2023 Bolt Award Winners Announced

The 2023 Bolt Awards commenced this evening, as cadet-athletes were awarded various honors during the event at Arnold Hall to celebrate the numerous Air Force athletic successes of the past year.

Chris Cicere, the Chief Intercollegiate Liaison of the Air Force athletic department and a 1983 graduate of the Academy, helped to spearhead the development and execution of the ceremony.

"The Bolt Awards is a chance for the cadets to have some fun in an informal setting," said Cicere.

As one can imagine, the number of moving parts for such an evening requires cooperation from many sectors of the Academy.

"The event, like any endeavor in the athletic department, is a team effort," said Cicere. "Capt Alexa Berstler has run point on this event since the fall, while Alex Cramer, Autumn Bolton and the entire AFAAC marketing team have been instrumental in developing the entire presentation to include the script and the supporting videos. The sports information office developed the nominees in each category and the Arnold Hall staff has been super supportive, as we could not have this event without them. From Air Force Sports Properties, Ally Gallagher worked with food vendors to provide a great meal to the cadets. Cadets John Maurer and Luke Rowe were very helpful in getting cadet support for the Bolt Awards and in John's case, developing the parody videos shown during the evening."

The humor-filled, "This is SportsCenter" styled parody videos will eventually be released for public consumption.

Qualification for a Bolt Award accounts for performances that span the spring of 2022 through the winter of 2023. The following entails the winners and nominees for each category:

Academic Team of the Year (Fall Semester)
Men's Tennis (3.27 Team GPA)

Other nominees: Men's Ice Hockey, Women's Swimming and Diving

Military Team of the Year (Fall Semester)
Men's and Women's Fencing (3.39 Team GPA)

Other nominees: Women's Tennis, Women's Track and Field

Upset of the Year
Baseball (April 19, 2022): On the road against #10 Texas, Air Force created constant traffic on the bases while holding the Longhorns to just six hits in a decisive 14-2 win. Each starter in the Air Force lineup managed at least one hit, while the Falcons drew eight walks against Texas pitching, the second-most free-passes for Coach Kaz's team in 2022. Freshman Dylan Rogers made his first collegiate start and gave his team three solid opening innings. The Dallas native allowed just one run on four hits while striking out two. Senior Rob Martin, credited with the win, crafted one of his finest moments as a Falcon, tossing four hitless innings with three strikeouts.

Other nominees: Football (30-15 win over Baylor, Dec. 22, 2022), Volleyball (3-0 win over San Jose State, Oct. 27, 2022), Men's Basketball (85-74 win over Colorado State, Jan. 10, 2023), Wrestling (Tucker Owens, 6-5 win over #12 Anthony Noto, Nov. 19, 2022 and Cody Phippen, win by fall over #11 Dylan Ragusin, March 16, 2023)

Best Comeback Performance
Sam Wolf, Wrestling (Jan. 27, 2023): The highlight of Air Force-Utah Valley dual came in the 174-pound weight class, as No. 21 Sam Wolf upended returning All-American and Big 12 Champion #8 Demetrius Romero, 5-3. Wolf, who missed most of the first semester with a dislocated shoulder, battled through the same nagging injury in the first period when it became dislocated against the Big 12 champion. Despite giving up position to medical timeout, Wolf was determined to make some noise in the Big 12 and the national rankings. In the second period, Wolf settled in and went to work, scoring the only two takedowns for the remainder of the match against the All-American.

Best Team Performance
Football: Air Force finished the season 10-3 overall. The Falcons posted their third straight 10-win season, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season, which only Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, Utah and Oregon have matched. Air Force won a series-record 21st Commander-in-Chief's Trophy and defeated Baylor to win the Armed Forces Bowl. The Baylor victory marks the fourth consecutive bowl win and third straight over a Power 5 program. The Falcons also won a program-record six national statistical titles in 2022. Senior Roberts become just the third Falcon to earn Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors and first since 2007 and was a third-team All-American by College Football Network. Senior offensive lineman Isaac Cochran was named to the Walter Camp All-America second team, becoming just the fifth player in program history to earn Walter Camp All-America honors and first since 1992.

