Dash the black squirrel permanently smiled while posing and waving on a rolled out purple carpet. A Goshen College backdrop sat behind them as flashing cameras captured smiles and laughs at this year’s annual Leafys Award ceremony. 

Student-athletes, staff and GC athletic supporters gathered in the Umble Center on Sunday to celebrate overall GC athletic accomplishments and accept awards from the 2024-25 academic and athletic school year.

The emcee for the night was Dante Stanton ‘24, who currently works with the ABC57 news team as a weekend morning anchor and reporter. Stanton, along with other faculty and staff members, presented awards to student-athletes. 

Stanton connected with student-athletes and audience members by explaining his experience at GC with burnout, “Whenever you feel that burnout hit, remember a few things — you need to be there for yourself. You can’t lead, you can’t be a great teammate and you can’t better the lives of others through community if you can’t take care of you,” he said.

Overall accomplishments highlighted first-year participation as the indoor and outdoor men’s track and field team knocked eight school records down, almost entirely from first-years. Women’s bowling, which included exclusively first-years, qualified for the U.S. Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Sectionals in their inaugural season. There were a total of 70 nominees for 14 award categories.

After awards were presented, attendees were invited to the Church-Chapel for conversation, pizza and refreshments. The room was filled with laughter and connection as student-athletes created new memories with their teams and supporters.

The Leafy awards: 

Team Service Award: Baseball

Performance of the year: Bekah Muzyk

Fan of the Year: Kellam Venosky

Men’s highest team GPA: Tennis

Women’s highest team GPA: Volleyball

Coach of the Year: Jon Bemisderfer

The Live FULL award: Sadie Brennemen

Comeback player of the year: Alyssa McDonald

Male Rookie of the Year: Timo Novak

Female Rookie of the Year: Uliana Dotsenko

Male Athlete of the Year: Mathew Keitany

Female Athlete of the Year: Shea VanScoter

John Ingold Award of Excellence: Tim Wilkening

Ruth Gunden Award Excellence: Sadie Brennemen