General | 5/3/2021 9:13:00 PM
May 3, 2021-In a return to some kind of normalcy Emporia State Athletics celebrated the 2020-21 school year during the third annual Corky's - A Student-Athlete Celebration at Welch Stadium. Over 50 Hornet senior student-athletes and support staff were recognized for their contributions to Emporia State and the Hornet Athletic program.
ESU OUTSTANDING STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
The Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Award is presented annually to deserving male and female student-athletes based upon their performance over time, athletic achievement, academic success, and contribution to the team.
Cooper Minnick • Senior • Baseball • Leon, Kan.
Cooper Minnick has been a consistent force for the Hornet baseball program both at and behind the plate this year.
The MIAA Gold Glove winner at catcher in 2019, this year Minnick has thrown out an MIAA best 17 of 39 base stealers.
At the plate he is ranked in the top ten in the MIAA in on base percentage, runs scored and stolen bases and hit by pitch. The Leon, Kansas native is batting .364 this season and leads the team with 36 runs scored in 36 games. A career .319 hitter in just over 100 games with the Hornets, he was a third-team All-MIAA selection as a junior.
Tre'Zure Jobe • Sophomore • Women's Basketball • Wichita, Kan.
Tre'Zure Jobe became the first Lady Hornet to earn All-American honors as a sophomore in 15 years as she led Emporia State back to the NCAA Tournament for the 22nd time in school history.
She was the MIAA Player of the Year, a First-Team All-MIAA and MIAA All-Defensive team selection as she averaged an MIAA best 19.6 points and 3.0 steals per game. She led the nation in minutes played and ranks third in total steals.
In her career the sophomore from Wichita has scored 1,015 points with 206 assists and 151 steals in 56 career games. She is the 32nd Lady Hornet with 1,000 points. She has been named MIAA Player of the Week seven times in her career. She scored a Lady Hornet freshman record 518 points ranks second with 106 freshman assists.
Off the court she has a 3.30 GPA in managementÂ
HORNET LEGACY AWARD
The Hornet Legacy Award is meant to recognize an Emporia State senior that has exemplified what it means to be a Hornet throughout his or her career. It is based not only on athletic ability but leadership talents both on and off the field of play. It signifies making a lasting, positive impression on their teams, the Athletic Department, and the University.
Tanner Raubenstine • Senior • Track & Field • Salina, Kan.
Tanner Raubenstine came to Emporia State in 2017 as a walk on for the Hornet track and field team.Â
He just missed scoring at the MIAA Championships in the decathlon as a freshman with a ninth place finish.Â
He would score one point for the Hornets in the decathlon as a sophomore and moved up to fourth in the heptathlon indoors in 2020 before COVID eliminated his outdoor season.
In his final indoor season, Raubenstine scored 5203 points at the Bearcat Invitational to rank second on the Emporia State all-time list in the heptathlon and qualify for the NCAA Championships. Before the national meet he would compete in three events and score 16 points for the Hornets at the MIAA Championships highlighted by a second place finish in the 60m dash.
He started the heptathlon at the national meet with the best time in the 60m to lead the field after one event. Unfortunately he pulled his hamstring during the long jump but was able to battle through the final four events to place eighth in the nation.
UNDERGRADUATE AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
The Undergraduate Award of Excellence is given to an outstanding male and female underclass student-athlete who excels in their sport.
Harrison Brown • Sophomore • Tennis • Woking, England
Just a sophomore,
Harrison Brown has established himself as one of the top players for the Emporia State men's tennis program.Â
The Woking, England native went 8-3 in singles action this spring for the Hornets playing primarily at the #4 slot. Of his three losses, two of them went to the third set tiebreaker.
He was even better in doubles action, losing just once in 11 matches. He partnered with
Theo Belmonte to go 8-1 and was 2-0 with Pablo Carranzo.
A business administration major he holds a 3.87 GPA.
Makenzie Dimarco • Sophomore • Women's Soccer • Pleasant Hill, Mo.
Coming off a season when she was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Year as a freshman,
Mackenzie Dimarco and the rest of the Hornet soccer team had to wait until this spring to get back on the pitch. And they came back in a great way.
Dimarco scored 11 goals in ten matches to lead the Hornets in scoring as Emporia State went 9-1 during the special spring season. Although the stats from the spring season will not count in the official record books her 11 goals would rank fourth on the Hornets single season scoring list despite playing just over half the number of matches of everyone else on the list. And her 1.1 goals per game would be a school record.
She scored just the fourth hat trick in school history with three goals in a 7-0 win over Nebraska-Kearney on April 11.
Off the pitch the Pleasant Hill, Missouri native has a 3.73 GPA in rehabilitation.
COMEBACK KID
Ashlyn Lakin • Sophomore • Soccer • Kansas City,Kan.
A stalwart of the Hornet defense,
Ashlyn Lakin earned second-team All-MIAA and All-Region honors as a freshman when she had five assists, many off of her flip throw-ins off the sideline.
She suffered a knee injury in the spring of 2019 and was sidelined throughout the fall. She was poised to return to action in 2020 when the COVID pandemic hit. After nearly two years without playing, she finally returned to the pitch in March of 2021 and helped lead the Hornet soccer team to an undefeated run during this spring's special season.Â
During the ten game season she had three goals and an assist in addition to helping Emporia State post four shutouts on defense.
DOC BAXTER AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
The Doc Baxter Award of Excellence recognizes a senior athletic training student that exudes the qualities of long time Emporia State trainer John "Doc" Baxter. They go above and beyond the normal expectations of a student-trainer with the same enthusiasm that Doc Baxter did during his over 45 years at Emporia State.
Kesha Garcia • Senior • Larned, Kan.
Garcia is a senior in the athletic training clinical program. She was assigned to Football and Women's Basketball. She has been one of the most dependable, trustworthy, and independent senior students in the program.
BEHIND THE SCENES LEGEND
The Behind the Scenes Legend award recognizes an underclassman athletic training student who has exceeded the expectations of a first- or second-year student. As a student, they are always willing to learn, they ask thought-provoking questions, and they show endless passion to help others. As a practitioner, they are charismatic, act professionally and genuinely cheer for the ESU student-athletes. This athletic training student is a leader to their peers and will continue to spread the culture of an ESU Legend Award winner
Donovan Heard • Sophomore • Yukon, Okla.
Heard was assigned to Football, Men's Basketball, and Track. He has exceeded the expectations of a sophomore student in the program and he genuinely desires to learn and help ESU athletes succeed.
Team Corky's
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