Other nominees: Water Polo, Baseball, Men's Track and Field, Men's Tennis, Water Polo, Men's Cross Country, Men's Basketball, Rifle, Women's Tennis, Women's Basketball, Women's Gymnastics

Best Male Individual Performance
Brad Roberts, Football: Senior Brad Roberts was named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, just the third Falcon to ever win the award and first since 2007. Roberts became the first Air Force player to win the NCAA rushing title with a school-record 1,728 yards. He led the Mountain West and ranked fifth nationally in rushing yards per game (132.9). A third-team All-American honoree, Roberts also set school records for most 100-yard games with 11, most carries with 345, breaking his own record of 298 from 2021, most career 100-yard games with 20 (six more than second place) and most career carries (707). Roberts played in 30 consecutive games, never missing a game due to injury.

Other nominees: Wyatt Hendrickson (Wrestling), Sam Gilman (Men's Track and Field), Patrick Hoopes (Men's Gymnastics), Sean Maison (Cross Country), Doyle Gehring (Baseball)

Best Female Individual Performance
Amber Boll, Women's Gymnastics: : Senior Amber Boll was dubbed individual MPSF conference champion on uneven bars after earning a career-best and team season-high 9.925 at the MPSF Championships, a figure which ties the second-highest event score in program history. Her 9.925 on bars had only been achieved or surpassed four times prior, with the most recent occurrence belonging to Anna Salamone in the 2020 season.

Other nominees: BrookeLyn Messenger (Volleyball), Lauren Hurley (Rifle), Kamri Heath (Women's Basketball), Madison Smith (Women's Basketball),

Male Rookie of the Year
Tucker Owens, Wrestling: Owens concluded his stellar freshman season with an NCAA qualification (first freshman qualifier since 2013), a Big 12 podium (6^th), and 26 wins to his credit. Tucker Owens checked another box with his first NCAA Tournament win over #32 Tanner Jordan (SDSU), 2-1. In his first service academy rivalry match of his young career, Owens let it fly and knocked off Army rival (17) Ethan Berginc, 9-7, at the NCAA Championships. He knocked off an All-American in Anthony Noto from Lock Haven with a gritty 6-5 decision win. He placed in each major tournament on the season with exception of the NCAA Championships. He was the primary 125-pounder for AF dual meets, going 8-2 in dual action and 5-2 in Big 12 dual matches.

Other nominees: Rytis Petraitis (Men's Basketball), Jack Griffith (Fencing), Max Sannes (Cross Country), Arjun Kersten (Men's Tennis), Chris Hedden (Ice Hockey),

Female Rookie of the Year
Taylor Rioux, Women's Track and Field: During the 2023 indoor season, Rioux impacted the top-four of the program's all-time standings in three sprints – accounting for an Academy Record 39.70 in the 300-meter dash, the second-fastest 200-meter time (24.65 – just 0.01 off the Academy Record) and the fourth-fastest 400-meter time (56.00). Rioux also recorded the program's 11th-fastest 60-meter time (7.84). Rioux also holds the fourth-fastest outdoor 200 after running a 24.64 as a freshman in the spring of 2022.

Other nominees: Caeli Sherman (Women's Soccer), Katie Andrist (Women's Swimming), Mira Vestel (Fencing), Milahnie Perry (Women's Basketball), Kylee Greene (Women's Gymnastics)

Male Athlete of the Year
Wyatt Hendrickson, Wrestling: Wyatt Hendrickson concluded the 2022-23 season with his second-consecutive honor as the NCAA's Most Dominant Wrestler, awarded to the individual wrestler with the highest bonus points average on the season. Hendrickson concluded the year with a 31-2 record, losing only to the 2023 National Champion and National Runner-Up. He became AF wrestling's first All-American since 2003 behind his third-place finish at the national tournament. He won the NCAA Falls Award for having the most pins on the season (17) and the Gorriaran Award for the most pins at the NCAA Championships (3). He was undefeated in Big 12 dual action and won his second-straight Big 12 Heavyweight title at the conference tournament. Hendrickson's efforts pushed the Falcons to a pair of historic finishes at the Big 12 Championships and NCAA Championships, helping the Falcons to their highest-ever team scores in both events.

