, Campbell, Keppo and Mullins made up the 800-freestyle relay. Arpag, Averill, Campbell, Keppo and Mullins also made second-team in one or more events. Joining them with second-team honors in multiple events are Kaylee Elsom and Caley Haydu. Elsom earned honors in the 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle. Haydu made second-team honors in the 50 freestyle and was a part of three Linfield relays that made second-team All-NWC honors. At the NWC championships, Campbell bested her school record in the 50 backstroke and Keppo broke record marks in the 1650 freestyle and 1000 freestyle. The Wildcats finished the season with a 5-2 record in NWC dual meets and finished second overall in the team standings at the conference championships in early February with 460 points. Read the full Northwest Conference press release at https://nwcsports.com/news/2024/2/20/2024all-nwc-womens-swimming-team-announced-linfields-keppo-whitmans-agnew-whitworths-parrish-and-pacific-lutherans-lum-earn-top-honors.aspx.

Seven Linfield University men's swimmers were selected for All-Northwest Conference teams in a release announced by the conference on Wednesday. Senior Edan Donaldson earned first-team honors in the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle. Sophomore Rocco Velie earned first-team honors in the 400 individual medley and junior Gavin Smith made first-team in the 1650 freestyle. Three Linfield relays earned their way onto the All-NWC second team. The foursome of Donaldson, Velie, Cam Wheeler and Carson Washburn led the way for the 800-freestyle relay. Washburn, Donaldson, Velie and Daniel Olson comprised the 400-freestyle relay while Donaldson, Velie, Washburn and Ivan Tontchev made up the 400 medley relay. In total seven 'Cats earned All-NWC honors. The Wildcats finished with a 5-2 record in NWC dual meets and finished fourth overall in the team standings at the NWC championships in early February. See the full Northwest Conference release at: https://nwcsports.com/news/2024/2/20/all-nwc-mens-swimming-team-announced-whitworths-washburn-hayashida-and-schadt-earn-top-honors.aspx

Linfield University's Kira Hawaaboo scored 4,495 points on her way to capturing the Northwest Conference women's heptathlon championship Tuesday afternoon at Willamette University's McCulloch Stadium. Competing in only her second heptathlon, the sophomore from Enumclaw, Washington, topped a field of eight competitors to become Linfield's first NWC heptathlon champion since Olivia Bannerot claimed the title in 2016. Her victory followed a memorable Saturday in which she broke a 26-year-old Linfield record in the long jump at the Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational. Read the full story at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/news/2024/4/9/track-field-kira-hawaaboo-crowned-nwc-heptathlon-champion.aspx.

The Linfield University cheer team advanced to the semifinals of the 2024 UCA College Cheerleading Nationals in Orlando, Florida, which took place Jan. 13-15. The Wildcats finished 19th out of 36 teams in the Open All Girl Game Day category. While the squad improved their score from 85.233 to 85.5 between the preliminary and semifinal rounds, it was not enough to advance to the final round of competition. The Open All Girl Game Day competition included colleges from all levels, including NCAA Division I, II and III, as well as two-year colleges and NAIA schools. Linfield was the only team from Oregon competing in the category. Ultimately, West Chester University, a NCAA Division II school from Pennsylvania, won the national title. Teams were evaluated on their ability to lead a crowd, motion techniques and execution of skills, among others. "We perform the fight song, a situational sideline cheer and then a band dance timeout!" former head coach Madesyn Samples said. "The routine is three-minutes long, and we never stop moving start to finish." Linfield received zero deductions to their score from the judges in either round of competition. This marks the second time in program history that the team has participated in the national competition. The team made its inaugural appearance in 2022. That year, the Wildcats placed ninth in the Small Coed Game Day division. More about the Linfield cheerleading squad is online at https://golinfieldwildcats.com/sports/cheerleading. See the full competition results at https://tv.varsity.com/events/11267291/results.

Linfield University had four players earn post-season Northwest Conference honors following the end of the 2023 soccer season. Anna Dazey earned second-team All-NWC and teammates Jenna Stanley, Janae Lewis and Riley Omonaka all were tabbed honorable mention selections. Lewis is the only repeat selection from the 2022 season. The Wildcats finished the season 6-8-6 and 4-7-5 in NWC play. Linfield finished with 17 total points to finish fifth in the conference, one point ahead of George Fox and Lewis & Clark and 12 points back of fourth place Whitman. The full list and announcement of the 2023 All-NWC Women's Soccer team is online at https://nwcsports.com/news/2023/11/14/023-all-nwc-womens-soccer-team-announced-lutes-cecil-merte-spidahl-and-blues-glorioso-earn-top-honors.aspx.

Linfield University volleyball player Claire Johnson earned her first career postseason award after being named All-Northwest Conference honorable mention on Wednesday afternoon. The senior setter ranked fourth in the NWC in assists per set with eight, totaling 656 over 82 sets in the 2023 season. The senior from Snohomish, Washington, racked up a career-high 53 assists in Linfield's five-set victory over Western New England on Sept. 2. She tallied over 40 assists on two separate occasions against Eastern Nazarene and Puget Sound. Johnson finished her Linfield career with 77 kills, 668 assists, and 29 serving aces. George Fox's Kassandra Mendenhall won NWC Player of the Year while her teammate Emily Blagg won Rookie of the Year. Halle Hetzler won her third straight Libero of the Year from Pacific Lutheran. Lutes head coach Kevin Aoki also grabbed Coach of the Year. Pacific Lutheran won the NWC inaugural tournament and earned the automatic birth to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Wildcats finished their season 8-15 and 4-12 in conference play. Linfield slotted in at eighth in the final NWC standings, finishing ahead of Lewis & Clark and just behind Pacific.

