Bethel College held two events at the end of the spring 2026 semester that recognized student achievement in academics, athletics, research and leadership.
The annual Awards Convocation took place April 27, while athletic awards were presented at the annual Threshpys banquet and celebration two days earlier, on April 25.
At the April 27 convocation, four graduating seniors received Thresher Awards, Bethel’s highest academic honor.
Three of the students graduated from Bethel on May 10 while one will complete graduation requirements in December.
Dr. Cristy Dougherty presented a Thresher Award in forensics to Isaiah Smith, Great Bend, Kan. Dr. Christina Liu and Peter Goerzen gave a Thresher Award to Josué Coy Dick, North Newton, in music and Bible and religion. Dr. Katy Layman and Dr. Will Wiebe-Friesen were co-presenters in chemistry to Karissa Wilson, Sterling, Kan. Dr. Siobhán Scarry presented a Thresher Award in English to Louisa Lehmann, Wegberg, Germany.
Other academic awards presented were:
● Dorothy Wedel Kaufman Honor Scholarships in English, to Layla Avalos, Tess Bigham, Mason Bolen, Jasper Krehbiel and Emilee Phoon
● Writing Fellowship awards, to Tess Bigham, Ashley Poe and Grace William
● J. Lloyd Spaulding Award for Economics and Business, to Ava Broxterman
● Ray and Betty Funk Prize for Entrepreneurship, to Josiah Buller, Zach Claassen and Zaidh Zihar
● Teachers of Promise, Allyson Masem (K-8) and April Powls (high school)
● Social Work Practicum Award, to Gracia Duron
The chemistry faculty presented the following awards to outstanding chemistry students in 2025-26:
● Senior – Karissa Wilson
● Junior – Marcus Fiedler
● Sophomore – Pandora Freeman
● Freshman – Mara Oswald
The Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (KIPCOR) recognized the winners of the annual C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest: first place, Maira Abrile de Paiva; second place, Preston Vicenzi; third place, Elena Jugovič; and fourth place, Luz Mayora. Abrile de Paiva’s speech has been recorded and sent to compete with other contest winners from Mennonite colleges and universities in North America.
Dr. Christine Crouse-Dick, professor of communication arts and adviser for The Bethel Collegian, announced the 10 awards that Collegian staff brought home from the annual Northern Plains Collegiate Media Association Golden Leaf Awards. These included 2nd place for Best Overall Newspaper and for Best Newspaper Front Page, 3rd place for Best Newspaper Spread, two 1st-place awards for sports photos (Ava Broxterman and Ethan Wilcox), and five additional photography awards (three to Broxterman, one to Wilcox and one to Luis Aviles).
The Office of Student Life presented the following for 2025-26:
● Social Justice Advocate Award – Elena Jugovič
● Bridge Builder Award – Caleb Koontz
● Commitment to Service Award – Mason Bolen
● Community Assistant of the Year – Jireh Gonzalez Rodriguez
● Emerging Leader Award – Kaitlyn Marroquin
● Established Leader Award – Dulce Erazo-Tejada
● Student Supporter of the Year – Titus Wassom
● Student Ambassador of the Year – Taryn Paulino
● Student Club/Organization of the Year – The Bethel Collegian
● Student Organization Program/Collaboration of the Year – DivCo’s College Fiesta
● SGA Senator of the Year – Marcus Fiedler
● Seth Dunn Memorial Award – Mason Bolen
● “Set the Example, Be the Example” Award – Taryn Paulino
The athletic awards, the Threshpys, presented on April 25, included a number of special awards. Among these:
● Gerry Sieber Service Award, to Shirley Dietzel, director of business services
● Diane Sanders Flickner Outstanding Female Athlete: Cameron Offerle, volleyball
● George Rogers III Outstanding Male Athlete: Carmelo Yakubu, men’s basketball
● Loren and Peggy Reusser Spirit Scholarships, to Tori Wells (cheer) and Titus Wassom (men’s tennis)
Other Thresher athletic achievement awards included:
● Freshmen of the Year: Dalaina Schutte, volleyball; Rustan Griffen, men’s basketball
● Unsung Hero of the Year: Brayden Schilling, men’s basketball
● Breakthroughs of the Year: Karlee Locke, women’s basketball; Trenton Patterson, men’s basketball
● Newcomers of the Year: Sara Ladino, women’s tennis; Kaeson Fisher-Brown, men’s basketball
● Threshpy Athletes of the Year: Kendall Locke, women’s basketball; Carmelo Yakubu, men’s basketball
● Team of the Year: Men’s tennis
● Most Improved Team: Dance
● Coaches of the Year: Kiley McCord, dance; Gabe Johnson, tennis
The Threshpys also recognized Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference athletic and academic achievements, and included the presentation of B Letter Awards and 4-year letter awards.