Other nominees: Brad Roberts (Football), Wen Zhang (Men's Swimming), Sam Kulasingam (Baseball), Robert Baylon (Men's Tennis), Grant Snyder (Water Polo), Jake Heidbreder (Men's Basketball), Sam Gilman (Men's Track and Field), Brandon Dodd (Lacrosse), London Aghedo (Men's Soccer)

Female Athlete of the Year
Joi Harvey, Volleyball: Harvey was named all-Mountain West and AVCA Pacific North All-Region Honorable Mention for the second time in three years after another strong season. The middle blocker was ranked among the conference leaders in blocks (1.23) and hitting (.380) for the season, while adding a team-high 2.66 kills-per-set average. Harvey, whose .380 hitting (317-78-629) was the best single-season performance for Air Force at the DI level, added 146 total blocks (31s-115a), which is the program's second-highest single-season DI tally.

Other nominees: Taylor Rioux (Women's Track and Field), Amber Boll (Women's Gymnastics), Kamri Heath (Women's Basketball), Peninah D'Souza (Rifle),

Unsung Hero
Trayden Tamiya, Baseball: Having played in all 61 games in 2022, Tamiya was one of the more unheralded pieces of the Falcons historic championship-winning season. While also playing tremendous defense up the middle, Tamiya hit .289 in 232 at-bats. His glovework at second base contributed to 35 double plays and a .985 fielding percentage. He knocked the go-ahead single in the 7th inning of Mountain West Championship game on May 29 to propel Falcons to first-ever MW Tournament title. At the NCAA Regionals in Austin, Tamiya was named the Austin Regional All-Tournament Team after going 7-15 at the plate with 3 2B's and 3 RBI in four games, including a career-best four hits against Louisiana Tech in Air Force's win in an elimination game to send the Falcons to the Regional Final. Tamiya also earned Academic All-Mountain West and Mountain West Scholar Athlete honors following the 2022 season.

Other nominees: Sam Wolf (Wrestling), Murphy Riggs (Volleyball), Abby Turner (Women's Swimming), Ian Christie (Water Polo), Sydney Davis (Women's Soccer), Edwin Kust (Men's Gymnastics)

Manager of the Year
Devin Burkhart, Football: "Devin was an outstanding four-year cadet manager for the football program. He became the head cadet equipment manager for the 2022 season. In his four years he was a part of three bowl games (2019 Cheez-It Bowl, 2021 First Responders Bowl, and 2022 Armed Forces Bowl". His primary responsibilities as a cadet manager were working closely with the quarterback position group. Additionally, he was a signal caller his last two years as a cadet manager who never missed a practice or a game. He exemplified fantastic leadership qualities on and off the field with a great attitude and always made sure all his duties were complete. Devin also invested in the younger managers on trained them on how practice is run."

Other nominees: Emma Smith (Volleyball), Mitchell Woelfle (Baseball), Paulo Martinez (Track and Field), Ramsey Long (Men's Gymnastics), Shannon Osoba (Women's Soccer), Taylor Sturdivant (Football), David Coppock (Men's Tennis), Samuel Jun (Men's Swimming), Hannah Kuhlmann (Women's Swimming), Crew Squires (Wrestling)

Athletic Director's Award
(Awarded to cadet-athlete that has excelled in their chosen sport, while representing USAFA in an exemplary manner)
Sam Kulasingam, Baseball: Kulasingam produced one of the most potent offensive campaigns in Air Force history in 2022. En route to becoming the first Falcon to win Mountain West Player of the Year honors, Kulasingam's .411 average led Air Force, as did his 109 hits. He became the all-time single season leader in hits in program history on May 20, breaking Bradley Haslam's record of 96 hits set in 2016. His .411 BA was second in the country, trailing only Georgia Tech's Chandler Simpson (.433). His 109 hits were tied for most in Division I with Kennesaw State's Josh Hatcher. Kulasingam was one of only four players in the country with at least 26 doubles, while his 181 total bases were the most-ever by a Falcon. His total bases mark was seventh-best in the nation.

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