Linfield University had four men's soccer players earn Northwest Conference postseason awards following the conclusion of the fall season. The tally is the highest amount of men's soccer players Linfield has had since the end of the 2015 season. Angel Hernandez, Sid Kosaris and Seamus Miller all were selected NWC second-team, while freshman Ross Vargo was tabbed as honorable mention. Hernandez and Kosaris are repeat selections from last season, and Miller picked up his second award with his first coming in the 2021 season. Linfield finished the season with 5-12-3 record and a 5-9-2 mark in conference play. The Wildcats finished with 17 points to end the season seventh in the NWC standings. Pacific slotted in at sixth with 18 points while Linfield finished one point clear eighth place George Fox. For the full announcement and list of the 2023 All-Northwest Conference Men's Soccer team, visit https://nwcsports.com/news/2023/11/14/2023-all-nwc-womens-soccer-team-announced-lutes-dobson-kamau-yorke-and-pirates-friesen-earn-top-honors.aspx.

Six student-athletes from the Northwest Conference were selected to the 2023 NCAA Division III Academic All-District Men's At-Large Team, released Tuesday by the College Sports Communicators. Representing Linfield University were Chris Cayford and Jakob Jarvis. The Wildcats' two selections matched Willamette's for the most in the NWC on the men's side. Puget Sound and Whitworth rounded out the conference with one honoree apiece. Cayford was part of a Linfield squad that placed fourth at the NWC Spring Classic and third at the NWC Championship this spring. The junior's top performance of the season came at the Logger Invitational on March 25-26, where he tied for fifth place with a two-round score of 146 (+4) on the par-71 course. His second-round score of 72 was his low of the season and led Linfield to second place of nine teams on the team leaderboard, marking the best finish of the year for the Wildcats. Jarvis went 10-16 at 141 pounds for the Linfield men's wrestling team in its inaugural NCAA season. Five of those victories came by decision while four others came via pin. The junior went 3-1 at January 15's Boxer Open to capture third place. The CSC Academic All-District Men's At-Large Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined success in both athletics and academics. Academic All-District selections will advance for consideration for the Academic All-America Teams, which will be announced June 21. See the full announcement from the CSC: https://academicallamerica.com/documents/2023/5/23//Acad_AtLargeM_2223.pdf

Four members of the Linfield baseball team were honored for their performances both on the diamond and in the classroom, earning their way on the 2023 NCAA Division III Academic All-District Team, announced Tuesday by the College Sports Communicators. The Northwest Conference saw 19 student-athletes earn CSC Academic All-District honors. Representing the Wildcats were senior Braden Thorn (exercise science), juniors John Over (biology) and Bodey Smith (management) and sophomore Nick Alder (applied physics). Thorn appeared in eight games in his final campaign on the mound, starting in three. He finished the season with a 3.95 ERA and held opposing lineups to a .180 batting average. Over started in eight of his 10 appearances. The lefty threw 38 2/3 innings, striking out 21 batters. Alder finished tied for the team lead with 16 pitching appearances. Smith played in 32 games and started in 30. The outfielder recorded 24 hits, 18 runs and eight RBI. He led the Wildcats with 21 walks. The CSC Academic All-District Baseball Teams recognize student-athletes for their combined success in athletics and academics.

Seventeen women across six Linfield programs received the Vern Marshall Award since its inception in 2002. Kate Walkup made history in 2022-23, becoming the first female swimmer to earn the award. The Vern Marshall Award is named after a former Linfield student-athlete and longtime college and professional sports referee. The honor recognizes the top male and female athletes who compete with the greatest tenacity. The Northwest Conference champion in the 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard backstroke, Walkup was also a member of four winning relay teams at the NWC Championships in February. A First Team All-NWC selection, the senior from Eugene led the 'Cats to their first team title in 30 years. She went on to earn an Academic All-District nod from the College Sports Communicators (CSC). Walkup defended her title in the 400 IM, winning with a time of 4:31.61 on Day 3 of the big championship meet. She returned on the final day of action to break the Linfield record in the 200 backstroke, cruising to a 2:04.11 finish. A constant Dean's List recipient and NWC scholar-athlete, Walkup recently graduated with a degree in journalism and media studies. In the spring semester, she served as the sports editor of the Linfield Review and helped manage the women's swim team's social media accounts. Walkup is a member of Linfield's chapter of Alpha Phi sorority.

Nineteen Linfield University student-athletes have been named to the 2022-23 All-Sportsmanship Team as announced by the Northwest Conference office. Each honoree was singled out by their teammates or coach for displaying excellent sportsmanship throughout the competitive season. The following Linfield Wildcats were honored with All-Sportsmanship Awards: Brett Joner, baseball Jack Stallard, men's basketball Peyton Bergevin, women's basketball Bradley Kiltow, men's cross country Anna Frazier, women's cross country Julien Sears, football Trevor Price, men's golf Tori Schuller, women's golf Grayce Miller, women's lacrosse Logan Clizer, men's soccer McCall Bennion, women's soccer Brynn Nelson, softball Casey Wong, men's swimming Kaylee Elsom, women's swimming Alexander Rosenquist, men's tennis Taryn Fujimori, women's tennis Ronan Krutzikowsky, men's track and field Siera Crawford, women's track and field Ellie Mead, volleyball

Travis Swanson is the 2022-23 recipient of the male Vern Marshall Award, recognizing student-athletes with the most tenacity on the playing surface