4-year letter winners
● Men’s basketball – Carmelo Yakubu
● Women’s basketball – Caryn Yoder
● Women’s cross country – Bethany Schrag
● Dance – Daysharia Wilkes
● Men’s golf – Caleb Koontz
● Softball – Sadie Jensen
● Men’s tennis – Jonah Bergeron, Petr Kollar, Rodrigo Sanchez
● Women’s tennis – Grace Dawes, Patty Huerta, Charis Yager
● Volleyball – Landree Merriman
B Letter awards (4-year letter winners plus the following seniors)
● Men’s basketball – Jack Denton-Cardew, Albert Diarra, Jordan Flowers, Donovan Ringenbach, Brayden Schilling
● Women’s basketball – Narissa Blackwell, Farah Shehab, Celesta Teijema
● Dance – Eliza Epp
● Flag football – CJ Bundy
● Football – Larry Cherry, Frank Driscoll, Kevin Hill, Trevon Madison, Quincey McGuffy, Noah Miller, Kai Norris, Jaric Woodley
● Men’s golf – Gavin Rogers, Colin Smith
● Men’s soccer – Samuel Hernandez
Women’s soccer – Beth Lloyd, Lilli Reisser
● Softball – Emma Killingsworth, Madison Gonzales
● Women’s tennis – Kate Rowland, Karissa Wilson
● Women’s track and field – Carley Bartell, Bethany Schrag
KCAC athletic awards
● Men’s basketball – Carmelo Yakubu, 1st Team; Trenton Patterson, 3rd Team; Albert Diarra, Honorable Mention; Rustan Griffen, All-Freshman Team; Dominick Harris, All-Defense
● Women’s basketball – Kendall Locke, 1st Team, All-Defense, Player of the Year; Karlee Locke, 2nd Team; Emersyn Eischen, All-Freshman Team
● Football – Amerdid Marial, 2nd Team Defense, 3rd Team Offense; Jaric Woodley, 3rd Team Defense
● Men’s soccer – Gabriel Okita, Honorable Mention
● Women’s soccer – Madison Davis, Honorable Mention; Malaysia Larque, Honorable Mention; Yuly Torres, Honorable Mention
● Men’s tennis – Petr Kollar, All-KCAC 1st Team; Billy Haoda, All-KCAC 2nd Team; Jorge Batista, All-KCAC 3rd Team; Zaidh Zihar, All-KCAC 3rd Team
● Women’s tennis – Patty Huerta, All-KCAC 3rd Team
NAIA All-American
● Women’s basketball – Kendall Locke, 2nd Team
● Men’s tennis – Jorge Batista, 2nd Team; Petr Kollar, 3rd Team
● Women’s tennis – Daniela Casique Gomez, 2nd Team
● Volleyball – Cameron Offerle, 2nd Team
Additional NAIA athletic awards
● Men’s tennis – Petr Kollar, ITA Senior Player of the Year, NAIA Central Region; Jorge Batista, ITA Most Improved Player, NAIA Central Region
● Women’s tennis – Patty Huerta, ITA Arthur Ashe Award, NAIA Central Region and national; Daniela Casique Gomez, ITA Player to Watch, NAIA Central Region
● Tennis – Gabe Johnson and Jordan Singh, ITA Coach of the Year and ITA Assistant Coach of the Year, NAIA Central Region
NAIA Scholar-Athletes
● Men’s basketball – Tyson Chupp, Albert Diarra, Dominick Harris, Marcus Jones, Aiden Morillo, Tristan Tiu
● Women’s basketball – Cheryl Grubbs, Elena Jugovič, Karlee Locke, Kendall Locke, Alexis Marlow, Celesta Tiejema, Caryn Yoder
● Men’s cross country – Marcus Fiedler
● Women’s cross country – Emma Graber, Taryn Paulino, Bethany Schrag
● Dance – Tess Bigham, Karleigh Buethner, Adrianna Floro, Hope Jacobs, Mateya McCord
● Football – Josiah Buller, Chad Crauthers, Frank Driscoll, Joshua Koehn, Kaleb Scripsick
● Men’s golf – Caleb Koontz, Jacob Regier, Noah Schrag, Kaleb Scripsick
● Men’s soccer – Calvin Bell, Mason Bolen, Logan Brunton, Kaz Kromwijk
● Women’s soccer – Taylor Andrew, Madison Davis, Grace Harthorn, Harley Inskeep, Beth Lloyd, Madeline Moscrip, Lilli Reiser, Jacie Scott, Yuly Torres, Victoria Wright
● Softball – Cassie Albin, Emma Killingsworth, Reese McCord, Mya Morris, Kailey Sandoval, Kenzi Young
● Men’s tennis – Amos Harder, Moses Sawatzky
● Women’s tennis – Kayla Babcock, Daniela Casique Gomez, Grace Dawes, Patty Huerta, Paula López, Kate Rowland, Karissa Wilson, Charis Yager
● Men’s track and field – Marcus Fiedler
● Women’s track and field – Carley Bartell, Emma Graber, Abby Koontz, Taryn Paulino, Bethany Schrag
● Volleyball – Gracia Duron, Camryn Entz, Ryleigh Foster, Abby Koontz, Hannah Retallack
KCAC Scholar-Athletes (all NAIA Scholar-Athletes plus the following):
● Men’s basketball – Samuel Allen, Jack Denton-Cardew, Cade Kitrell, Donovan Ringenbach, Brayden Schilling
● Women’s basketball – Narissa Blackwell, Madyson Mckinzie, Tiffany Popp
● Women’s golf – Madeline Proost
● Men’s soccer – Kian Madeiros
● Women’s soccer – Madeline Proost, MacKenzie Stroud
● Softball –Autumn Quinones
● Men’s tennis – Jorge Batista, Billy Haoda, Zaidh Zihar
● Women’s tennis – Jireh Gonzalez Rodriguez
● Men’s track & field – Brayden Parker
● Volleyball – Mya Free, Emily Hynes
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel is ranked #25 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional College Midwest for 2026. Bethel was the only Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Community Healing and Transformation (TCHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu
In sports, Bethel competes in the 13-member Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference and the NAIA. See www.threshers.com
