“The Benny” is an award given out by “The Bengal” at the end of the year honoring those athletes who excelled in their respective sport. At the end of every season, awards are handed out honoring the season’s best and, as with any awards list, there are bound to be disagreement on who truly deserved the award. I welcome the disagreement because all that means is that there are multiple athletes who excelled and have been worthy of receiving a Benny.
As an avid fan of Idaho State sports it’s wonderful to be a sports writer in charge of deciding who gets the award. Still, it has been challenging — a lot of fun, but challenging. It proved once again to be difficult in comparing a pole vaulter’s success to that of a softball player. It’s been like comparing apples to oranges.
This committee of one awarded the athletes based on whom it decided excelled the most at their particular sport. I was extremely proud of all the athletes at ISU. Since this is my last article as the Sports Editor for “The Bengal,” I’d like to thank all of the athletes, coaches and fans, as well as the athletic media department and anyone else who read my articles. It’s been an absolute pleasure covering ISU sports these past two years.
Go Bengals!
Male athlete of the year – Josh Hill (Football)
Runners up: Rodrick Rumble, Charles Norman and Clint Gossak
The Bengal 2013 Male Athlete of the Year goes to former Bengal (now New Orleans Saints) tight end Josh Hill. The graduating senior from Blackfoot, Idaho, accepted this honor in the same manner he accepts any accolade: with a humble spirit.
“It is a great honor because it is not just about football,” Hill said. “This is about the entire university. There are a lot of other really great athletes at our school. It is an honor to just be considered.”
The final year for Hill was reflective of the hard-working individual he is and the production he has brought to the team. In his senior season, Hill caught 70 passes, second highest on the team, for 630 yards and five touchdowns. He was named Second Team All-Big Sky, earned third-team AP All-American honors and represented ISU in the nationally televised 88th East-West Shrine Game in St. Petersburg, Fla.
He finished his career with 143 catches for 1,270 yards and nine touchdowns.
While majoring in secondary education, Hill was named to the Big Sky All-Academic team twice: once each in his junior and senior seasons. To top it off, Hill was given the Babe Caccia Scholar-Athlete award, an honor recognized by the National Football Foundation.
After waiting anxiously all day between the third and seventh rounds of the NFL Draft, Hill received a call moments before accepting the Babe Caccia scholar-athlete award. His agent had the New Orleans Saints on the other line, ready to sign him to a free agent contract. Hill accepted the offer from the team that showed the most interest in him.
“After talking to the coaches and the front office there, I felt real good about the Saints,” Hill said.
His fellow teammate, wide receiver Rodrick Rumble, signed a free agent contract with the Indianapolis Colts.
Hill will have to miss graduation ceremonies this Saturday, as he will attend the Saints’ mini-camp May 10. Hill is listed as the fifth tight end on the roster and will have to compete for a 53-man roster spot come August.
The message he wants to leave all ISU athletes and students is this: “Have fun through the whole process. Don’t forget what you are doing it for. Work hard. Don’t have any reason to have regrets later on.”
Female athlete of the year – Vicky Galasso (Women’s Softball)
Runners up: Amanda Fitzsimmons, Kaela Oakes and Lori Mendenhall
Sophomore catcher Vicky Galasso has made a name for herself not only at Idaho State but also on a national level. At one point during the season Galasso had the second-best batting average in the nation, that last part bears repeating – the second-best batting average in the nation, not in the Big Sky, but in the nation. She was ranked fifth in slugging percentage at .936 and ninth in runs scored per game (1.13). She is 15th in home runs (18), RBI per game (1.18) and home runs per game (.38). Galasso also ranks 40th in on-base percentage at .515. Once again that’s in the nation, not just at a local level.
At the beginning of the season, she said she wanted the single-season home run record, which was held to Heather Dixon with 12 home runs in 2007. Galasso was second on the team with 17 homeruns on the season senior teammate Amanda Fitzsimmon’s 18.
If that isn’t impressive enough, Galasso is just a sophomore, meaning two more years for ISU fans to chase down homerun balls at Miller Ranch Stadium.
When asked if she thought she would have had as many homeruns this year without the friendly competition between her and Fitzsimmons she said, “Absolutely not. We definitely pushed each other to hit more home runs.”
Galasso set the school record for the longest hitting streak (25), and had 21 multiple hit games and 13 multiple RBI games.
After her 25 game hitting streak ended in an 11-2 win over North Dakota, Galasso, who is very well aware of her own personal statistics, showed that team success will still always come first. She couldn’t care less that her record-breaking streak ended and after the game said, “As long as we win, I don’t care if I get a hit, it’s all about getting the win.”
In a game where statistics can often be viewed as the defining trait of how good a player is, Galasso showed what makes her and this softball team so special in her excitement over the win in the face of her streak ending.
Freshman of the Year – Sheridan Hapsic (Women’s Soccer)
Runners up: Jamey Swiggart, Taison Manu and Maddy Hickman
There was a question on whether or not Hapsic would even get the starting job at goalie for the Bengals. An injury to goalkeeper Carly Hutchings-Maloney, who started all 17 games for the Bengals the previous year, led to a “goalie controversy” between Hapsic and Maria Dela Cruz. Hapsic eventually won out and it’s a good thing for ISU.
I don’t know if there is such a thing as a “clutch gene” but if there is one Hapsic has it. ISU needed to win its last two games of the regular season to have a chance at winning the Big Sky regular season championship. Hapsic responded by earning two shutouts in back-to-back games to give ISU a share of the Big Sky regular season title and the right to host the Big Sky Conference Tournament.
Penalty kicks were involved in both games ISU played in during the tournament, and thanks to her stellar play at goalie, ISU won the Big Sky Championship.
Hapsic showed why she deserved the 2012 Big Sky Tournament MVP in the NCAA College Cup against Stanford. Against the No. 1 ranked team Hapsic recorded 10 saves in the contest and faced 31 total shots. “I think I could sum up Sheridan’s performance when, after one save, I turned around and looked at my assistant and said, ‘That kid is unbelievable,’” Coach Allison Gibson said. “She has had an incredible year and a freshman year that will go down in the history books. That score could have been a lot higher if it wasn’t for her point blank saves she had,” she said
Coach of the Year – Allison Gibson
Runners up: Bobby Goeltz and Julie Wright
Allison Gibson was named the 2012 Big Sky Coach of the Year. It is the third time she has won the award. She was also named Big Sky Coach of the Year in her first year at ISU when she led the 2006 team to the NCAA Tournament and again in 2009.
Gibson would routinely stay late after practice to help her players. ISU senior Rachel Strawn, who improved more than anyone this year, credited her coach’s after-practice assistance in her improved play.
“I stayed late everyday after practice with Coach Gibson and we’d just kick the ball [to] the net. It gave me the confidence that I needed to play this year,” said Strawn.
When Strawn, the team’s leading scorer, went down with an injury, her team rallied instead of collapsing, which should be attributed to the mental fortitude that Gibson has instilled in her players.
Gibson made the tough call but the right one in letting a freshman, Hapsic, start at goalie. It was a decision not every coach would make but if she didn’t make that coaching decision, ISU probably would not have won the championship.
Gibson not only had a tremendous amount of success on the pitch but a program-record 14 soccer players were selected to the all-academic team.
Team of the Year – Softball
Runner up: ISU Women’s Soccer
The team is hosting the Big Sky Tournament as the No. 1 seed with a shot at the Big Sky Championship.
But even if the team doesn’t win the championship this weekend, it still set the school record for most wins in a season with 26. The previous record was 25 held by the 1979 team. That team went 25-9 and won the Intermountain Conference championship. This year’s Bengal softball team is currently 28-21 and 14-4 in Big Sky Conference play.
The team has already broken the team single-season home run record. The team currently has 73 homeruns and the old record was 35, set by the 2011 team. ISU is currently hitting .339 as a team. No Bengal team has hit over .300 for a season since the program was brought back in 2007. The 1977 team hit .351. The best batting average was .286 in the 2009 season and .284 in 2010. ISU set the team-single season RBI record in the win at UVU. The team has 288 RBI on the season with the old record of 182 set by the 2010 team.
So even if they don’t win the Big Sky Championship, this year was a huge success for softball.
Most Improved Player of the Year – Rachel Strawn (Women’s Soccer)
Runner up: Vicky Galasso, Luke Austin and Charles Norman
Strawn had been a key piece on the offensive attack for the past three years, but it wasn’t until her senior year when everything started to click. Statistically Strawn was a completely different player. She finished the season with 10 goals, thanks to an unbelievable fast start. It took her just three games to surpass the number of goals she had scored in the past two seasons.
Strawn said that her increase in scoring is because of a newfound mental strength. “Last year I had the most opportunities, I didn’t finish it. This year I am learning how to mentally put it in the back of the net,” said Strawn. Every day after practice, fans could watch Strawn kick the ball in the back of the net with Gibson. “I set a goal to score every game this season, something I’ve never done before, so I’m sure that has helped,” she said. “Let’s be honest, I’m a lot more spiritual. I feel like my mind is a lot more clear so I owe it to God,” said Strawn. “I’m just finally mentally strong enough to handle it.” Strawn provided ISU with a second scoring threat to go with Co-Offensive MVP of the Year Amanda Ellsworth (with Montana’s Erin Craig) that they missed all of last season.
ISU soccer head coach Allison Gibson said, “I had been on her for three years to do it and she finally did. She stayed here all summer and trained. She is getting those opportunities in games and just putting them away. It’s exciting. Seeing that hard work pay off is really rewarding for a coach.”
Play of the Year – Sheridan Hapsic’s Game Winning Save (Women’s Soccer)
Runners up: Courtney Dial’s walk off homer, Tomas Sanchez’s game winner against Sacramento State
1,344 ISU fans packed Davis Field for the championship match against Montana. After regulation and two overtime periods the Bengals were lining up for penalty kicks for the second consecutive game. ISU hit shot one, missed shots two and three, then hit the final two. Montana hit shots one, three and five with ISU’s Hapsic blocking Montana’s second and fourth shots, leaving the teams tied at 3-3. At this point the contest went to sudden death, with the first team to gain the advantage earning the win. ISU’s Allyson Stainbrook scored against Grizzlies goalie Kristen Hoon, and Hapsic then sealed the Bengal win with a headlong dive and deflection of a final effort by University of Montana’s MacKenzie Akins.
Lifetime Achievement Award – Amanda Fitzsimmons (Women’s Softball)
Runners up: Bradi Hutchison, Breanne Van Every, Mark Clampitt
Fitzsimmons is a three-year Bengal who will leave as the all-time record holder in home runs, walks, RBI’s and runs scored.
This year she has been the captain on the No. 1 seeded, record-breaking team and has been able to lead by example and her passionate play.
Last year so much was required of Fitzsimmons in order for the Bengals to compete, but this year her team stepped up and the Bengals have a shot at the title.
She deservedly won the 2012 Pacific Coast Softball Conference Mountain Division Player of the Year. In 2012 she had a 4.46 era with a school record season-high 150 strikeouts.
